Heated Coils

[barkerwilliams]

I don't mind "cheap" items offered for sale, I can then access any risk, what annoys me are vendors putting horrendous mark-ups on cheap items and passing off as quality.

 

Price does not seem to equate to quality, I am happy to pay a premium for quality.

 

 

Alan

[Charlie D]

There is quite an interesting page about 1950’s/60’s Lucas coils here.

Might help identifying an autojumble item.

 

http://www.bobine.nl/jaguar/13-electrical/lucas-sports-coil/

 

Roger,

You mention x-ray tubes. At EMI we used slightly smaller versions. “Only” 150Kv. But again the tubes were oil cooled, and piped off to an oil cooler/15 gallon tank. Occasionally the tube connections did leak. And, of course, being in a brain scanner they ended up dripping hot oil over a patient’s head!

 

 

Charlie.

[Ian Vincent]

I have what was a NOS Bosch red coil (ballasted) on my TR3a. It was a lucky eBay bargain. I also have on the shelf a s/h blue Bosch coil as my spare.

 

I note that new made in Brazil blue Bosch coils are still available. Has anyone tried one of them? There must be legions of VW Campers using them.

 

Rgds Ian

Edited July 5, 2018 by Ian Vincent

[monty]

Anybody got good reports of Lumenition coils? Recommended coil for TR4 with mildly tuned engine & with electronic ignition?

Regards.

[DaveN]

The problem as I see it is people are wanting parts at 1960’s prices, so as a consequence these parts are made to a price. For example a coil pack for a Ford Focus is about £60 probably nearer twice that from a main dealer.

Don’t know about anyone else but I wouldn’t mind paying similar for a good quality part. Another example often bought up is wheel bearings! Mr Moss on his site has a pretty picture of an NTN bearing.... top quality? But at less than 15 quid I don’t think so! So I did ask and the bloke came back and said actually they are unbranded!!!

Yer gets wot yer pays for! So I have genuine Timken ....a lot nearer the price of a modern car at about 70 quid!

[signalredshaker]

Price isn't the issue here - quality is.

Didn't Mr Royce say "Quality remains long after the price is forgotten"

Oh, and the ability of a product at whatever price to perform for a reasonable period of time under present legislation which I think may be 2 years.

James

[Andy Moltu]

Half the time price and quality are not directly linked.

 

Quality costs but cheaply built tatt also gets sold at the same price for a bigger profit.

[DaveN]

Price isn't the issue here - quality is.

Didn't Mr Royce say "Quality remains long after the price is forgotten"

Oh, and the ability of a product at whatever price to perform for a reasonable period of time under present legislation which I think may be 2 years.

James

Agreed but, a lot of the ‘stuff’ that comes from the Far East doesn’t perform for a reasonable length of time. Trouble is now pretty boxes have muddied the waters for example ‘Lucas’. And so called ‘Rubber gaitors’ that actually disintegrate as you look at them. Surely it can’t be rocket science to supply a half decent ball joint for instance with a quality gaitor? That’s got to be worth a tenner on top of the price so you don’t have to tear it down after 6 months to replace just a bit of rubber!

Trunnions.... another item available ...cheap or Quality why?

[monty]

Green Spark Plug have just suggested to me the Remax oil filled coil which apparently is a quality replacement for the 'Lucas' DLB105 sports coil. Anybody had any experience of this item?

[monty]

To add to the confusion, how can Powerspark Ignition advertise on their website 'Genuine' Lucas? No such thing now is it not, unless you find an old Lucas item @ an auto jumble? Trade descriptions act comes to mind!

Cheers.

[monty]

We’ve just had a Flame Thrower Coil near failure,Oil is Leaking out of the Top of the Coil so it’s been replaced before total disaster.

Just done the same today! Replaced the 'Lucas' DLB105 sports coil as the piece of junk was leaking oil everywhere. Has never been used as it is attached next to the main one as a spare & with a heat shield protecting them from engine heat. Just started leaking last week so did a precautionary change for a made in England Remax item from Green Spark Plug Co. We shall see!

[Tim D.]

Ok. So is it true the Lucas gold coil is untrustworthy? I replaced a malfunctioning could with a gold one at Goodwood last year. Now 600 miles on I have an intermittent misfire when accelerating hard. Coil?

[Crawfie]

Ok. So is it true the Lucas gold coil is untrustworthy? I replaced a malfunctioning could with a gold one at Goodwood last year. Now 600 miles on I have an intermittent misfire when accelerating hard. Coil?

I very quickly learnt that any thing in a Lucas box was basically crap quality.

My Lucas sports coil was binned ( Same symptoms as you're having) and replaced with a NGK one. All my ignition stuff replaced with Dizzy Doctor stuff. It also helps to have a "Stuart" near you :-)

[Tim D.]

Interesting. Have a known good coil in reserve which I'll fit and see what happens.

Cheers

Tim

[BlueTR3A-5EKT]

I have what was a NOS Bosch red coil (ballasted) on my TR3a. It was a lucky eBay bargain. I also have on the shelf a s/h blue Bosch coil as my spare.

 

I note that new made in Brazil blue Bosch coils are still available. Has anyone tried one of them? There must be legions of VW Campers using them.

 

Rgds Ian

Yes I have a Bosch blue coil from Brazil - fitted it, it worked fine, so I removed it and put it in the boot as a spare. I reverted to my originally fitted ancient Lucas Sports coil bought in the 1980's. That is going fine. Best improvement for smoothness was a DD rebuilt distributor with Pertronix unit. I keep the points and baseplate in the boot just in case the Pertronix goes tits-up.

(NOTE You have to reset the timing when refitting points as the points cam lobe is presented in a different position to the reed switch magnet. so not a simple unscrew & replace job)

 

Peter W

Edited July 29, 2018 by BlueTR3A-5EKT

[Tim D.]

Interestingly my reserve coil is blue (perhaps bosch?) may be I'll swap it with the modern Lucas sports coil...

Also run electronic ignition and a mapable Aldon Amethyst (helps with mapping for Boost from the supercharger). But have spare electronic ignition in the boot. Belt 'n' braces

Cheers

Tim

[Lebro]

I keep the points and baseplate in the boot just in case the Pertronix goes tits-up.

(NOTE You have to reset the timing when refitting points as the points cam lobe is presented in a different position to the reed switch magnet. so not a simple unscrew & replace job)

 

Peter W

I keep a spare electonic pickup instaed of points, then timing remains the same plus it's a lot quicker to change.

 

Bob.

[BlueTR3A-5EKT]

I keep a spare electronic pickup instead of points, then timing remains the same plus it's a lot quicker to change.

 

Bob.

But as a TR owner I chose my option from many for its cheapness.

Peter W

[DaveR]

Not to sure where this one has got too. But I will put in my two pennies worth in.

 

This is/was a standard problem when a 6 volt coil is fitted to a 12 volt set-up i.e. no ballast resistor. The 6 volt coil has a resistance of 1.2 ohms and the 12 volt coil 3.4 ohms.

 

This may of may not be the problem but worth a check.

 

Dave

[michaeldavis39]

I see on some Tr6 that the coil is mounted on the nearside wheel arch- could this be to keep it away from the heat of the engine block which is where the coil is mounted from factory? Perhaps this is a simple solution to what is causing premature expiry of new coils or a belt and braces solution after fitting a NGK, Bosch coil which are usually good quality to ensure they don't overheat?

[BlueTR3A-5EKT]

Moved my coil to the wheel arch in the 1980's

Peter W

[ianc]

And the Competitions Department mounted a pair of coils (one as spare) on the inner wheel arch of the Works' TR4s in 1962.

In the event of failure, makes any change-over a matter of a few seconds, and keeps the active coil cooler.

Ian Cornish

[iain]

Similarly, the competitions department fitted one on the engine and one on the inner wing for the "Works" 3A's

Iain

[Andy Moltu]

Funny - if the competitions dept were fitting their cars with a spare coil then perhaps historical quality wasn't so high after all.

 

Mixing up ballasted and non-ballasted coils has always been a problem but perhaps more so these days as fewer mechanics are familiar with older ignition systems with points, condensers and ballast resistors. Certainly the need for a the right coil on the later 6s is often overlooked by those who don't know the ballast is built into the wiring loom rather than a visible ballast resistor like the Spitfires and Stags

 

Whilst many of us use electronic ignition modules I wonder if some of the premature coil failures are really related to the dreadful condensers available today shorting out and cooking the coils?

[Lebro]

'Nuf said

Bob.

Edited July 30, 2018 by Lebro