Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

On 1/20/04 19:40, in article
JMkPb.21168$zj7.13747@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink .net, "Caroline"
<caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote:

<content edited>
>
> You're right: NEC is the updated ignitor and the one to use.
>
> I don't remember the last brand I had, except it was *not* NEC. Firestone
> installed it. Lasted under 50k miles, IIRC, but this may have been related to
> coil problems I had.
>
> From discussions before on this, the OKI brand of ignitor does not last.
>
> This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> replacement?
>
>

Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The distributor
was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
igniter then or used what was in it. Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
time...

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

On 1/20/04 19:40, in article
JMkPb.21168$zj7.13747@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink .net, "Caroline"
<caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote:

<content edited>
>
> You're right: NEC is the updated ignitor and the one to use.
>
> I don't remember the last brand I had, except it was *not* NEC. Firestone
> installed it. Lasted under 50k miles, IIRC, but this may have been related to
> coil problems I had.
>
> From discussions before on this, the OKI brand of ignitor does not last.
>
> This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> replacement?
>
>

Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The distributor
was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
igniter then or used what was in it. Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
time...

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

"Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
Caroline wrote:
> > This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> > replacement?
>
> Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
> miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The distributor
> was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
> igniter then or used what was in it.

FWIW, from my experience, they wouldn't necessarily replace the igniter. Its too
expensive.

> Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
> than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
> time...

I think I'm going to replace mine regularly now, at about every 80k miles.

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

"Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
Caroline wrote:
> > This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> > replacement?
>
> Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
> miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The distributor
> was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
> igniter then or used what was in it.

FWIW, from my experience, they wouldn't necessarily replace the igniter. Its too
expensive.

> Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
> than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
> time...

I think I'm going to replace mine regularly now, at about every 80k miles.

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

"Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
Caroline wrote:
> > This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> > replacement?
>
> Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
> miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The distributor
> was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
> igniter then or used what was in it.

FWIW, from my experience, they wouldn't necessarily replace the igniter. Its too
expensive.

> Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
> than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
> time...

I think I'm going to replace mine regularly now, at about every 80k miles.

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

"Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
Caroline wrote:
> > This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> > replacement?
>
> Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
> miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The distributor
> was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
> igniter then or used what was in it.

FWIW, from my experience, they wouldn't necessarily replace the igniter. Its too
expensive.

> Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
> than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
> time...

I think I'm going to replace mine regularly now, at about every 80k miles.

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

I gotta ask. What is an ignitor? What does it do?

I am a mechanical engineer. I know all about the Otto
cycle, but an ignitor?

"Caroline" <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:uryPb.22207$zj7.8223@newsread1.news.pas.earth link.net...
> "Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> Caroline wrote:
> > > This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> > > replacement?
> >
> > Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
> > miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The
distributor
> > was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
> > igniter then or used what was in it.
>
> FWIW, from my experience, they wouldn't necessarily replace the igniter.
Its too
> expensive.
>
> > Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
> > than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
> > time...
>
> I think I'm going to replace mine regularly now, at about every 80k miles.
>
>

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

I gotta ask. What is an ignitor? What does it do?

I am a mechanical engineer. I know all about the Otto
cycle, but an ignitor?

"Caroline" <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:uryPb.22207$zj7.8223@newsread1.news.pas.earth link.net...
> "Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> Caroline wrote:
> > > This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> > > replacement?
> >
> > Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
> > miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The
distributor
> > was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
> > igniter then or used what was in it.
>
> FWIW, from my experience, they wouldn't necessarily replace the igniter.
Its too
> expensive.
>
> > Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
> > than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
> > time...
>
> I think I'm going to replace mine regularly now, at about every 80k miles.
>
>

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

I gotta ask. What is an ignitor? What does it do?

I am a mechanical engineer. I know all about the Otto
cycle, but an ignitor?

"Caroline" <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:uryPb.22207$zj7.8223@newsread1.news.pas.earth link.net...
> "Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> Caroline wrote:
> > > This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> > > replacement?
> >
> > Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
> > miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The
distributor
> > was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
> > igniter then or used what was in it.
>
> FWIW, from my experience, they wouldn't necessarily replace the igniter.
Its too
> expensive.
>
> > Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
> > than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
> > time...
>
> I think I'm going to replace mine regularly now, at about every 80k miles.
>
>

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

I gotta ask. What is an ignitor? What does it do?

I am a mechanical engineer. I know all about the Otto
cycle, but an ignitor?

"Caroline" <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:uryPb.22207$zj7.8223@newsread1.news.pas.earth link.net...
> "Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> Caroline wrote:
> > > This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> > > replacement?
> >
> > Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
> > miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The
distributor
> > was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
> > igniter then or used what was in it.
>
> FWIW, from my experience, they wouldn't necessarily replace the igniter.
Its too
> expensive.
>
> > Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
> > than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
> > time...
>
> I think I'm going to replace mine regularly now, at about every 80k miles.
>
>

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

Honda actually calls it an Ignition Control Module, others call it an
ignition amplifier. As a mechanical engineer you probably appreciate the
old style ignition with points in the distributor. The way Honda does
(did?) electronic ignition, the ECU sends out a pulse every time it
wants voltage to be applied to the coil primary (based on solid state
sensors in the distributor housing). The igniter is not much more than a
power transistor that receives this pulse from the ECU and in turn does
the actual switching of power to the coil primary.

I don't know if this is why Honda did it this way, but the wire to the
coil primary switches a fair amount of current, and the harmonic content
is very high. It is a nasty RF noise radiator and by keeping the wire
only a few inches long, neatly tucked into the distributor housing, the
radiation is kept to a minimum.

Al Smith wrote:
>
> I gotta ask. What is an ignitor? What does it do?
>
> I am a mechanical engineer. I know all about the Otto
> cycle, but an ignitor?
>
> "Caroline" <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:uryPb.22207$zj7.8223@newsread1.news.pas.earth link.net...
> > "Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> > Caroline wrote:
> > > > This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> > > > replacement?
> > >
> > > Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
> > > miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The
> distributor
> > > was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
> > > igniter then or used what was in it.
> >
> > FWIW, from my experience, they wouldn't necessarily replace the igniter.
> Its too
> > expensive.
> >
> > > Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
> > > than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
> > > time...
> >
> > I think I'm going to replace mine regularly now, at about every 80k miles.
> >
> >

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

Honda actually calls it an Ignition Control Module, others call it an
ignition amplifier. As a mechanical engineer you probably appreciate the
old style ignition with points in the distributor. The way Honda does
(did?) electronic ignition, the ECU sends out a pulse every time it
wants voltage to be applied to the coil primary (based on solid state
sensors in the distributor housing). The igniter is not much more than a
power transistor that receives this pulse from the ECU and in turn does
the actual switching of power to the coil primary.

I don't know if this is why Honda did it this way, but the wire to the
coil primary switches a fair amount of current, and the harmonic content
is very high. It is a nasty RF noise radiator and by keeping the wire
only a few inches long, neatly tucked into the distributor housing, the
radiation is kept to a minimum.

Al Smith wrote:
>
> I gotta ask. What is an ignitor? What does it do?
>
> I am a mechanical engineer. I know all about the Otto
> cycle, but an ignitor?
>
> "Caroline" <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:uryPb.22207$zj7.8223@newsread1.news.pas.earth link.net...
> > "Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> > Caroline wrote:
> > > > This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> > > > replacement?
> > >
> > > Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
> > > miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The
> distributor
> > > was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
> > > igniter then or used what was in it.
> >
> > FWIW, from my experience, they wouldn't necessarily replace the igniter.
> Its too
> > expensive.
> >
> > > Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
> > > than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
> > > time...
> >
> > I think I'm going to replace mine regularly now, at about every 80k miles.
> >
> >

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

Honda actually calls it an Ignition Control Module, others call it an
ignition amplifier. As a mechanical engineer you probably appreciate the
old style ignition with points in the distributor. The way Honda does
(did?) electronic ignition, the ECU sends out a pulse every time it
wants voltage to be applied to the coil primary (based on solid state
sensors in the distributor housing). The igniter is not much more than a
power transistor that receives this pulse from the ECU and in turn does
the actual switching of power to the coil primary.

I don't know if this is why Honda did it this way, but the wire to the
coil primary switches a fair amount of current, and the harmonic content
is very high. It is a nasty RF noise radiator and by keeping the wire
only a few inches long, neatly tucked into the distributor housing, the
radiation is kept to a minimum.

Al Smith wrote:
>
> I gotta ask. What is an ignitor? What does it do?
>
> I am a mechanical engineer. I know all about the Otto
> cycle, but an ignitor?
>
> "Caroline" <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:uryPb.22207$zj7.8223@newsread1.news.pas.earth link.net...
> > "Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> > Caroline wrote:
> > > > This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> > > > replacement?
> > >
> > > Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
> > > miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The
> distributor
> > > was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
> > > igniter then or used what was in it.
> >
> > FWIW, from my experience, they wouldn't necessarily replace the igniter.
> Its too
> > expensive.
> >
> > > Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
> > > than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
> > > time...
> >
> > I think I'm going to replace mine regularly now, at about every 80k miles.
> >
> >

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

Honda actually calls it an Ignition Control Module, others call it an
ignition amplifier. As a mechanical engineer you probably appreciate the
old style ignition with points in the distributor. The way Honda does
(did?) electronic ignition, the ECU sends out a pulse every time it
wants voltage to be applied to the coil primary (based on solid state
sensors in the distributor housing). The igniter is not much more than a
power transistor that receives this pulse from the ECU and in turn does
the actual switching of power to the coil primary.

I don't know if this is why Honda did it this way, but the wire to the
coil primary switches a fair amount of current, and the harmonic content
is very high. It is a nasty RF noise radiator and by keeping the wire
only a few inches long, neatly tucked into the distributor housing, the
radiation is kept to a minimum.

Al Smith wrote:
>
> I gotta ask. What is an ignitor? What does it do?
>
> I am a mechanical engineer. I know all about the Otto
> cycle, but an ignitor?
>
> "Caroline" <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:uryPb.22207$zj7.8223@newsread1.news.pas.earth link.net...
> > "Jason Faas" <jpfaasNOSPAM@neb.rr.com> wrote
> > Caroline wrote:
> > > > This the first time you replaced the ignitor? How many miles at each
> > > > replacement?
> > >
> > > Yep, this is my first time. I have only owned the car for about 5,000
> > > miles. It is now at 126,000 and is in excellent condition. The
> distributor
> > > was replaced at 119,000 and I don't know if they would have replaced the
> > > igniter then or used what was in it.
> >
> > FWIW, from my experience, they wouldn't necessarily replace the igniter.
> Its too
> > expensive.
> >
> > > Hopefully the one I pulled lasted more
> > > than 7,000 miles! I should say I hope the new one lasts a long, long
> > > time...
> >
> > I think I'm going to replace mine regularly now, at about every 80k miles.
> >
> >

Re: Can Igniters be fixed?
 

"Al Smith" <ecarecar@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:100u7o0h5bgj43c@corp.supernews.com:

> I gotta ask. What is an ignitor? What does it do?
>
> I am a mechanical engineer. I know all about the Otto
> cycle, but an ignitor?
>


It's what Honda called the ignition control module,that switches the
current thru the ignition coil in place of the old-style breaker points no
longer in use.

here's a pic and some info on one.
http://www.gcw.org.uk/rover/igniter.htm

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik-at-kua.net