The past several years of following all the banter pros and cons about modern Electronic ignitions,E timers,Trueflamers, etc. I never saw anything about the circuit board/electronic Master Vibrators once available but not heavily marketed ...I still have 2 and ran one on 2 different cars a few years back with great success of 5,000 to 6,000 miles as practical in the field tester for the designer builder but lost touch. I'm scrounging around to find his info..Anybody remember these units or the builder?
The circuit board is about 2" X 3-1/4" X one inch thick..Its placed inline from you battery source or mag(or both with key switch over and a ground.Runs on 5-28 volts ac/dc and has a clicker to simulate coils clacking!
You short-jump the coil points out and all coils fire exactly the same every time. This isn't a debate on the subject(but might end up being so) as I always ran full coil.mag/battery. But it was sure a nifty unit that is installed and removed in minutes. Coil point jumping was the only time taker and you don't even need the points on the coils.And would get a car running very smooth on coils till you got around to setting them up on tester or sending them out and not using the car ,as a emergency repair or set and for get.
He has one on ebay every now and then. KB
Does anyone know how to get a hold of Craig Merz? His phone number and e-mail address don't work.
AH! Yes That is the Guy Craig Merz!
And just by chance I found his address yesterday on the old box he sent the parts in several years back.
Maybe I can track him down on the net!
They are on ebay right now. I found them last night. Search in ebay motors. Any of you know how well they work? PK
I just did a search and no luck. I am probably not asking correctly
Here is a link :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Model-T-TT-Ford-Master-Ignition-Vibrator-for-1909-1927-M odel-Ts-with-4-Coils-/121157294320?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=i tem1c358998f0&vxp=mtr
Be_Zero_Be
I saw a recent past auction last night and was surprised the a new complete unit only brought 15.50 plus 2 something for shipping.. I recall one of the several conversations with Craig in the begining and he had already decided it would nor be profitable to serious sell these things and compete with other various up and coming gadgets. When I got my 2 they were being offered for 65 each . As I had a genuine interested I got two sent me gratis for more extensive trial running then Craig was able to do at the time .Like 2-3 plus hours of non stop driving etc.racking up as many miles as I can.
Is there a schematic available for this item? I heard that it had been posted in one of the club's magazines a few years ago.
Ken, it is in the July 2012 Model T Times. I don't know if it is legal to post it here, so I won't.
Found this link in one of the old posts.
Parts list and schematics.
http://rlmerz.com/modelt/
Looking at the schematic, the current goes through a diode then a transistor, this means that on 6 Volt battery you are loosing at least 1 volt, sparks must be weak.
I understand that if a model T runs better with magneto than battery it is first because voltage is higher giving better sparks but more over because on magneto all the four sparks are synchronized by the position of the magnets not by the timer witch is not very precise. With this Vibrator you are loosing all this synchronization and you rely only on the accuracy of the timer since it transforms the current from magneto in DC with a diode and a big condenser.
So is this Vibrator giving any good result ?
The add on ebay says plans are available, last time I looked the one up for auction was up to 150.00!
Philippe, you could remove the diode for DC use.
'So is this Vibrator giving any good result ?"
YES, if performs excellently on Battery and mag.
Many times I forget to switch over to mag after starting on battery because the engine runs smooth.
There was a small problem in the beginning that was corrected easily by up grading the amperage ,voltage rating (or what ever) of some bit that got hot and burn out after 40 minutes of 40 mph on mag and car quit. Craig made the correction .sent back the testing unit to me and several thousand miles later and straight driving for hours...Never failed me .
David,
What kind of timer are you using with the Vibrator ?
Was the modification only for the components or for the schematic also ?
$152.50? Holy cow! I sell my electronic coils for $100 a set!
Yup. That just goes to show you how lazy some Model T owners can be. Instead of getting their T's setup with a top-notch ignition system, they'll blow a hundred bills or more on something to do it for them. Like Cameron said, a set of properly rebuilt and adjusted coils can be bought for a c-note. Add to this the cost of a set of Champion X plugs, plastic coilbox wood upgrade, a bit of time to properly center the timing plate cover AND properly adjust your timer, and you are probably going to spend what this toy will end up selling for, but you will have a perfect ignition system. This doohickey still leaves you with a questionable ignition system. I guess it's a great money-maker for the seller though - very smart!
Regards all,
Garnet
Hi,
Wanted to clarify that this has never been a money maker, a few of them have auctioned for a little over $50 but most have fallen in the $20-$30 range. Don't know why the current auction has gone so high, since there are still some more of these available?
I prefer a car to be as original as possible. The thinking about this thing was that if someone were having coil problems that this would be a fix that doesn't require any permanent modification to their T.
Thanks: ra1264
I really like this idea. As Craig says it is a optional tool to keep you running. To have one in your tool box to get you home or keep you off the trouble trailer or on a long progressive tour makes all kind of sense to me. The number one item that haunted us before electronics was ignition. 90% of my carburator problems have been ignition!!!
I plan to acquire one if for no other reason than for back up. Maybe get two. I think that with the new radial brush timer (which I have ordered now) and this I may just put the Heinz coils back in my '13. I will then put the "Trufire" under the seat for backup (which has worked flawlessly for 12 years).
Garnet
The Heinz coils are not nearly as good as the KW coil, BUT they are correct for my '13 in my ORIGINAL coil box!!
Craig
I am assuming that all 4 coils fire at the same time. If so, do the other 3 cylinders (firing at times they normally do not) cause any problems?
Thanks
Hello,
The 4 coils fire in sequence as determined by the timer, just as with the original. The 4 coils are all fed together from the master vibrator but only the coil grounded by the timer will produce a spark.
Craig
OK gotcha, thanks Craig.
Hello,
Someone with the email address: -wja47..... contacted me with a question, my reply email got kicked back as an invalid address. Had deleted the original email, so can't reply again.
If you see this and contact me again, I will try to answer?
Craig,
Depending on what you use for email you may find deleted emails on your "trash" folder.
Jim