They usually still need a capacitor. The primary voltage shoots up to lethal voltages before the secondary can fire the spark plug. If that went into a protective avalanche diode, there'd be no power for a spark.
I have a gizmo that drives two old-school ignition coils out of phase. The MOSFETs (Two NTE2385 in parallel) are rated for >500V and can survive avalanche breakdown. I can get away without using a capacitor only because the coils are rather lossy and the MOSFETs are rather expensive. I once had a similar setup with better coils that would burn out instantly without a capacitor.
The manufacturer is STMicroelectronics, STM. I also think it looks like it starts with BU, or even BUxy41, where x can be anything and y can be
8 or 9. On STM's web site they list a BU-941, which is a "HIGH VOLTAGE IGNITION COIL DRIVER NPN POWER DARLINGTON". It is available in a D2PAK, like the one in the photo of the ignitor.
Just read the thread on " Deciphering the igniter..."
Nice job tracking down the Darlingtion Pair, this explains why in this case FET's were not used. Darlingtons only require a small input current to control a larger current.
For those who don't know what Darlington Pairs are I give you example. It's something like your home entertainment amplifier it takes a very low signal input amplifies it to driver your main power amplifier. (Pre- amplifier)
I also tried to view the photo of the ignitor with ACDsee. I can't make out what the chip beside it is TFK17629 (U226B)
Anyone fined the manufacture spec's on this chip? My guess it's supplies the signal (timing) to the Darlington pair.
I think I have answer regarding the so called "fuse link" that I mentioned I saw embedded into the rotor. While I was review a Honda Civic schematic and noticed that on the VTEC models there is resistor in series just at rotor contact.
I also found the box which the new set of ignition wires came in they are NGK. They advertise allot of good things about these wires? One is there half the resistance of normal ignition wires. (BTW he has NGK plugs as well.)
I haven't really nailed down the problem yet, but this is as far as I have gone, here's what I think happen.
The new NGK lower resistance wires (Higher current) cause the resistor over heat and burnt out. This could cause the ignition coil to fail as well, I hope not? I still got some spark and the winding resistance checkout ok. (Crossing my fingers) I haven't purchased a new cap rotor or coil yet as I think I will wait to my son comes home to decide what option he wants.
At the bare minimum I need a new rotor and cap to see if the coil still works and verify that car starts and that there are not more problems.
As I see it he has to two options:
... replaced the entire system with MSD coil rotor and cap to match his new NGK wires. (I think this will give him a little more horse power and maybe a little more mileage as well)
MSD Rotor $25, Cap $59 and Coil $69 he doesn't have to purchase new wires. (NGK) Total $153 plus 15 % tax :-(
... return the wires and purchase all Honda parts and wires.
If he purchases the Honda parts without change the wires back, they will cause premature failure of the ignition system again. Honda Parts Dealer: Rotor $55, Cap and coil $126 plus new wires didn't get the price them. Total cost of $181 plus tax :-(
Funny thing I also noticed I haven't smelt any gas fumes while trying to start his car. When I turn the ignition sw I can hear the fuel pump prime.
In the process of prepping for a clutch replacement I found that the two front motor mounts are junk. Trying to remove the two bolts that attach the mounts to the frame, something broke off inside the frame. It feels like the bolt screws into a blind nut that has been welded to the frame and the nut has broken off. Anyone have any experience in how to attach the new motor mount with these blind nuts broken off? It also looks like the only way to remove the mount now is to cut off the bolt. Wonderful Wisconsin winters and all the salt on the roads probably corroded the bolt to the nut making it impossible to remove.
I agree, the headlight cutoff seems strange, especially if you live in a rural area with a lot of hills. (pitch black above the line on the twisty roads at night is not too much fun. You will get used to it in no time though, and realize it actually is not as sharp as you thought (I think it has to do with the fact that the light is just so much brighter).
Jim Yanik wrote in news:Xns964C6896DDD8jyanikkuanet@129.250.170.83:
I also Googled "ignition coil driver IC",and there are a bunch of different ones,some made by the same companies that make the BU941.It appears the IC is a driver/current limiter for the switching Darlington. The BU941 also has an integral protection diode from collector to emitter.
SGS and STMicro and one other company all make these parts.
To attempt to replace these parts on the thick-film substrate is iffy,as removal may also remove the solderability of the contact pads. Maybe a low-temp solder like Chip-Quik would work,I've never tried it though.Every time I experimented with replacing parts on thick-film substrates,the solder would not adhere to the metal pads for the part leads.
I would expect it to be a modified Darlington, with a separate Vcc supply for the first transistor. A straight Darlington has a .8V collector drop on the output transistor instead of .1V, since the collector voltage through the approx 0.1 V saturation drop of the first transistor still has to have the required 0.7 V base drive voltage for the second stage. The dissipation of the output transistor skyrockets if run that way, not quite in saturation, and inductance on the output (like an ignition coil!) can make it unstable since it is still in the active range.
I don't know if there is a cable between the shift lever and the transmission but it certainly feels as there is one and it needs lubrication. It is hard to move between gears and becomes harder on hot whether. So hard that some times the gears don't engage.
Does it exist and how hard it is to lubricate ? Can I see it if I remove the inside console?
Manual or automatic? Manual has rods. Automatic has a cable.
On the automatic, if the rubber bellows are split, the cable will rust and start binding in its sheath. If the cable guide is bent or missing, the cable can be hard to move.
I can post exploded drawings from the factory manual.
I's manual. I have gone to the local library, search the Internet but found no pictures that can help. Your offer to post the exploded drawings is just what I have been looking for.. Please do it and let me know where I should look for , since this isn't a binary group. I usually use the group alt.binaries.test for this type of posting
Hi, my '98 Acura driver's seat is showing some wear/cracking that will probably require more that just cleaner/conditioner - I suspect a tint/dye product to fill in the cracks before conditioning. Has anyone attempted this and if so, where would you purchase the product? We do not have a dealership within 100 miles so stopping to ask there is not an option. Thanks, Sue
Got it . It actually shows a couple of places that requires lubrication. I am going to remove the plastic console and see if I can lubricate it. Many thanks.
Well I solve my son's problem just in time he's coming home from vacation :-)
I guess it's my turn to give some information back to the group and think this is a truly a unique experience.
Why you may ask? Please read how I solved his starting problem.
First test I did was with the LED to check that the igniter was working, it check out ok.
...The rotor in his integra had a series resistor embedded in epoxy which "failed". (Open circuited) I used a DVM to verify this and I showed the rotor to several dealers none had ever seen one like it.
... The open circuit in the rotor caused the ignition coil to partially fail. (Weak Spark)
Static test:
I visual inspected the coil while it was in the car no tracking or cracks looked very good. Then tested it with DVM and the resistance measurements showed the coil to be GOOD. No shorts!
Dynamic test:
(You must be very careful if you do this test I used some High Voltage gloves for safety.)
I removed the coil from the car and wired it up to my DC power supply using a spark plug as a load on the secondary winding to ground. (Spark plug gap
0.39) Open and closed the 12v supply to the igniter coil primary. Got it no spark! reduce the gap and I got weak spark.
Now that I had the coil out of the car in the sun light I got a magnified glass to look the coil. At first everything looked ok, but I found that there was a partial breakdown deep inside the output of the secondary. This explain why I was getting the weak spark.
Finally I replaced the rotor, cap and ignition coil and his integra starts like a charm. ($155 including Ontario sales tax.)
Tegger I have some photos of this strange rotor and breakdown of the secondary winding. I do not have a nice website like yours to share with others. If you give me you email address I will send them to you and if you think the useful you might want to add them?
"J Poy" wrote in news:clUee.21069$ snipped-for-privacy@news20.bellglobal.com:
That's what makes Usenet work! You'd be surprised (or maybe not...) how many people never give updates!
So you're saying the failed rotor resistor gave the current no place to go except through the body of the coil, thus destroying it?
What do you figure wrecked the rotor's resistor?
Absolutely.
I heartily welcome anything you have to offer on this subject. You'll get attribution within the page I set up for this thing (screen name or other name of your choice).
email to tegger (at) tegger.com
Remove spaces and replace the (at) with the correct @ symbol.
Sorry for the obfuscation, but spam is not something I desire in my inbox...
After replacing the rotor, cap and coil here is what I have concluded:
As I mentioned in my earlier response, my son recently replaced his ignition wires with new blue NGK wires. I think they were working ok for about month or so then last week the car would not start.
At first I thought the cause of the failure was the new wires, as NGK advertise on their website:
"NGK cable resistance is only a fraction of that found in ordinary solid carbon core resistor cables. Ordinary solid carbon-core wires, used as original equipment on most Japanese vehicles, are not as efficient and effective".
I think that as result of overall lower resistance of these wires, the current went up the resistor in the rotor over heated and open circuited which indirectly caused the coil to fail. I am certain the age of the ignition system contributed to the failure as well.
But! When I open the NGK box I noticed he had saved the old wires. Guess what? The wires were also were ?ultra high performance type? and they were in car for at least year and half or so (when he purchased the car) without any problems. Hmm! Well let?s say the poor rotor resistor was slowly cooking.
As I see it, if you want to change your ignition wires to a high performance type you should also replaced the entire ignition system coil rotor and cap to match the new wires or it could result in a failure in your ignition coil. Also make sure you checkout that your igniter (Darlingtion Pair) can handle the new coil.
Personally I recommend staying with the original Integra wiring.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.