55 Chrysler ignition help

[Blue Bird]

73 engine #555FH
I am having trouble understanding the way my engine is currently wired (ignition) this engine has two coils under the flywheel and no charging system (alternator) I beleive it is Mag style the coils have magnetes around them.
OK this is my confusion, the blue ignition wires are currently coming from the engine terminal block to the screw on the POINTS the condenser wire also is connected to the same screw and one of the wires from the coil is also connected their (dont know if its the coil + or -) the condenser is mounted on one of the coil screws.
Now every schamatic I have found shows the blue wires going directly to the + coil and ending their then then you have a brown wire which terminates at one set of points and a white wire comming from the other and terminating at the terminal block.
I am having a shaking and missing problem at idle but top end runs good so I am wondering if my engine is wired wrong even though it runs.

Also I changed the ignition switch and now with the blue wire connected to (I) when I turn on the key the circuit braker pops.

My manual has poor pictures and I need to see how the actual set up undeer the flywheel is supposed to be.

Any help from you guys will be greatly accepted.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: 55 Chrysler ignition help

With magneto ignition, at the switch, Blue connects to one "M" terminal and white connects to the other "M" terminal. This is the stop circuit and I will explain later.

Under the flywheel, the points are set to .020 open at the mark on the cam. If there is no mark, just try to estimate the widest point and then set them. Improperly set points will cause running problems either at idle or at high speed. The point gap directly controls the dwell of the magneto and the magnetic flux build-up in the coils. Be as precise as possible in setting the points as a .0015 difference equates to a one degree difference between cylinder timing. If your flywheel has two marks 180 degrees apart, they are top dead center for each cylinder. Use them to set timing on each cylinder.

Attached to the points are the condenser wires, one wire from the coil primary winding, and a brown wire ( actually a pair that looks like lamp cord.) The other side of the primary attaches to the coil laminations (ground). Since the magneto carrier is somewhat isolated by grease, you must ensure a good ground by running a short black wire from the magneto plate to the engine block.

The brown wires exit under the flywheel. One connects to Blue on the engine terminal and the other connects to White.

The two "M" terminals at the switch are in continuity ONLY when the switch is off. So: when you turn off the switch, the blue and white connect and short both sets of points top each other, stopping spark.

I is switched power and is energised only when the switch is on. Connecting the blue to "I" generates a direct short and will immediately pop the circuit breaker.

 

[Blue Bird]

Re: 55 Chrysler ignition help

Frank you are absolutly right again since nobody else answered I just kept reading and found where you had explained this to another unfortunate, my confusion was the manual it shows the blue wire going to the + side of the coil and I did just that from (i) and sent juice to the coil glad I didn't fry anything.
But what you wrote in the post I read about grease under the advace plate made me look and she was bone dry I greased her up cleaned all grounds hooked blue and white to (m) and gave her a spin fired right up and idled WITHOUT any shake rattle and roll I think the plate not being isolated from the block is what was giving me the flux it idled better than ever cant wait until I get to the lake.
I really appreciate all the good work you do on this site and I would give you a promation if If I could mayby COMANDER AND CHEIF thanks again

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: 55 Chrysler ignition help

Glad to help. You manual was showing the wiring for battery and coil ignition. However, these coils are mounted either on the head or on the side of the engine. In this case, blue does go to the pos. side of the coil and while the points are closed, current flows and a magnetic field is built. When the points open, the current stops, the field collapses through the secondary, and a high voltage pulse is sent to the spark plug.

Believe it or not, a magneto works much the same way, except magnets in the flywheel generate the primary current. In either case, the condensed prevents sparking at the points. Note that before the advent of electronic ignitions, magneto ignition was the only way to fire dragster engines. At high speeds, magnetos have an excellent voltage profile and perform much better than traditional battery and coil ignition. Only problem is that you can't fit an alternator under the flywheel with magneto ignition so you need to constantly recharge the battery at home.

That is why, if you have magneto ignition, IF you can get the engine running with them, you can use surface gap plugs (which require a higher voltage to fire) Problem is the engine just won't idle--I know, I have tried it.