MTFCA Forum

I will be going through some spare coils this next week and my books on the subject are in another location. My HCCT has a ammeter but no volt meter. Do I remember correctly that cranking at kinda sorta 1 rps will give me 6 volts to work with? As I get older I wish I could adapt this unit to some sort of electric motor to spin the HCCT. Need to hire someone younger to crank! . Thanks….

Here is what I did to mine. A small pulley on the motor and the belt around the flywheel.

From an previous discussion https://mtfca.com/phpBB3/posting.php?mo ... =2&t=24120
By Bob Cascisa - Poulsbo, Washington on Saturday, August 11, 2012 - 06:18 pm:
The voltage that the HCCT puts out is irrelevant. It is the current (1.3 Amps) that operates the coil regardless of the voltage. If the HCCT produces the necessary 1.3 Amps, then all is well. Some of the HCCTs have voltmeters but they really don't serve any real purpose.
By Ron Patterson-Nicholasville, Kentucky on Saturday, August 11, 2012 - 08:05 pm:
As Bob C. pointed out the Model T ignition coil is a current and not a voltage device.
That is to say when the current in the primary winding rises to the point where the coil points open the secondary winding will develop a voltage based on the applied voltage, ratio of the coils windings multiplied by the "Merit" of the coil.
Ron the Coilman
By Bob Cascisa - Poulsbo, Washington on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 02:57 pm:
The voltmeter would tend to serve as an indicator of RPM. As RPM increases, the magneto voltage and frequency increases. As the frequency increases, the coil impedance (measured in Ohms) increases, thus the current (1.3 amps), remains the same regardless of voltage and frequency. The coil is a current operated device. It does not care if the 1.3 amps occurs at a low frequency and low voltage or at a high frequency and high voltage. The end result is the same.
Motorized HCCT https://mtfca.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=11202

Great! Thanks for the replies and links…..

I bought the HCCT so long ago I don’t remember the details but it was cobbled up from different testers and rebuilt by a club member. All I vaguely remember is that he moved from up North to near Corpus Christi, Texas many years ago. Now that I know I can use it ok without the volt meter I am not too worried. Would really like one of the smaller ECCT units but it appears the Covid thing has shut the supplier down.