Spark Tech Ignitions INFO HOTLINE!
This post is to clarify post #1 in this thread. I'll quote piece of it to bring you up to speed.
Pin #7 & #8 are the pins connecting to the Ground which goes to the negative of the Battery. These two wires connect to a single 14gauge wire going to the battery. There is no additional wire that needs to be connected by the customer. Referring to the diagram, there is a notation using "**" that refers to the note below about using shielded cable for Australian EMC compliance. That's all the note says. It does not speak of ground to pin #8 being optional.
Two ground wires are used because the terminal pins on the CDI are very small and having two allows for proper grounding. In our conversations with M&W, utilizing a single ground can cause the connector and the CDI to run at a higher temperature. Shorting it's life. Perhaps using a fuse higher than 15A as recommended may negate the effects of having just one ground wire? I think that it would be easier and safer to continue to use the two grounds and 15A fuse as recommended.
Recently one of our customers questioned us on the subject and to research himself he contacted M&W directly for his own piece of mind. He then forwarded their reply to us, here is their response.
"The Pro-12 has a very wide operating envelope and we can only provide wiring instructions which will encompass all circumstances.
By using only one terminal (are they also only using one power?) the terminal current loading is doubled. Many installers don't crimp the terminals correctly, solder them or use wire which is too large and this can distort them significantly reducing the current capacity even further.
By not using both ground (or power) terminals long term reliability is compromised. In addition if there is a large voltage spike or reverse polarity connection the internal protection circuitry could easily exceed the capacity of a single terminal.
M&W Ignitions
Ph. +61-2-9668-8481
WWW.MWIGNITIONS.COM"
If your Pro12 cdi based Ignition system does not have pin #8 grounded we suggest getting it fixed as soon as possible.
Pin #7 & #8 are the pins connecting to the Ground which goes to the negative of the Battery. These two wires connect to a single 14gauge wire going to the battery. There is no additional wire that needs to be connected by the customer. Referring to the diagram, there is a notation using "**" that refers to the note below about using shielded cable for Australian EMC compliance. That's all the note says. It does not speak of ground to pin #8 being optional.
Two ground wires are used because the terminal pins on the CDI are very small and having two allows for proper grounding. In our conversations with M&W, utilizing a single ground can cause the connector and the CDI to run at a higher temperature. Shorting it's life. Perhaps using a fuse higher than 15A as recommended may negate the effects of having just one ground wire? I think that it would be easier and safer to continue to use the two grounds and 15A fuse as recommended.
Recently one of our customers questioned us on the subject and to research himself he contacted M&W directly for his own piece of mind. He then forwarded their reply to us, here is their response.
"The Pro-12 has a very wide operating envelope and we can only provide wiring instructions which will encompass all circumstances.
By using only one terminal (are they also only using one power?) the terminal current loading is doubled. Many installers don't crimp the terminals correctly, solder them or use wire which is too large and this can distort them significantly reducing the current capacity even further.
By not using both ground (or power) terminals long term reliability is compromised. In addition if there is a large voltage spike or reverse polarity connection the internal protection circuitry could easily exceed the capacity of a single terminal.
M&W Ignitions
Ph. +61-2-9668-8481
WWW.MWIGNITIONS.COM"
If your Pro12 cdi based Ignition system does not have pin #8 grounded we suggest getting it fixed as soon as possible.
Sparktech,
Do you guys have or provide coil dwell times as a function of battery voltage and coil primary current. My buddy local wants to tune his dwell tables specific to the COP he purchased from you and I am trying to assist him in that effort.
Do you guys have or provide coil dwell times as a function of battery voltage and coil primary current. My buddy local wants to tune his dwell tables specific to the COP he purchased from you and I am trying to assist him in that effort.
