MTFCA Forum

Got my HCCT wired and working this morning. I do see double sparking and a couple places where it isn’t sparking at all. Not sure if it’s the old coil I have in there or something else. The is new territory for me.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Cov_CgqrVKc

Congratulations mark, just make sure that your pointer has the same distance from the spark ring all way around and both surfaces are shiny clean and bright. Then you can sell if you have Sparks all the way around on every revolution

Thanks ... haven’t even set the pointer yet. So if I’m missing a spark in a couple of positions it might be how clean that ring is in that particular location?

Most likely on the cleanliness, but that pointer / ring distance should be as equal as possible all the way around . Plus when revolving the flywheel speed should be limited to 60 revolutions per minute. You'll find that once you have the cushion spring tension in the vibrator tension set correctly the tester will start sparking off almost as soon as you start turning the flywheel

Yes, the distance from the pointer to the inside of that ring is slightly wider at 12:00 than at 6:00. But I see no means to adjust the distance. The ring is bolted into the insulators and the insulators are bolted to the frame from the other side. Aside from filing out the holes on the ring a little oblong there is no way to move the ring down.

Sorry, the pictures posted on their side but you get the drift.

Might have some wiggle room on the bolt holes for the spark ring so that be a minor adjustment up and down or sideways plus that square bolt on the pointer is loosened to adjust the gap between the tip of the pointer and the ring

I use a Scotch-Brite pad to clean and brighten at inside ridge of a spark ring and also the pointer tip . Metal oxidation will act as an electrical insulator

Sure I know the set screw allows setting the pointer. It’s just that the spark ring is not perfectly centered. It’s slightly low making more space from the pointer at the top than the bottom. I can file out the holes a little to make some adjustment room. I have assumed that the pointer rides within the ring rather than above ... correct? That’s where it was when I first took it apart.

Do what you need to center the spark ring..... you will get better results in calibrating your coils.

I think I discovered the problem. I had some errant sparking between the back of the spark ring and the ammeter. So I put a spacer washer behind each of the four insulators and that allowed the spark to choose the ring instead in that area. Also filed out the spark ring mounting holes a little to allow better centering. So now I need to figure out how to use this beast.