EDIS on EA81

FujiFan · Post by **FujiFan** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 8:07 pm

I meant thread;)

RatCamper · Post by **RatCamper** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 2:29 pm

That Fi / EDIS combo idea is pretty cool. Did it turn into anything finished?
If not, is the source available? I've reverse engineered hardware and software (incl. firmware) in the past but it's not something I could be bothered with for this. besides EFI would be a gigantic pain. I'd need to fit a surge tank and do a lot of other plumbing, parts sourcing, fitment of stuff etc.
That all reminds me. I know ford are cheapskates, so did they ever do TBI with a weber pattern base for their smaller offerings? Just curious.

In answer to my previous question, just using a CAS requires an EDIS controller to operate in wasted spark mode pretty much meaning it fires a plug every 360deg. This is fixed by a cam sensor so it knows which half of the cycle the cam is on.
I'm fine with wasted spark. I pretty much change plugs with every oil change or two anyway so it's not like they' wear down to lumps of metal.

RatCamper · Post by **RatCamper** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 9:08 am

I've been thinking about this and would still like to explore it in the future. But for now, where do I get an electronic distributor from. I think my mech one is about to self destruct, so might as well change. Also does the electronic one have an internal or external controller. One last question. Does it use vac advance or not?

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 1:44 am

The electronic dizzy still uses vacuum advance, I don't know about the controller, but I would say it is inside the distributor.

Later model EA81's such as the later brumby's or I think you could mod one from an L series which are dime a dozen!

Cheers

Bennie

RatCamper · Post by **RatCamper** » Thu Jul 07, 2011 3:17 pm

so... I had the dissy cap off just now to get a bit of clearance to do some stuff and I kind of noticed that half of the distributor cap around the base is kind of melted. Uh...

edit:

Isn't that fun?

RatCamper · Post by **RatCamper** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:26 pm

I pulled an electronic distributor out of what was left of a late EA81 today. It has the 4 tooth ratchet gear looking thing for triggering the hall sensor, yes?

How do I connect it up? And what coil is the right one? it looked like the owner was runnning a GT40 which I would have thought to have far too low internal resistance on the primary for that distributor.

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:56 pm

You will need the distributor and the ignitor (power transistor) to drive the coil. You can run a GT40, the transistor will handle it. But dont get a GT40R, the resistor isn't needed if you dont have points

RatCamper · Post by **RatCamper** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 9:33 pm

Gannon wrote:You will need the distributor and the ignitor (power transistor) to drive the coil. You can run a GT40, the transistor will handle it. But dont get a GT40R, the resistor isn't needed if you dont have points

Power transistor? I just dug up something now that says that it's nothing more than black/white to coil + and yellow to coil -.

Also GT40R is the one with no internal resistor. The R denotes that it uses an external ballast resistor. I've got a couple of GT40s, a GT40R and one of those electronic ignition coils with the square bit of steel running around it. Transformer type? Sorry tired as and a bit vague. Oh and a Bosch black so I'm set for choices.

Given that it looks like my dissy melted the cap I really want to swap this over before I start it many more times.

Post by **TOONGA** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 9:47 pm

the EA81 electronic dizzy is an all in one unit, the module is internal and black/white to coil + and yellow to coil - is correct.

you old cap looks like the rotor was hitting one of the electodes inside the cap
that could explain some of the rough running and constant excess smoke

TOONGA

RatCamper · Post by **RatCamper** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 9:51 pm

TOONGA wrote:the EA81 electronic dizzy is an all in one unit, the module is internal and black/white to coil + and yellow to coil - is correct.

you old cap looks like the rotor was hitting one of the electodes inside the cap
that could explain some of the rough running and constant excess smoke

TOONGA

Yeah. I thought that too but the smoke still persisted after fixing that. The banshee squeal on startup is still there too. No matter what the bottom of the cap is melted. I can't explain that besides something horribly wrong in there causing a lot of friction. All the distributors at the wrecker were the same price, and I found the EA81 electronic so I figured an upgrade might as well be done.

Post by **TOONGA** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 10:05 pm

did the new dizzy come with another cap or are you using the same one?

TOONGA

RatCamper · Post by **RatCamper** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 10:26 pm

TOONGA wrote:did the new dizzy come with another cap or are you using the same one?

TOONGA

The "new" one has no cap. I'll be getting another one. Even though the old cap pops back to the proper position, It's not acceptable to me.

I read about someone that saw a GT40 wreck an EA81 system in about 10 hours. this tracks with other electronic ignition systems / retrofits I know of. So I'm more than a little cautious about running a GT40. I may either end up with my ~35 year old bosch black, get a ballast and run the GT40R, or look a little further into using the transformer coil. It's hard to know without knowing the tolerances and specs of the distributor.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 10:43 pm

Go a subaru one to match, I did have a Bosch number of EA81 spec'd coil of oil filled type

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 10:50 pm

I should have mentioned that I ran a GT40 on my EA82T and it never harmed the ingitor transistor.

RatCamper · Post by **RatCamper** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 6:44 am

Gannon wrote:I should have mentioned that I ran a GT40 on my EA82T and it never harmed the ingitor transistor.

Are you using the EA81 or EA82(T) distributor? From what I found at the wrecker they seem to be a different beast.

RatCamper · Post by **RatCamper** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 7:34 am

Holey sheet. Been doing a lot of looking and it seems as though everyone I've seen has a poor understanding of ignition systems. I'm not saying I understand them well by the way.
edit: not ribbing on all of you. It's elsewhere I've been looking. I'm just trying to pare out the relevant info for this specific ignition module.

Does anyone have a stock coil from an electronic ignition EA81 they could stick a multimeter across (set to ohms)?

The purpose of the ballast is to drop the voltage to the primary winding or else it's kind of over driven. It seems like ballasts are also heat dependent, so a cold motor has more volts available for starting, and when the ballast warms up a bit the resistance goes up and this effectively makes the secondary voltage drop to normal levels.

Also a lower resistance on the primary is closer to a short circuit. Something electronic modules don't appreciate is having to sink too much current. So whether it's an internal or external ballast it's beside the point. It's the resistance of the total primary side which is important. Sure I could delve into the whole "the ratio between primary and secondary windings is the important bit" spiel, but it's really irrelevant. I just want to be able to figure out what what coils will make the fuel go boom without making the distributor go fizz.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:37 am

Module is the same from EA81 to EA82 carby

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:44 am

The coil I have in my EA81 with ign module is a Bosch transformer style , made in Australia, not China, like the latest ones.It is black and just says on sticker it is for electronic ignitions 12V. No visible part number. been there for seven or eight years ~300,000km !

RatCamper · Post by **RatCamper** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:17 am

As always, very helpful steptoe. Thank you. I wasn't sure about the modules because of the different distributor body design and screwed closed cap on the EA82.

Hm, I have a Bosch transformer style one. It was from the Magna and it is known good because I recently had to use it in the Fairlane for a couple of weeks until I got the right coil for it after the old one gave up. Am I incorrect or do the transformer ones produce a higher secondary voltage?
Also are you running a ballast or is it just straight wiring?

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:24 am

RatCamper wrote:I wasn't sure about the modules because of the different distributor body design and screwed closed cap on the EA82.

If you've got a screw cap on the EA82 dizzy and there's just a rotor button (held by a screw too) and a flat plate below it you have the EFI version. What steptoe is talking about is the same sort of unit but for the carby version of the EA82!

That might annoy you, but if you didn't pay much for it you might be able to get your money back + some for it as these have an optical unit in them that tells the ECU the crank angle...

Hope this helps you out with any confusion before you pull it apart. Under that flat plate will be a disc with a multitude of little slots in it - this is the crank angle sensor part of the dizzy and won't be any good for you unless you convert to EFI

Cheers

Bennie