MarkD

Do the modern electronic ignitions generate much heat? My installation will force me to put the ignition behind the firewall. I had thought to completely wrap it in foam just like a battery would be.

Could this cause it to overheat? Most of the installations I've seen on the net have had the ignition in the engine bay and exposed to airflow.


Thanks,


Mark D

Big_Bird

My Feedback: (1)

No, they don't generate much heat. Their total power consumption is probably not over 3 watts at 4.8 volts.

Ken

DMcQuinn

My Feedback: (13)

I have one (a 3W blue-dot twin) for my 100 B2 engine that fails intermittently after about 15 minutes of use. It is about 4 years old. I have always suspected it is heat-related, since it will work well for 15 minutes, and then quit. It could be the heat from the engine that gets to the unit (it is mounted on top of the motor box), or it could be the internally generated heat. It could also be the heat at the spark plugs causing the connection there to go bad. I was never able to "solve" it, so bought a new one and am keeping the old one as a backup. Mine draws about 400 mA at full throttle, so this equates to 2 watts (0.4 Amps * 4.8 Volts = 1.92 Watts). It is hard to imagine that 2 watts of energy would cause this to heat up. I suspect the externally generated heat (from the motor) causes the problem.

MarkD

Many thanks for the input.

Since mine will be isolated by the firewall it should run even cooler than one in the bay.

My ZDZ 60 will get it's very first run on the bench tomorrow, just long enough to let it idle for a few minutes and then chech ( bad pun, I know) the high end.

Mark D