Dear List,
Over the years I have have noticed that many people when working on their
vehicle will leave the ignition in the "on" position even though the motor
is not running. I think we all have either done this or seen this done.
If the points are in the closed position, the circuit for the primary is
complete, this means a current will be drawn thru the primary and the coil
will heat. This may not be a problem if it is a rare occurrence. Although it
may lead to some sort of insulation breakdown inside the coil itself. (I am
just guessing here). This may lead to more heat generated and ultimately
fire. Remember that the current will only flow if the points are closed. The
distributor won't stop in the same place every time.
I remember my father taking the distributor cap off and inserting a piece of
paper in between the points so it would not overheat.
I hope this helps.
Regards Ron.

----- Original Message -----
From: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2000 12:43 PM
Subject: Re: Another coil fire

> At 20:14 10/16/2000, Dana Morphew wrote:
> >The coil on the type RV Digifant2 engine I just bought had a secondary
> >resistance of 7500 ohms...more than double what it ought to have.  I'm
> >wondering if this can cause enough heating to cause a fire?
>
> *Typically* that would cause less overall heating (but maybe a point
> heat-source depending on the cause) -- without actually knowing, I would
> surmise that troubles in the primary winding would be more likely to
> overheat the coil.
>
> d
> David Beierl - Providence, RI
>   http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
> '84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
> '85 GL "Poor Relation"