Intelligent vs Dumb Ignitors

[takai]

So, after having the first CA18 ignitor fail it has come to my attention that the Bosch ignitor which i was using was most likely an intelligent ignitor (i.e. one capable of controlling dwell times), wheras the CA18 probably isnt. Hence the ignitor dying due to the Haltech being set to Constant Duty, rather than Constant Charge.

Now, what i was wondering was whether there is any easy way to confirm this? I.e. can one tell the difference between an ignitor with dwell control and one without.
One way i was thinking of, is if you set the ECU to control dwell, and if the ignitor is already doing dwell control will it not work. If that is the case then that woudl be the easiest method. Sadly im not near the car atm (grr work) so i cant test it.

Ideas?

[JustCallMeOrlando]

Easiest way would be to look at the model number for the igniter. You said it was a Bosch one, the 008's were intelligent, whereas the 124's (?) were pretty much their dumb equivalent.

The CA18 one, if like any of the other Nissan stuff from the same era will definetly be dumb. 4 inputs, and 4 outputs with the power/earth etc. as well.

[takai]

Yeah, it is a dumb one.
The other thing im interested in with the CA18 ignitor is that it doesnt actually have any external power source except from the ECU signal. That goes against everything which i have seen for other ignitors.
I was using the 008 btw.

So that is solved for me, but im still interested in ways of telling the differences.

[JustCallMeOrlando]

Is the CA one like a 4-channel version of the RB ones, or is it different again?

[takai]

I think its a 4 channel version of the RB one. Squareish metal casing, ribbed on top. Rather than the SR style of plastic casing.

[CrUZida]

CA Ignitor

EDIT: Used on the CA16DE, CA18DE and strangely enough, they use a pair on the VH45DE

[The Witzl]

I thought those nissan dumb ignitors were just earth switching Darlington transistor arrays...

[takai]

CA Ignitor

EDIT: Used on the CA16DE, CA18DE and strangely enough, they use a pair on the VH45DE

Thats the one, runs the SR coils nicely.

[The Witzl]

Hmm... thanks for that, i'll be pinching one of these for the 18RGTE project in the future

[takai]

Yeah, they run quite well and are cheap to boot. Got my replacement for $50

[takai]

Would i be right in thinking that holding an ignitor in dwell mode (i.e. on a falling edge triggered ignitor holding ground after the dwell begin signal) would cause it to fail?

[Sam_Q]

are magna ignitors dwell controlled?

[BeRad]

another way is to let it run for a few mins if it gets farking hot its opposite to what you had it set to not the best way to test but usualy fool proof

[mrshin]

The Nissan igniters ARE basically just a few transistors in a case. One other problem you can have with them is if your ECU does a 'test' mode, or for some other reason tries to switch on all the coils at once, then the contact inside is not heavy enough to sink the current of all coils combined, and will fry. Common problem with RB's.

[takai]

The Nissan igniters ARE basically just a few transistors in a case. One other problem you can have with them is if your ECU does a 'test' mode, or for some other reason tries to switch on all the coils at once, then the contact inside is not heavy enough to sink the current of all coils combined, and will fry. Common problem with RB's.

Haltechs do this, you end up with fried ignitors.