TheHaflinger.com

Has anyone put electronic ignition on their Haffie? If so what have you got and how does it go?

Also - while I appreciate Haffies come with a mechanical governor is there an electronic ignition system that has a rev limiting function.

Cheers

Garry

Hi Garry - I've stayed with points but I did fit this electronic rev-limiter off of e-bay - although for a 4-cylinder it works well for a twin too cutting in softly at 48-50mph in top gear.

I'm following your engine rebuild thread with interest - it sounds expensive, but it'll be worth it knowing that it's been done right.

Cheers,

John


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AccuSpark-Sof ... 990wt_1222

Thanks for that John - I might look at getting one. Yes - is expensive as even though I only needed one new custom piston, I was concerned about issues in the original build so went for refurbished heads, new modifed barrels and pistons.

In top gear my haffie will easily pull 5500rpm and 55mph but the rest of the engine is just not up to it. I will use the great torque for hills but want to restrict revs to about 4800 max and your ebay item seems it might be the go to manage that.

cheers

Garry

Expedition Imports sells a Pertronix unit...

http://www.expedition-imports.com/produ ... nitor.html

Points are crap! I have installed at least 5 Haflinger Pertronix units and they work great(all 3 distributor types) I usually use a timing light to re set timing after measuring and scribing or painting a mark at 7MM before TDC.
Mine has been trouble free for the last 2 yrs, unit has 3 yr warranty . Idle and acceleration quality is greatly improved
Scrap the gov,(use your ears or a tach), it takes 1/2-1hp from engine and engine can sustain 6000-6500rpm with your build if you are using the #3 or #5 cam.
The #2 cam will limit your power output.
Go to Puch500.at site and look at tech notes on camshafts and connecting rods for explanations of improvements in production types

Thanks Mike - Jim.

The Pertronix unit seems the way to go. I no longer have the gov on my engine so looking at rev limiters.

I have no idea why the original builder went for a no2 cam as being a 73 series 2 it should have the later cam. I did get the remains of a much older engine when I bought my Haffie so maybe there was an issue with the original cam. The builder seems to know what they were doing so maybe they had the cam shaft relobed because the engine certainly has the revs and power.

It did have a modifed Fiat 123 Electronic ignition fitted but I do not trust it and went back to a points distributor to get the engine running correctly. That is the issue of buying a modified vehicle where you do not get the full specs of what has been done - it is hard to determine what has or has not been done and why it was done. So far I have changed the carby, exhaust and ignition back to normal and it runs better as a result.

Thanks for the link to the puch500.at but I find that site extremely difficult to navigate around mainly due to poor language translation software. I can find information on conrods and crankshaft but not cams.

Thanks for all information - great stuff.

Cheers

Garry

cascade.king wrote:Expedition Imports sells a Pertronix unit...

http://www.expedition-imports.com/produ ... nitor.html

Does anyone else sell the Petronix ignition system - Expedition Imports obviously has so much business that they do not need my business - they do not respond to either direct emails or through their contact page.

So looking for someone else.

Thanks

Garry

Strange - I bought one from Expedition Imports a few months ago (yet to be fitted) and they shipped that to an address within the US by return.

I have tried to contact them 5 times over the past year and I only got one response which was on a different issue and that was back in March.

just a comment , I have not had problems setting up the original governer .
but I have only set it to factory specifications

kerry

Hi Kerry - my engine does not have a governor and will easily over rev. Since John mentioned the electronic rev limiter above I have had it saved in my ebay watch list since it was posted and will get it a little later.

I would like the Pertronix electronic ignition as it will save mucking around with points - just one less thing to play around with. When I had the 123 Ignition system previously is was great from a tuning perspective - just put the engine to TDC and rotate the dizzy until the light on top came on and that was it - unfortunately the maps were different to the Haffie ignition map and caused issues at higher revs.

Garry

ok , sorry . i did not read your comment correctly .
kerry

No worries - nothing to be sorry about - when I put the electronic governor on I will set it up to start cutting in as the mechanical one did.

However with the way my engine is running at the moment I wont need any sort of governor as it will not rev that high.

Cheers

Garry

Garry,
I would not give up on Expedition Imports just yet. This year has been one of great challenge for this family owned and operated business. Multiple major health issues, an expansion followed by an entire move of their inventory and earthquake damage to the new facility just prior to the move would have brought lesser committed people to simply throw in the towel. This major complete relocation has been going on for several weeks and is just now winding down. If you are still interested in a Pertronix for your Haflinger, I would give Scott a try again around mid December...and wish him a happy 40th birthday.
Take care.

Jim Molloy
Waldersee Farm
http://www.northwestmogfest.com

At least with a point setup you stand a chance of getting the engine running again even if it conks out at the side of the road / out in the bush..... How easy would it be to fix an electronic ignition system?

Yes I know, they are more reliable, but that doesn't mean they don't go wrong!

Personally, I think the electronic assisted systems which keep the points but only uses them as a switch are the best of the compromises. They give a good spark even if the points are not making very good contact, but you can always disconnect them and go back to the points proper if required.

One of the things on Lurch's shopping list if the money doesn't get spent on more urgent things!

John

John . a very interesting look at it .
I had not thought about it till now

kerry

Thanks Jim but the company's lack of response to contact has been going on for some time. However I will send another message and see what happens.

heinkeljb wrote:At least with a point setup you stand a chance of getting the engine running again even if it conks out at the side of the road / out in the bush..... How easy would it be to fix an electronic ignition system?

Yes I know, they are more reliable, but that doesn't mean they don't go wrong!

You carry your old points in your spares box - too easy. Though I have never has an issue with electronic ignition.

Being able to put points back in place depends on the type of electronic ignition you buy, doesn't it? If you buy one that replaces the the centrifugal weights, then you won't be able to just put points back in.

You could of course, carry a whole new distributor which would get round the problem all together irrespective of whether you had electronic or points ignition! Just more stuff to carry in the spares box.

I don't think there is a definitive answer to this as there will always be pros and cons to be debated over. Basically you could end up carrying another complete Haflinger as spares if you were not careful about what you put in your everyday spares box!

John

Certainly if you replace the entire system then yes but as far as I am aware the only alternative system for the Haffie is the Pertronix where points could be put back in.

My original Fiat 500 123 system was a Frankenstein system comprising bits from various systems so yes if it broke you would be stuffed.

Garry

I spoke with a company called H&H at the recent Classic Car Show at the NEC (I had a stand there), and not only had they heard of a Haflinger, they has already done an electronic ignition for one.

www.h-h-ignitionsolutions.co.uk

May be worth dropping them a line if looking for a system.