after alot of fussing trial and error working with an experienced pilot I suspect my igntion on my 3w run amuck and likely needs a new one..I was not prepared for the cost of replacing one at 179 bucks..I gather a CH is not compatible (be kind a newbie) and checked the ground and nothing passed thru my finger lol..its got no spark period..I have two left thumbs when it comes to repairs so I was going to either send it out for repair and get it right or purchase a new igntion with the sensor and module..

frankly I would really appreciate everyones two cents and give me some good advice how to go about making this run..

My w3 ignition (for a 4 year old 3W 100) was giving me intermittent failure. This was happening after long flights - about 15 minutes into a flight. I bought a DA ignition, just to try something different. It works fine. Also very expensive (in the same ballpark as the 3W ignition). Dave at DA says the 3W and DA ignitions are of similar electrical design, but with minor changes to packaging and cooling. I think I had to change a connector between the DA ignition and the 3W sensor. I did not buy a new sensor, just the ignition module itself. So I am now using a DA ignition module with a 3W sensor. Everything has been working fine for a few months now. Actually today my 3W was running bad, but I don't have any reason to blame the ignition.

When you bench test an ignition, make sure the plugs are plugged in tightly to the ignition caps. And you must swing the prop pretty quickly for the sensor to trigger. Some ignitions will "trigger" using a hall effect transistor which will trigger at very low rpm'.s The sensor that DA and 3W use are not hall effect, but rather a coil technology. It takes a pretty good swing to trigger them. Once I thought I had a bad ignition, when it was merely a weak swing of the prop. the spark plugs do not have to be grounded to the case of the engine (like your lawnmower) because the circuit is completed through the metal shield around the outside of the ignition wires.

CH has a special unit for 3-W engines
Give us a call 307 857 6897

thanks to both of you..I actually had a starter spinning the engine and no result..even though I am realizing electronic igntions are not cheap let me state I very much want this engine..theres not a lot to go wrong and my flying buddies have several and it is a very powerful engine..I will call incidentally when I can..sunday here in ny and what an absolute goregous day..soooooooooo heading to the field for a long day of flying..gee a hard job but somebody has to do it right?? the leaves can wait!!

The CH ignition is absolutely superb. Independant testing in a lab (on a 3w-100) has shown it to be one of the two best on the market. The 3W unit was not the other one. You should look into it.

For the benefit of us other igniton people, what were the parameters ?

tkg - I did not know that C&H had a 3w ignition unit. I just went to your web site and there is very little mention of it (it just says "call for info"). Can you tell us more here in this forum (like is it easy to install and how much does it cost, battery requirements, etc.) or is it under wraps?

rcign1 - likewise I have seen your posts here on RCU and can tell that you are very experienced with ignitions but I'm not certain of your business. I also just went to your web site and it does not talk much about products, and I did not see any mention of a product for an existing 3W owner. I love your lifetime warranty of course.

I think many of us 3W owners feel a little "held hostage" when our ignition units go bad and its good to know there are alternatives.

I would really like to see one of the ignition manufacturers produce a product with at least a 5 year warranty. I think DA and 3W are 2 years? Even if they have to increase the weight a few ounces to improve the reliability, it would be worth it. As often as these ignition failures occur, I suspect if I look really close it will say: "Joe Lucas" in small print.

Only 5 years ? A mere pittance...I guess RC Ignition doesn't count as a "manufacturer" Only been doing it for 18 years now..the circuit has been exactly the same all that time, no "improvements" needed...
NO ONE has EVER paid me to repair or replace a circuit....
The guarantee has always been LIFETIME, crash damage included...
I have had a problem for a few months now, some were going bad...I replaced these with C&H circuits, same guarantee...
The problem was traced to a replacement SCR that was supposed to be an exact replacement for a Motorola 2N6241...It was not..The correct part is an NTE5416...They will be ordered tomorrow and all the T106 SCRs will be in the circular file....
Anyone want a few hundred T106 SCRs ? Yours for the postage

OK tkg, and silversurfer.

How about some more information?

The CH conversion is a complete setup. An ignition with Syncro Spark , 10mm billet cap and a CH compatible sensor. Should an OOPS happen the CH unit is repairable.
We are in the middle of trying to keep up with repairs and new units and our web site is a little[:@] out of date

I should say here that C&H has probably made at least 20 times as many ignitions as I have, probably way more than that....
My lifetime guarantee of the C&H circuit shows my confidence in the product...
Most of my ignitions are inside the engine mount..I can't and won't try to compete with their ignitions in a box, can't be done...

Ralph,

I'm "prevented" from giving a full parameter breakdown of the testing, or by whom the testing was performed, but heat and duration were part of it. DA was the other one.

If mine was part of the test, I would be interested to know what failed, under what conditions...My ignitions are inside the mount of the engine...Up until the failure of the SCRs that I found out about, (and am dealing with) heat was never an issue, and at 180MA current draw my duration has to be longer than anything else out there

Ralph,

Yours was not among those tested to my knowledge. Send me a pm with a phone number and I'll provide mine at the same time. I apologise for the lack of candor, but rules and regs prohibit further discussion. I'm sure you have TKG's number. He may not be under the same restrictions that I am.

Lets just say the testers went through our instructions and did everything we said not to[:-], the temps and duration were to the extream