I went to charge my igniton pack (Li Ion) and forgot to disconnect it from the igniton (DA)..I realized after about 3 minutes...Is there anyway besides starting the engine to tell if I damaged it? The switch was in the off position if that matters[]

Under no conditions should you remove the spark plug from the engine to see if it test fires. Once again, DO NOT DO THIS!! If the plug is not grounded to the engine in some manner, you will kill the ignition for certain.

In all likelyhood, everything is fine, but a test running will confirm everything. You can also use a voltmeter to check for current through the pins. But that won't tell you anything about the sensor.

You should be able to charge the li-on through the switch without disconnecting from the ignition. That's one of the nice things about a DSC switch.

I don't know whose ignition your're talking about...Doesn't hurt mine, I do it all the time..You CAN'T kill an RC Igniton circuit by taking out the spark plug and spinning the engine to check the spark..You might kill the sensor... Only thing that WILL kill it is connecting the battery backwards, then it just kills a small diode, not the whole circuit...costs about a buck to replace it...
The spark will jump to the closest ground, usually the point where the plug wire exits the coil itself...

A DA or 3W will spark inside the shielded cap, The ground is the shield on the wire..Won't kill those either....
It Will kill an early Pro Spark, don't know if they ever fixed that problem...
An ungrounded ignition will sometimes go through the hall sensor, so C&H puts a separate ground wire at the sensor...
If the switch was off no current was going to the ignition anyway.....

Ralph,

Its a DA igniton..Im using Fromeco regs and the switch was off and I was charging thru the charging lead..

Thanks

actually, hooking up a da ignition backwards doesn't kill it, the engine just runs like crap. a friend of mine knows that for sure. as for removing the plug, i've never heard of problems, and it is a foolproof way to test for a spark without starting the engine.

As a smart friend of mine named James recognized recently, it's really easy to keep a spare plug handy for testing the ignition.

Unless you have reason to believe the plug is fouled, put the spark lead on your spare, and just hold against the case - or whatever you'd normally do with the plug that you did not remove.

I hooked a voltmeter up to the igniton lead and plugged the pack into the charger and the reading was 0.0 because like RCIGN1 said the switch was off..I turned the switch on and I got a reading of 5.2 which is what my regulator is set to!! So even if there was current into the igniton it was only 5.2!!!!

If your switch was off and you charged your pack, then everything is OK

Thanks guys!! Was having a slight heart-attack there for a minute![8D]

Most switches only leave the ground connected when in the off position... some don't even do that. I always charge my Fromeco LiIons (SuperReliaReg) while they are connected to the reg which is plugged into the RX. I also charge my ignition batteries while they are connected to the switch (installed in the plane) which is connected to the ignition. Never had a problem. I usually top off my NiCd or NiMh ignition battery in between flgihts (every two) so I never have to wait very long for anything to charge!!!

FWIW... the ignition instructions for my ZDZ-80 TELL you to watch for the spark on the plug when setting up the ignition timing. Seems to be OK to me!