Ignition modules education

[Roger Lee]

Quote from Rotax Wizard,

"All...seems a lot of people don't understand the ignition system.  First, it is not made by Ducati.  That old idea comes from the fact that Rotax purchased the plastic box from them and left the Ducati name on it.  The circuit board is made in Austria and the design is a Rotax one.  Over the years many changes have been made on the circuit board and some 12 years ago they got Ducati to delete the name on the box....done.  The stator has been made by Ducati but the electrical circuit in the 9 seres never has been.  

Regarding the injected engines with a computer and fuse box.  There are no SMD modules in that system.  The firing is controlled by the computer and is not the same at all. Glenn is correct on that. 

Lastly if your engine is at the point where the modules are giving up, normally that is about 10 years from what I see, sure look at aftermarket.  it is extremely rare to find new parts fail within warranty and even then I know of goodwill warranty given to engines with low hours and well out of warranty.  The worst years were about 2006 when they had a huge ramp-up of production for the LSA aircraft that were flooding the market at that time.  The root cause was the circuit boards were not always placed in correctly and would not cool correctly as the small bits got bent on insertion to the box. (my view) Sometimes these would then have a bump form on the box (the term pregnant was used to describe the condition).  Sometimes people would continue to fly hundreds of hours by putting a bag of ice on the box to start the engine. It is fair to say people just refused to give up on a failed box until they could not start the engine. 

I am unaware of any major issues  since the big changes in 2010 with the change over to the "soft start" modules. The internal parts were improved and the circuit board seems more robust. "

 

[FredG]

Does "Rotax Wizard" have a name or do we just take this on faith?

[Roger Lee]

He does and most know him and I'd  highly recommend you listen to him. I've  known him for 20 years.

[Jim Meade]

Well, Fred, I googled "Rotax Wizard" and got no joy, so you and I are not "most".  Shucks.  Our loss, I guess.

 

 

[Tom Baker]

I don't know who it is either. I searched snippets of the quote online and found nothing.

BTW in my opinion if you are going to quote something you should provide a citation or link. Sometimes a small quote like that can be pulled out of a bigger article and taken out of context. Also if it is a reliable source, there is no need to be secretive about who the author is. 

[Anticept]

I can throw my hat in at least partially into what Roger shared.

I've only had one module failure on a fleet of 5, both old and new modules, over what might be 15,000 hrs between them and multiple engines.

The case is the only thing ducatti made, the electronics are in house. That is also true. (Eric Tucker is my source).

We kept many voltage regulator modules in stock which is irritating. But never have we kept a stock of ignition modules. I have no complaints with OEM ignition.

[Madhatter]

My modules failed years ago. Just replace them and be done with it, cheap insurance in the long run. It's an airplane, do you expect everything to work all at once all the time

[FredG]

Using language like "Rotax Wizard" just makes something serious, ie, aircraft maintenance, into a game of "I know something you don't know" or "I know someone you don't know."

Tom is right, of course.  In order for some statement to be authoritative (which is the goal here), then provide the author or source.  Don't play games.

[Roger Lee]

You all know who he is or at least have heard of him and many have met him and taken classes from him. 

[Tom Baker]

50 minutes ago, Roger Lee said:

You all know who he is or at least have heard of him and many have met him and taken classes from him. 

That may be, but using a nickname and being secretive about his identity is not helpful.

[Roger Lee]

He doesn't  want it published.

[Jim Meade]

Just exactly what kind of credibility is due to a person who claims certain knowledge and is unwilling to identify himself?  How bizarre can it be?  Aviation is science, not scientology.

[FlyingMonkey]

Meh, who cares if he wants to be anonymous on the internet?  It could be he has proprietary knowledge that is not commonly known and could make things difficult for him with Rotax.  Or maybe he just doesn't want to deal with people ringing his phone off the hook asking questions like they do with Roger, Corey, and Tom! 

Believe this info or don't, it's your choice.  But it sounds like Corey's info lines up with this, so that lends some credibility.

 

I had two modules fail at around 600hrs, so I'm not sold on the bullet-proof nature of the CDIs.  Though from my understanding t6he new soft start replacements just don't have the high failure rate.

[Jim Meade]

Well, obviously, Andy, I care.

[tevbax]

20 hours ago, FlyingMonkey said:

  Or maybe he just doesn't want to deal with people ringing his phone off the hook asking questions like they do with Roger, Corey, and Tom! 

To be fair, i've only really talked Roger's ear off so far. Two to go! 

 

[Roger Lee]

My ears are in good shape. LOL I get an average of 3-6 calls a day from all over the world. I get to meet and help lots of nice people. It's nice to give back.

[FlyingMonkey]

18 hours ago, Jim Meade said:

Well, obviously, Andy, I care.

Sure, I just meant my personal opinion.  Your mileage may vary.