ignition reserve

[vinandrew]

Hi everyone, I have a 67 Riviera with stock 430, it has a Lectric breakerless electronic ignition. I recently had it up to the garage and on the dyno trying to resolve some issues. One that was not able to be resolved was the lack of ignition reserve. It is going along very nicely at the moment but keen to understand what might cause that issue. Thanks in advance.

 

[firstofeight]

OKAY! What is "ignition reserve"?

Ben

 

[Bob]

I have never heard the term either. I did a quick search and found one explanation or definition:

Ignition Reserve (Published 1970)

www.nytimes.com

ignition reserve

Encyclopedia article about ignition reserve by The Free Dictionary

encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com

Anyway, it sounds like a misfire. It could be caused by a multitude of things. It could be a week coil, try another one. It could be cross firing due to old wires, or poorly installed. A basic ignition tune up could be in order.

Perhaps describe you symptoms with as much detail as possible.

 

[LARRY70GS]

Ignition reserve is simply the amount of voltage in excess of what it takes to jump the gap across a spark plug. Any ignition in good shape, and in spec has plenty of ignition reserve. Lots of things impact how much voltage is required at the plug to fire. Cylinder pressure, gap size, plug fouling, coil condition, plug wire resistance, dwell time, the list goes on.

Vinanddrew, your description of lack of ignition reserve is overly vague in describing the problem. The Lectric ltd points replacement is among the best out there. If your install connections are good, I'd be looking at all the other parts of your ignition system.

 

[vinandrew]

Thanks for replies. Yes the ignition reserve was explained as the amount of of ignition available from the coil to the plugs. The motor is running after the tune. I did think that a higher performance coil might help. Plugs and gaps are all ok and so to the cylinder pressure, I might try so new leads.