Which coil to use with the 123ignition unit?
Which ignition coil is best to use with your 123ignition strongly depends on which engine you have:
- With a Citroen 2cv: DO NOT use other ignition coils than the standard (black) ignition coil. The manufacturer recommends that you immediately purchase a new black 2CV ignition coil and new silicone ignition cables with your new 123ignition. The brown VISA coil will damage your 123ignition due to the very low primary resistance.
- With the 2 cylinder DAF or FIAT engines you can continue to use the used ignition coil or another coil with approximately 3 Ohm primary resistance. We recommend the 123 Blue Coil. With 4 cylinder engines you can use the original coil or another coil with a primary resistance of at least 1.0 Ohm. For normally used cars we advise you to use the 123 Blue Coil. It may be better to use a 123 Red Coil for a rally car or other application where high revs are often driven. However, this last coil cannot be used if you want to drive with contact points.
- For 6-cylinder engines, we recommend that you replace your ignition coil with a so-called 'high performance' ignition coil because of the short charging time at higher speeds. Make sure that the ignition coil has a primary resistance of at least 1.0 Ohm (or more). We recommend using a 123 Red Coil.
- With 8 cylinder engines, we also recommend that you use a 'high performance' ignition coil in connection with the short charging time at the higher speeds. With an 8 cylinder it is important that the ignition coil has a primary resistance of at least 0.6 Ohm (or more). We recommend that you use a special ignition coil for the V8.
The manufacturer has pointed out to us that there are many complaints about fake "Lucas Sport" or "Lucas gold" ignition coils, so we do not recommend using them.
FAQs From Same Category
It is always possible to use your original HT-leads for the original look. Even when your engine has solid copper core cables it would work with a 123ignition. For the best performance we advise "carbon tension leads". These cables have a little resistance and very good isolation. Of course you can buy these leads at 123igntionshop.com. See here which sets we sell.
In some cases a very unstable boardnet voltage can cause misfires. The 123ignition is protected against high voltage peaks and goes in protection mode for a split second when a spike is detected. Most of the time this error occurs when the car battery is charged full again and the voltage regulator starts to work. This problem can be caused by a broken alternator / dynamo or bad voltage regulator. Unfortunately this is impossible to measure with just a standard voltage meter because we talk about high voltage spikes of micro seconds. You could easily test this to drive a while without working alternator / dynamo. Use a fully charged car battery and make sure no other important systems are driven by the dynamo belt, like the coolant pump!!!
The car battery has to put enough energy into the coil for a powerful spark. In the higher rpm range the time to do this is very short, so all conditions have to be perfect for good performance. Make sure you are using the right coil for your engine, see: "What kind of coil do you recommend?" Resistance somewhere in the primary circuit can cause a lot of ignition problems as well, think about the following: - Coil and ignition wiring: Use good connectors and cables of good quality - Ignition key: Make sure the dashboard ignition key is in good condition ( test to power the ignition/coil direct from the battery ) - Ground connection of the distributor: Make sure the distributor makes a good electrical connection with the engine.
Always use the spark plugs for your engine specified by the manufacturer of the car!