I took the '66 to the car wash to wash out the engine bay yesterday. I tried to be careful not to get the distributor wet, which of course I managed to do anyway. I popped the dist. cap and dried it out as best as I could and managed to get it running for a minute but couldn't keep it running. Eventually, I couldn't get it to run at all. One thing this truck has on it is an electronic magneto instead of a coil. I am guessing someone put this on the truck and it is not a factory item since I know there were coils on cars in '66. Anyway, I had to breakdown and call the wife and of course get a lecture about "that old truck" in the process. I had her bring me a spare condensor and a coil from the garage. Put the condensor in, no change. Replaced the magneto with the spare coil and it fired right up. Can anyone educate me on magnetos since I am not familiar with them? I remember my dad talking about them years ago. I've just never seen one. I assume coils and magnetos are interchangeable.

 

In a simplistic explanation, a magneto is a mechanical system for generating current. A magnet passes through a winding, and generates current. It is the opposite of a motor, wherein current passes through windings and generates motion.

A coil is not a mechanical device. It is purely electric - and please notice I said electric, not electronic. It is properly a transformer, wherein current is transformed in its properties. A transformer will increase current (voltage), but at the loss of amperage. Or it can do the reverse, where it will drop the voltage, but increase the amperage.

In the truck's case, the 12V DC is bumped up to 25,000 volts or many times higher, depending upon the setup. Amperage though is quite miniscule, which is why you receive only an unpleasant shock when you get "bit" by an uninsulated sparkplug wire. Otherwise, if you received 25K volts with any measurable amps, it would kill you.

I think your magneto setup is fascinating, but not proper or correct. I would highly recommend you check your entire ignition wiring setup to make sure the resistor wire was not removed when that modification was made, and that the rest of the system is setup properly. I would suspect there are unknown modifications that at this point might cause further trouble, such as premature (and unexpected) ignition parts burnout, overheated wires or shorts leading to fires.

Good luck!

 

It looks like it had the stock wire attached to the magneto (still has the push on connector on it). I will have to look at it carefully to make sure. why would someone put a magneto on there? Was there any performance advantage?

 

I found this which happens to be the exact unit I have on my truck. I guess it was Judson, not Hudson.

TheSamba.com :: Judson Electronic Magneto Installation Instructions

 

Here's a link to what the Judson is supposed to do...it's actual sales literature and must, therefore, be taken with some grains of salt.

Magneto Sales Literature

TH1567
A rolling wreck on the highway of life.

 

If you are a technophile...here's a link describing the operation of a tru magneto on a internal combustion engine.

Electronic magneto ignition for internal combustion engines - Patent # 4173963 - PatentGenius

TH1567
Drop away from the self...and remove all pretense..Drive a Ford..