The Cal-look Lounge

Currently working on changing my ignition to a Mallory Super Mag with external coil. It will be hooked up to a Autometer Pro Control(part nr: 5306) as a rev limiter and a Autometer Sport Comp tach. From what I've found out on the internet, I need a Autometer signal converter(part nr: 9118). I have wiring diagram for all the components but none of them exactly describes how to hook them up together. I've made a wiring diagram and was wondering if some have any experience with this kind of set up? Is this the right way to connect the components? In this wiring diagram I've not drawn in an extra inductive trigger for the Brown/Yellow wire from the signal converter. I Discussed this with Johnny Steiro yesterday and found out that I would try to connect the rev limiter first and than just the rev counter to see if they work separately and then try to hook up both, that way I will find out if I need a second inductive trigger.
[attachment=1]

And here is the beauty  :)

[attachment=1]

And another one

[attachment=1]

I have run a Mallory mag in my race car for many years and they work awesome if you keep it as simple as possible (I love the fact that the faster it spins, the hotter the spark).  I can tell you that the Pro Control never really worked well (or designed for) as a rev control for an external coil mag, you will burn it up in no time!  They are fine as a rpm-activated switch, but cannot handle the current for a rev control.  As for the signal converter, sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.  There are still some Autometer memory tachs for the Mallory mag still floating around so maybe keep an eye out for them, they work very well.  But if you have no choice but to run the converter, mount it up in the front of the car near the tach.  As far as rev limiters go, look into ETC. Rev Limiters or go to FIE (Fuel Injection Enterprises) who bought the Mallory magneto line.  Spud Miller just put a how-to article on the FIE website on making a rev limiter with a crank trigger pickup and a few other parts, it looks real trick!  Bottom line, the magneto, although still the easiest, best performing for simplicity ignition, is old-school technology so you need to think in those terms.  The setup for my race car is as follows: Mallory mag with locked out advance and red top coil, Autometer tach and shift light both with the inductive pickup at the coil end, a 2-stage ETC Rev Limiter with the launch "stage" controlled by a pressure switch off of the staging brake, a 20-amp kill switch up front and the big Flaming River battery disconnect on the side of the car which is wired to the coil to kill both 12v power and shut down the motor (expensive switch!).  Everything is working as it should, and seems to be accurate.  Oh forgot, I do run the Start Assist box which is a must for me.  I have 15:1 compression and an Odyssey 925 battery and it would not spark at all....hooked up the assist box and fired right away (you do need to modify some wires in the mag but no big deal). If you are running lower compression and a bigger battery, you might not need the assist box, just saying it helped me and is an option.  I am not here to discourage you, but with your diagram  and all the "conversion" electronics and that Pro Control, you will be chasing gremlins in your ignition system and get frustrated.  Also, if the car is for racing, solid core wires are a must. Looking at your photos, the coil needs to be mounted with the top up and the wire to the side.  I upgraded my coil to the 28900A coil as I had the same coil as you and it died pretty quickly as it is the old (very) style that struggled to perform.   I hope this info helps and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

JP  

Great info JP! Thanks!

I was considering the ETC 2-step but thought it was a bit expensive so opted for the Pro Control which seems to have been a bad decision from what you have experienced. In the end(with the inductive trigger and signal converter) it has ended up at almost the same price as the ETC 2-step :( My car is not meant to be a full time race car(but has been so for the last 4 years :-) ) so the rev limiter is more like a fail safe. That said, the ETC would have done both(hate it when I make stupid decisions >:( ) but as I have all the components now and my funds are pretty much drained the ETC will have to wait until next season(unless it burns up :-[ ). The ETC will definitely make it easier to get more consistent launches. I'm "only" running 11:1 compression and Optima red top so I don't think I will need the Start Assist box, but valuable information if the motor wont start. Thanks for noticing me about the coil, haven't cross my mind, will need to make a new bracket. If I understand you correct the bracket on the coil should be facing downwards? As I'm into the cal-look style, I like to keep visible things as period correct as possible so I'm not to keen on changing the coil. I have tested the mag and coil in a ignition testing machine so at least I know it works for know(Insane spark!!!) But I obviously have no choice if it stops working so I will have to buy the 28900A when/if it becomes a problem.

Again, thank you so much for sharing your experience. It was really helpful! The article by Spud Miller about "Magneto and their Disruptive Gremlins" was also very useful. Looks like I might need to buy some shielded wires  :)

Best regards

Folke Vogn

 

Thought these articles could be of interest to others than me so here's the links.

Do it yourself: Points Mag Rev Limiter
http://www.fuelinjectionent.com/revlimiter.php (http://www.fuelinjectionent.com/revlimiter.php)

Magnetos and their Disruptive Gremlins
http://www.fuelinjectionent.com/magsngremlins.php (http://www.fuelinjectionent.com/magsngremlins.php)

Folke Vogn