Metalbasher Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Hello all, some opinion and recommendation welcomed regards electronic ignition conversion onto a 2.0 CIH. I fitted a Lucas system back in the late 80’s with no issue, but I’m nervous now about refitting as I build the car up again, noting the unit is now some 30 years old and stored in a shed for most of that time, I’m thinking the electronic bits may have deteriorated and would prove troublesome when setting up the engine. With that in mind, I’ve been looking at the Lumenition Optronic systems, anyone with experience of these on the Opel engine I’d welcome opinion, advice or recommended alternatives. Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessopia74 Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 Lumenition system is pretty solid performer . However, why not try to get a GTE distributor and amplifier, all OEM. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalbasher Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 The distributor I have was fairly new at the point of taking the car off the road, it was also an Aldon Automotive performance unit so reluctant to change. Good point though, because I recall Aldon do their own electronic ignition which is worth looking into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessopia74 Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 7 hours ago, Metalbasher said: The distributor I have was fairly new at the point of taking the car off the road, it was also an Aldon Automotive performance unit so reluctant to change. Good point though, because I recall Aldon do their own electronic ignition which is worth looking into. I would not put to much weight on that as a performance distributor (pun intended 😀) But the GTE disi would be considered a performance advance curve anyway. Performance distributors should be tunes-d to your cars own vacuum characteristics anyway, so again I would not worry about that side of things. ‘Just a good solid electronic setup (points replacement or correct bosch distributor) will be superior to points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalbasher Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 Interesting, thanks. I think I’m going to replace the existing Lucas module, just to start with a good foundation and rule out any possible fault due to its age. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooker Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 At €779 this isn’t cheap but interesting that this brand new CIH distributor is Bluetooth tuneable https://www.123ignition.de/123-ignition-en/ignition-distributor-opel-rekord-manta-ascona-kadett-bluetooth.aspx 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessopia74 Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 3 minutes ago, Trooker said: At €779 this isn’t cheap but interesting that this brand new CIH distributor is Bluetooth tuneable https://www.123ignition.de/123-ignition-en/ignition-distributor-opel-rekord-manta-ascona-kadett-bluetooth.aspx Better spending your money on Nodiz etc than that. Remove anything mechanical 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooker Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 1 minute ago, Jessopia74 said: Better spending your money on Nodiz etc than that. Remove anything mechanical That’s what I’d have thought, was a bit surprised that there’s a market for this & they need the original shaft/gear too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
611 Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 On 13/03/2023 at 07:58, Metalbasher said: The distributor I have was fairly new at the point of taking the car off the road, it was also an Aldon Automotive performance unit so reluctant to change. Good point though, because I recall Aldon do their own electronic ignition which is worth looking into. I ran the Aldon setup ages ago on my 2.1 CIH and it was spot on, never any issues with it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cam.in.head Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 if it were me i would just try what you already have . if it used to work then theres no reason why it wont work now. then if it does actually prove faulty in time then sort it as req. most of our cars are running the original system without issue and the newest ones will be at least 35 years old ! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalbasher Posted March 19, 2023 Author Share Posted March 19, 2023 That’s a fair point, I guess there’s no harm just plugging it in to the existing connection and seeing what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalbasher Posted March 19, 2023 Author Share Posted March 19, 2023 @cam.in.head Just looking through older threads and noticed your advice about the ballast resistor wire and the coil. I ran the Lucas electronic ignition but never changed the resistance wire to normal 12v, never realised. What’s the downside to this and secondly, do I need 3ohm or 1.5 ohm coil? Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cam.in.head Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 most (if not all) electronic ignitions use a 12 v supply. the original resistance wire idea was a good one as it gave a stronger spark whilst cranking but 12v electronic systems give a stronger spark anyway so dont benefit from a boost. your other system may well have been perfectly happy with a lower supply voltage and if all the components including the engine were spot on then there probably never was any issues the old non electronic coils would have a resistance approx 1.2-1.6 ohm and the electronic ign 12v ones 0.6-0.9 ohms. you may get slight differences due to different test meters ! thats using the standard oem units (see spec in haynes book) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalbasher Posted March 20, 2023 Author Share Posted March 20, 2023 Thanks, that’s useful. The car ran ok but maybe could have run better if the system was set-up correctly, bit of an unknown I guess. To summarise then, assuming I’m starting afresh with electronic ignition, I dispense with the OEM resistance wire and replace with 12v supply and fit a new coil which is also 12v. The system then becomes one with unballasted coil. Is that correct 🤨 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cam.in.head Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 yes thats correct. be nice to find the spec sheet / wirng diagram for the set ip you are using. mine all run the standard oem bosch systems with the correct distributors /coils etc for the engine, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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