ARVENO
Cruisin' Guzzisti
Morizzi said:I'm personally not paranoid about this at all. I use 3 ohm coils because that is what they came with. Funnily the small blocks came with 5 ohm despite it being written they need more spark. :lol: If you have ever tested an OEM coil you will have found them at about 3.4 ohms and a 5k ohm plug cap at around the 4.85 mark! So much for precision.
The thing that amuses me about this thread and the same one on Wild Guzzi is the contradictory statements that are made that no one seems to pick up. Either the posters that do understand don't read it or don't care. Either way I just find it amusing.
If you look above there is a statement Points ignition 5 ohms, electronic ignition 3 ohms. This is contrary to the fact that the points dwell can control the time of current flow. It should, if logic flows, be the reverse.
I really see this as a storm in a tea cup. Semantics at its best that if you take it into context of all the threads that have been written over ensuring a full 12V at the coils to ensure a good spark then it is again contradictory. They even go on to advocate the use of a relay and a direct feed on the ignition circuit to ensure the full amount of zap. :lol: Instead of a ballast resistor just use the OEM ignition circuit to feed the coils. :lol:
If you are so concerned about heat in the coils with electronic ignition why don't you just wire them in series and drop the resistance in the HT lead? That would give you 6 ohms instead of 5 and you can drop the 5k ohms in the HT circuit to a 1K plug cap or simply use silicone leads that have a listed ohms/m?
Ballast resistors don't last forever. They are another item that can fail. Luckily as long as you can diagnose the problem they can be bypassed to get you home. If you dare! :lol:
When I was in the army I had to be a parachutist. The motto of The Parachute School is "Knowledge Dispels Fear." In this case it should be "Holistic understanding dispels paranoia." :lol:
The GT40T is designed to run cooler. It is cheap at around $60 or $120 for the pair and far less than the $400 quoted above. I can buy 3 pairs and still have change! My last set of 3 ohm coils lasted 31 years! How old are you and how long do you expect to live? Just do the maths.
I do enjoy a good techie discussion. It stimulates my brain to think thing through and drag out old memories that I haven't used in a long time. Thank you. Look at the big picture though.
Rod
I stand correct , points 5 ohms electr. iggy 3 .
if you run 3 ohms coil on points the coil will get really hot and can burn out.
with elec. iggy does not really matter, they will work fine with both !
this is what i learned in years of wrenching on harleys ( pre 84 ) i don't thing guzzis are different besides that HDs use one coil for two spark plugs.
btw been in the " paracaditisti " 3 years , and done something like 80 jumps as a "civil " but that's another story...here...we are not trying to show who's got more brain or balls... just talking about MOTORCYCLES .