Thread: Ignition Amplifier Module 3.9 V8 (Remote Type)

Originally Posted by cockie55

bee utey love your work....but

....sorry but I still have questions about your replacement ignition amplifier advice for 3.9 LR's with remote amp modules……..but in saying that please forgive me because you probably have forgotten more about ignitions systems than I will ever know. Unfortunately to compound things I also have an overarching EFI ignition system ECU compatibility fetish.

It seems to me the Bosch BIM024 amp you are suggesting as the bees knees for all D1 3.5 and 3.9’s EFI's (and to the extent one must also change the coil to suit) is a Bosch amp that was first fitted to carby vehicles and produced up to 15 years before the changeover D1 appeared. Senor Lucas had some probs but surely he was not this retarded??????

I note your point about cost savings but the difference in price between a Bosch BIM024 amp and a “plug and play”Tridon Model# TIM044 amp is a pidly $25 at Bursons/SuperCrap etc. Installing the Bosch BIM024 then requires butchering both dizzy and coil looms using new home made connectors (when we all know the heart of an ignition system is connection integrity) then add the coil change you are suggesting ...even if it from a $5 wrecker it will be an improvement??


However bee utey is your advice a case of not the LR amp being a dud but the LR EFI coil being so much a dud (by the way I can't find a car that has same Bosch coil as a 3.9 LR) to the extent you need to change the coil and that then brings the need for a different and compatible amp and the only one left standing is Bosch BIM024 ancient as it is???

If that is your advice I was unaware 3.9 D1 LR coils were so bad?

OK I will tell you where I am coming from. I am a mainly self taught person with an engineering education. I discovered the BIM024 conversion idea many years before I did the first Land Rover conversion. So the first Disco I did was in 1998 or so. Now I have done around 30 of these conversions as part of my LPG conversion work. None of them have come back to me with running problems either on petrol or gas. So my recommendation is based on "it works" rather than "the book says it's right/wrong".

As far as the coil or the amp failure, I have seen both happen with monotonous regularity. So I replace both at the same time just to make sure. There is no good reason why a $5 second hand coil should run better than a LR original, but it does work! I could recommend a new MEI/HEI transformer coil instead, but I have seen a few of them fail too. To take the Camira coil as an example, it is rare for a Camira engine to outlast its electrics. The coil is mounted away from the engine and has a simple-to-use heat sink supplied with it.

With regards to "butchered plugs", fitting quality crimp connectors with a proper ratchet crimper is considered good practice. I am well aware of the failure of badly made connections making trouble. If I made poor connections every day in the course of my work would I still be getting work? I think not. Neutral cure Silicone sealant is electrically insulating and quite free of corrosion problems with metal terminals. Proper application of Silicone sealant will mechanically hold a connection as well as protect it. Sure, I could purchase ready made connectors and fit them to every conversion, but I choose not to. That is for someone else to do, if they like my idea enough.

The Bosch BIM024 conversion is dirt cheap when you consider the cost of acquiring high reliability second hand parts for stuff all. I leave it to other people with a love of spending on technology to build sexier conversions. BTW the respected "Scorcher" distributor conversion is almost exactly what I build, without changing the rotating parts. My experience is that they aren't generally a problem. The "Scorcher" BIM024 module connections are not waterproof, they live happily under a tin cover on the side of the dissy.

As far as questioning famous Lucas technology, the D1 must be virtually the last car on the planet to run bob weights in the distributor to adjust the timing. Running obsolete technology is a hallmark of British design, and one reason for their manufacturing demise. Their contactless distributor design came out around 1985 when Bosch had been using similar technology since around 1975, and Chrysler in 1973. Do correct me if I'm wrong.

I am in no way upset by comments about my ignition conversions, I am confident that they are sound. If you built a well engineered kit based on the ideas I have presented I would be delighted.

The Scorcher reman' australian bosch dizzy etc is the one I have - from Performance Igitions. If you are going to have your beloved D1 for the long haul and are just getting sick of chasing spark problems, especially running LPG where spark dysfunction spells backfire and blown air boxes, its well worth the dosh.

Cheers