Scooterotica

has anyone had experience of a spark magnifier I have one[not fitted yet] but have heard it could cause stator failure so asking for advice from anyone has got one

nick b wrote:has anyone had experience of a spark magnifier I have one[not fitted yet] but have heard it could cause stator failure so asking for advice from anyone has got one

I’ve got the Kytronik spark magnifier and haven’t had any issues


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what stator do you have?

I’ve a BGM stator


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My question would be why do you(really) need one?

it is fitted and in my opinion has helped starting but also runs much more smoothly on low revs

Hello
Depends what it is.
snake oil or a fantastic new invention

I'd be suspicious

on a basic level its a small box with 2 wires that are not connected to each other
there is a small gap between them. usually 2 pins set either slightly wider or narrower than the standard plug gap. can't remember which

on a car they get fitted between the coil and the distributor cap
on a scooter i guess you stick them somewhere where they interfere with the operation of the LT coil

the idea being that once the coil (in either case, car or magneto based bike) is triggered to discharge, its magnetic field collapses but it won't be able to create a spark at the plug until a higher voltage is achieved

namely a voltage big enough to jump the gap hidden in the little box and the one at the plug.
This results in Higher voltage at the plug
but also lower current and a shorter spark duration at the plug.

to fire off compressed petrol and air mix in the cylinder you need both voltage and current. you need something upwards of 6 KV voltage to spark the plug. and current flows while the plug is sparking until the voltage reduces to a low level.

this kind of box just helps to make it 8 or 10 KV and therefore more likely to spark under good and bad conditions, but it has a detrimental effect on current flow so the spark is degraded in some cases

if you are using this with a CDI type unit then yes a bigger voltage spike might make it easier to start the scooter. The whole premise of CDI is to hit the coil with a short and massive pulse out of a capacitor, but you don't get anything for free
somewhere else in the RPM range of the ignition (not necessarily that of your engine) the lower level of current flow will have an impact if you ever run the motor at that RPM.

if it works, great..... but. its a device that is great to do demos with, at classic car shows...look at the massive spark i get from this half flat battery etc.....

but i'd be spending on a decent plug. a decent timing light and a gunson colour tune to get the idle mix right before looking for a magic box.

Yes it could cause the LT coil to fail you are giving it a much harder time. you are interfering with the natural current flow in it, as its magnetic field collapses... you stress the insulation and the mechanical properties of its laminates and copper cap.

a massive KV spark has low current and low heat energy but a very very high temperature for an exceedingly short time, can't burn anything, like the spark from a lighter flint or the clicks you hear as you pull a nylon jumper on.

A Lower KV spark has higher heat energy because it flows more current, you need the heat energy to light the petrol, it has a lower temperature, temperature isn't everything...... but sparks for a good long time, ideal for sparking off a cylinder across the RPM range you operate in most of the time

a really low KV level hasn't got enough OOOOmph to spark the plug the Voltage difference between centre of plug and strap is too low to cause a spark, but you wouldn't want to be touching the plug with your tongue or indeed anything else wet, the current will be higher but no spark no good no heat energy flowing through the petrol air mix.

hence LT coil, CDI, and plug gap are all set to work at the middle KV level to cover your 1000 -10000 rpm range or whatever its supposed to be heat energy from both voltage and current is key

dick about with it, by adding another gap, to get an improvement in one place and its not going to cover the range you expect anymore.

don't confuse this with a spark amplifier... and the manufacturer here wants you to, i'm sure....... thats a big transistor that allows you to run with no condenser on a points ignition.....its a points saver ..points switch transistor, transistor switches coil so points don't burn and no need for condenser.... They work on pre '80s points ignition cars but not on scooters.
this is not one of them


dave

Fitted one of these on one of my Gps, it run like a dog when I started it up so took it off and got a refund

The kytronic spark amplifier is a simple voltage doubler circuit, consisting of a diode and capacitor. The negative cycle of the feed coil is fed through the diode to charge the cap, the voltage stored is then added (in series) to the positive cycle of the feed coil, so doubling the voltage fed into the CDI.