Vertex Magneto!?

[Terry Cloyd]

[miniman82]

[Marty Staggs]

A magneto is the most reliable and fool proof iginition you could ever put on a motor.
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Marty

[stoneloco808]

I have a Joe Hunt magneto sitting in a box. Is there a way to determine if the advance is locked out or not without installing it on an engine and running it?

[vw505]

I was thinking of getting a locked out one for my blower motor.

[birddog1148]

I run one on a 327 in a dirt late model, I have a battery and no charging system.
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'69 Baja, Crusty 62 bug

I Got Your Jeep Thing! Now It Hurts When I pee.

Cigarettes are like squirrels, they are both harmless until you put one in your mouth and light it on fire.

[klrskies]

Do magnetos have a mechanical advance mechanisim?

[Messy Jesse]

[grimace007]

i like your steve zissou icon jessy.


sorry to threadjack guys.
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Brian
68 sedan

Dallas Air Coolers

[stoneloco808]

[BobKTX]

Guys, sorry to crash the thread, but finding folks who know what a Vertex magneto is let alone may be able to provide assistance has been a challenge.

I have a freshly rebuilt Vertex magneto (Joe Hunt did the rebuild). I also purchased from them the Magneto Tach Converter, since I'll be running a newer electronic tach. Has anyone used this box from Hunt for this purpose?

I have downloaded the wiring diagram that comes with the converter and I'm still a bit confused. Here is what I think needs to be done.....

Red - connect to a 12 volt switch power source

Black - connect to vehicle ground

Violet - connect to the input of the tach

Brown/Black - connect to one side of the kill switch along with a wire to the vehicle ground

Brown/Orange - connect to one side of the kill switch along with a wire from the terminal on the magneto

Brown/Yellow - No need to use in my situation


Does my interpretation of where the last three wires go correct?

Thank you in advance for any guidance.

[VeloMikey]

Here you go...

Don't worry about Brown / Orange and Brown / Yellow.

Just hook up Brown / Black to the ground lug on the magneto.

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'58 Ghia 2387cc with a Berg / Folts 5 Speed

Ghia Build Thread https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768748

[BobKTX]

[VeloMikey]

[BobKTX]

Since the converter is the same one that Autometer sells I reached out to them, while I'm waiting to hear back from Joe Hunt's tech guy. They tell me that this converter will not work with the Vertex OAC, but I swear I checked this out before I bought the converter and electronic tach. I also spoke with a guy from a company called Fuel Injected that sells a Hall Effect sensor for the Vertex magneto, but since it sends two pulses per revolution, you need to setup your tach for 1/2 the number of cylinders you have in order to get an accurate reading. The problem is that the electronic tach I have will not allow me to configure it for three cylinders.......

[VeloMikey]

[Clatter]

How great was this forum BITD, eh?
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Bus Motor Build

I have excellent news for the world...
There is no such thing as patina.
It does not exist!

[BobKTX]

[BobKTX]

Yesterday, my adult son and I started up my 1959 Chevy straight six ( 261 cubic inches) engine that had recently been rebuilt. Happily, it started on the first turn of the key after I spent a week re-installing the engine, trans, and other components. I spent some time tuning the idle and was happy with the outcome.

Today, I went to fire up the engine, but forgot to turn the fuel pump on. The engine ran for a few seconds until the fuel bowl was empty and then stopped suddenly. I then realized my error and turned the fuel pump on. The engine cranked but would not even cough to get started. I've spent all day chasing every angle of spark, air, fuel. Using a spark tester (wire between plug and wire that lights up with spark), I can see that there is spark but I've come to believe that the issue is with the magneto.

When I took the cap off to see what was going on, I saw that the engine builder neglected to put the red plastic isolator piece under the rotor, he probably lost it. I fashioned one from some gasket material and punched holes for the rotor, the conductor, and the two screw holes. Despite those efforts the engine still would not start.

I decided to ensure that the engine was getting adequate ground and using my multi-meter, I found that the engine was getting great ground, no issues. When I tested continuity from the frame to the Vertex (internal coil) magneto case, I saw that it was grounded, as I would have expected given that its mounted into the engine block, but I became concerned when I was getting continuity to the grounding terminal on the side of the magneto. In fact, I get continuity between the terminal and the magneto case too. I thought the grounding terminal was isolated from the case, so that when I used the switch on the dash it would ground out that terminal to stop the magneto.

Should the grounding terminal show continuity to the case?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

[BobKTX]

Yesterday, my adult son and I started up my 1959 Chevy straight six ( 261 cubic inches) engine that had recently been rebuilt. Happily, it started on the first turn of the key after I spent a week re-installing the engine, trans, and other components. I spent some time tuning the idle and was happy with the outcome.

Today, I went to fire up the engine, but forgot to turn the fuel pump on. The engine ran for a few seconds until the fuel bowl was empty and then stopped suddenly. I then realized my error and turned the fuel pump on. The engine cranked but would not even cough to get started. I've spent all day chasing every angle of spark, air, fuel. Using a spark tester (wire between plug and wire that lights up with spark), I can see that there is spark but I've come to believe that the issue is with the magneto.

When I took the cap off to see what was going on, I saw that the engine builder neglected to put the red plastic isolator piece under the rotor, he probably lost it. I fashioned one from some gasket material and punched holes for the rotor, the conductor, and the two screw holes. Despite those efforts the engine still would not start.

I decided to ensure that the engine was getting adequate ground and using my multi-meter, I found that the engine was getting great ground, no issues. When I tested continuity from the frame to the Vertex (internal coil) magneto case, I saw that it was grounded, as I would have expected given that its mounted into the engine block, but I became concerned when I was getting continuity to the grounding terminal on the side of the magneto. In fact, I get continuity between the terminal and the magneto case too. I thought the grounding terminal was isolated from the case, so that when I used the switch on the dash it would ground out that terminal to stop the magneto.

Should the grounding terminal show continuity to the case?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.