Electronic Ignition

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Mtns2Skies

Final Approach
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Mtns2Skies
So I bought two new mags so that I could have a set of spares, well it turns out the mags that were on my plane are not serviceable... so rather than buying 'another' set of 2 mags to have as a spare I'm contemplating installing EI and then pulling that mag to have as a spare for the remaining mag.

I've been hearing quite a few issues with both Surefly and ElectroAir E-mag set-ups. Does anyone have a recommendation or should I just stick with ye-olde mechanical systems? Engine is an O-470.
 
As a guy with EI and FI on my exp Cub engine? I have no interest in adding an FAA approved version of EI to my carbureted 180 engine.
 
Stewartb said:
As a guy with EI and FI on my exp Cub engine? I have no interest in adding an FAA approved version of EI to my carbureted 180 engine.
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Why's that? No significant improvement over a mag?
 
Mtns2Skies said:
So I bought two new mags so that I could have a set of spares, well it turns out the mags that were on my plane are not serviceable... so rather than buying 'another' set of 2 mags to have as a spare I'm contemplating installing EI and then pulling that mag to have as a spare for the remaining mag.
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Not serviceable? Are they beyond economical repair, or just the ancient throwaway Slicks?
 
Aircraft Magneto Service can upgrade a 6200 to the equivalent of the current

6300 series I believe.

400/600/ 4001 are scrap IIRC.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
Why's that? No significant improvement over a mag?
Click to expand...

EI doesn’t offer much of any advantage for a low compression carbureted engine, particularly when the FAA limits you to one electronic mag and one conventional mag. In a FI engine that can run WAY lean of peak? It starts to make sense. My EI has 34° of advance. With the flip of a panel switch I can shift the curve to 39° or can customize the curve on a computer and upload to the mags. None would do anything for my carbureted engine. The best feature of EI in my Cub is hot starting, which isn’t a problem. It was never a problem for a carb.
 
The O-360 in my RV-8 has one mag and one electronic ignition (Light Speed Engineering Plasma II). It burns one gallon per hour less than book numbers, fires up on the first or second blade, and on the ignition check at runup there is almost no change when running on the EI alone. Plus the EI uses automotive spark plugs. Instead of beingbmounted directly to the engine, the electronic box is mounted inside the forward baggage compartment, removing it from vibration and much of the heat. It also only needs 8.5 volts to start up, and 5 volts to continue operating, so if the alternator fails, the EI will be functional for more than long enough to divert.
 
FYI< EA has approval do replace both mags, but requires a back up battery
 
Mtns2Skies said:
I've been hearing quite a few issues with both Surefly and ElectroAir E-mag set-ups. Does anyone have a recommendation or should I just stick with ye-olde mechanical systems? Engine is an O-470.
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What issues have you heard about? The two I've read about are 1) Battery drain and 2) Backfires doing a mag check. Everything else I attributed to poor installations.

I spoke with the Surefly people today and they indicated that the battery drain is on the order of 0.001MA. So your battery drains 1Amp-Hour a month if the airplane isn't flown. I don't see that as a problem for me. Regarding backfires, they related that the early versions had a 0.1 second boot time so when you did a mag check, you had a .1 second timeframe where there was no spark and that could create a backfire. With the current models, that boot time has been reduced 100 fold and the backfire issue is gone.
 
kyleb said:
What issues have you heard about? The two I've read about are 1) Battery drain and 2) Backfires doing a mag check. Everything else I attributed to poor installations.

I spoke with the Surefly people today and they indicated that the battery drain is on the order of 0.001MA. So your battery drains 1Amp-Hour a month if the airplane isn't flown. I don't see that as a problem for me. Regarding backfires, they related that the early versions had a 0.1 second boot time so when you did a mag check, you had a .1 second timeframe where there was no spark and that could create a backfire. With the current models, that boot time has been reduced 100 fold and the backfire issue is gone.
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The backfire is mainly attributed to rotary mag switches. As you flip from "Both" to "Right" (if the EIS is on the right mag position), the key momentarily transitions through "Left" which briefly shuts off the EIS. When the key finally ends up at "Right", the EIS computer needs a couple revolutions to reboot and those strokes that went without ignition cause the backfire.

SureFly sped up their boot up time to alleviate the issue. ElectroAir simply recommends replacing the rotary mag switch with toggle switches. Just make sure you flip the toggle switches one at a time rather than doing the 2-finger trick.
 
Magman said:
Aircraft Magneto Service can upgrade a 6200 to the equivalent of the current

6300 series I believe.
Click to expand...
Not anymore, I guess Champion is working hard to obsolete the 6200's and I couldn't find anyone that would work on them.
 
So I'm due for an ignition harness upgrade anyway, and well it turns out the Surefly is cheaper than buying another new mag, let alone two. So I'll be buying a Surefly and pulling off my near-new Mag to have as a spare, but I won't be able to do the advanced timing because I run mogas/Swift 94 regularly.
 
On one engine we’ve had two failures within 30 hours. Can’t say we’ve ever had one make 500 hours without failure. They looked promising, but it’s a hard no for me on my personal bird.
 
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