MTFCA Forum

It has been about 50 years since I worked on a “T” engine and now am building another one. What can anyone tell me about the “I-Timer” and their “ECCT with Advanced Features Software”. About 900.00 is a lot of money to put out for something I don’t really need and can do without. Thank you for your honest answers. Craig

Craig, for sure one thing is in the last 50 years a lot has changed to make Model T owning more fun. Lots of new reproduction parts, and lots of helpful vendors, plus the advent of the internet to provide more information.

The I-Timer for me is one of those changes that have made my T'ing more fun. Installed in the fall of 2017, has never been off to inspect, clean and maintain, or adjust or replace any parts. Just can't say that about the mechanical timers I have gone through over my 50 years of owning Ts.

The I-Timer works on magneto too, just like the Ford roller or any other mechanical timer, but the big difference is the time-to-fire that makes this electronic wonder even out the engine rpm's, more power, smoother, and with a noticeable smooth exhaust purr at all speeds. Plus instant starts and never a miss or spit. Won't ever leave home without it on my T, this same I-Timer has been on the T for 5 years now and have never even removed the timer case once!

ECCT is a very effective method of testing and tuning coils too. Advantage is the ECCT provides a means of reproducing the same results from coil to coil to make the 4 coils run the same. Now I don't have one of those, but do purchase re-built coil sets from expert that uses the ECCT to set the coils. That way the performance of the I-Timer is assured, as it needs a 'matched' set of coils to perform the magic.

Strobospark - not available anymore.
HCCT - about $1000 if you can find one
ECCT - $400 and currently $450 with software.
Have someone else do it for you - maybe a sixpack and gas or postage.
The ECCT works great and is a different way to setup coils than the HCCT. Both methods work fine. I won't pick sides here.

I have an I-timer on my touring. I have an Anderson timer with me in case of failure, but I do not expect to use it.
My car starts faster and easier with the I-timer. It goes up hills without my needing to adjust the spark and throttle.
It also works just like any other timer as far as adjusting the spark and throttle when starting my car. Obviously I am
sold on the I-timer, but if you want an Anderson or roller timer and it works for you, there is no reason to spend the extra
funds.

I believe the old HCCT and Strobospark do as good a job as ECCT if you have 4 coils made by the same vendor on the same batch - as was the case back then.
It is not today. You have 4 coils of unknown origin and age produced within a timespan of decades. Their dwell when all adjusted to the same amperage will most like not be the same. This is where ECCT focus on measurng the dwell rather than the curent.
But for just restoring 4 coils I would not buy an ECCT. Find one to borrow or get the coils from one of the respected coilmen.
I-Timer I have still to try.

I recently bought the ECCT Heinze coil edition. I have a Strobospark for regular coils and made an adapter to test Heinze coils. I can tell you from personal experience that my Heinze coils perform significantly superior set up on the ECCT. Easier cold starting, smoother idle, better engine performance with spark and throttle set where I would normally go 30mph, I easily get another 5mph out of the car, less vibration in my floor boards of my ‘13 T.
Heinze coils set up to perform perfectly with virtually no double sparking on the Strobospark were shown to have timing errors of plus or minus 5 degrees different on the ECCT.
Don’t get me wrong here, I LIKE my Strobospark unit and won’t be refraining from using it. I just like the ECCT more now!

I’m sold on Mike’s product, and he also gives you plenty of correspondence when you need it.
I’m not an electrician so I only know enough to make me dangerous. I can rebuild coils of all types efficiently and my Heinze coils have been gutted, potted in tar, and replaced with windings and capacitors for regular coils available from the vendors.
Now, if the ECCT can make a coil with no floating top point work and perform as well as a later KW post 1913 coil work, imagine what it will do for you.

For those who think the price is high, start calibrating coils for your buddies and recoup your money! You’ll have an easier time than I will doing that!

The I-Timer is simply a drop in replacement for an existing mechanical timer. Mechanical contacts which cause intermittent connection as well as timing variations as the contacts wear, are eliminated. In simple terms, a magnet on the camshaft revolves around four magnetic pickups in the timer body. The advantage of course is that cylinder to cylinder timing remains perfect, and since the switching is electronic, the coils always switch perfectly, and will do so for the rest of the car's life. In short, timer operation remains perfect with no more maintenance.
The ECCT allows the coils to be adjusted so that each takes exactly the same time to fire, once the timer (whether an I-Timer or mechanical timer), makes contact. An obvious advantage is the excellent cylinder to cylinder timing possible. For example, a set of coils set up on other kinds of tester might have firing times of 2ms, 2.5ms, 1.5ms and 1.8ms. Clearly, if all the coils were set to fire at, say, 2ms, engine performance will be smoother, and this is the principle behind the ECCT's operation.
The Advanced Features Software is an option for the basic ECCT unit which basically gives you complete diagnostics for each coil tested. The simple LED display on the ECCT unit itself is enough to get the coils adjusted correctly, but the software reveals all the coil characteristics, and in my opinion allows for quicker and easier adjustment.
Is all this essential? No it isn't. As it is often pointed out, a car will drive with a mechanical timer and coils set by the tone of the buzz. For those that only drive their T around the block a couple of times a year, an ECCT and I-Timer might be hard to justify. But, for those that really drive their T's, the difference is very noticeable, and the cost is definitely worth it. I've used the ECCT method of coil adjustment for 10 years now, because the results are always definite and consistent. Although I have an E-Timer, it has the same advantages as the I-Timer, in that there is no mechanical wear, and the timing is always perfect. It was one of the most significant improvements I made to my Model T.