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Registered Member #3926
Joined: Fri Jun 03 2011, 08:32PM
Location: UK.
Posts: 525
Dr. Pork wrote ...
Hm, the coil looks like a closed core type to me, though a magneto would be expected from a chainsaw unless it has a battery on it which I doubt!
A magneto or not it should have a low voltage winding which goes to contact breaker and a snubber cap; the only difference is that the magneto builds it's energy up from a moving magnet instead of current in the primary winding; the breaker keeps the primary shorted until it's ignition time when it opens and creates a desired flyback pulse.
Just prodding the ignition coil with 12V won't work without a snubber cap. Not completely sure why, but it seems that big arc that otherwise appears in the contacts eats up most of the energy.
If you don't have an original capacitor, try connecting one in range 0.1 - 1uF between the contacts of your "switch", and report results.
Of course, charging it to 200-300V later and dumping it into the coil might produce even more interesting effects...
Marko
Nothing happens, but it is the open core type, it's a U.
Registered Member #3883
Joined: Fri May 13 2011, 06:30PM
Location: Norway
Posts: 87
Dr. Pork wrote ...
Just prodding the ignition coil with 12V won't work without a snubber cap. Not completely sure why, but it seems that big arc that otherwise appears in the contacts eats up most of the energy.
My experience as well. When (attempting to) breaking the primary circuit the voltage spike produces an arc at the switch terminal which at the point of interruption is merely microns away. The cap works to produce a gentler break, allowing the switch to open fully before the voltage can build. This leaves no other way for the current to flow than through the high impedance secondary.
Not really familiar with magneto coils, but me thinks it should work fairly similar to a regular coil. Granted the primary current is produced by magnetic induction rather than from a battery, but from there it should be the same. Once the current flow is established you need an interrupter to produce the voltage spike that is then transformed through the secondary. Right? So in theory you should be able to make it run by feeding it pulsed DC.
But it also presents another novel approach by making a complete magneto circuit complete with a flywheel and a permanent magnet. Heck, with a crank and a bit of gearing you could make it muscle-powered.
Registered Member #2463
Joined: Wed Nov 11 2009, 03:49AM
Location:
Posts: 1546
I you have made tiny sparks with a battery, by pulsing the small wire and the ground,, try connecting a capacitor, say, 0.2 uFd/400V across your pulsing contacts.
Registered Member #4230
Joined: Sat Nov 26 2011, 05:50AM
Location: Socketville
Posts: 53
Dr. Pork wrote ...
A magneto or not it should have a low voltage winding which goes to contact breaker and a snubber cap; the only difference is that the magneto builds it's energy up from a moving magnet instead of current in the primary winding; the breaker keeps the primary shorted until it's ignition time when it opens and creates a desired flyback pulse.
The newer ones (since the early 80s) have solid state ignition. All of that is potted up inside the magneto. What you really need is a big car coil. Most auto shops are giving old ones away. I got a bunch from the high school auto shop years ago, so that is probably the best place.
Registered Member #89
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 02:40PM
Location: Zadar, Croatia
Posts: 3145
Hm, I assumed it had both windings connected to the core on one end, and that prong on the coil being the breaker connection. If the coil measures a few ohms between this prong and the core then it's most likely just a normal coil.
If it was a sealed electronic magneto, I imagine it wouldn't have any other connectors on it but the HV lead.
Registered Member #89
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 02:40PM
Location: Zadar, Croatia
Posts: 3145
Platinum wrote ...
What do I do then?
- measure the resistance of the primary (core to faston prong) if it's within few ohms then it's ok
- get a 12V supply and a switch (which can be two pieces of wire for start) and put a 1uF cap across it. Then close and open the switch to see if you can get any sparks.
There's a chance that the coil is a bust, that there are more leads than you told us (though I doubt so) or that it's indeed a solid state ignition coil.
BTW, if you used that piece of steel wire for your core contact, it might have had too bad contact due to dirt, paint and oxide on the core. That's another reason why you should measure primary resistance. Prefferably, get a bolt to fasten down your connction to the core.
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I now have an ignition coil.
