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  • #76
    The DR124 is the 7 pin module, think it has something to do with emmisions because Ive noticed the CA modules for the 81 chevette are the 7pin. Might be they changed the 83 caprice in the US and not Canada in 83.
    93 gt
    95 tbird sc
    2010 focus ses

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    • #77
      ahhhhh gotcha.

      so it's supposed to get hot then? you should see the heatsink we made
      1996 Boysenberry Probe GT MTXtreme
      2014 Fusion SE MTXtreme
      2005 Mountaineer Premier

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      • #78
        Make sure you use a minimum of wire, use good solder technique, use larger gauge wire and make sure you ground the module really well. The module tends to heat up more than necessary when it sees too much resistance.
        Marc M.
        Black '95 PGT with mods 177.4 whp/159.6 wtq (probably way less now as the car has been partially de-modded)
        2000 BMW M-Roadster

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        • #79
          The seven pin jobbie allows the HEI to either use the ECU for trigger pulses or use the magnetic star wheel in the disty for trigger pulses. The ECU decides which one to usebased on engine RPM's among other things.

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          • #80
            Mine was getting really hot also. It helps to keep the wire lenght as short as possible and I used awg 16 wire for all. Now I can touch it again without blistering my finger.
            CAI,borla,rbs,64 TB,sts,headers,JJ testpipe,Nx
            daily driven and HEI module
            I`m learning here!

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            • #81
              I just did this mod and here is what I noticed...

              First things first, my car was running fine before I did this mod. I wanted to see if there would be any performance gains in doing this. Plus, its a cheap mod so if I gained nothing performance wise, I could if ever need be, replace the GM HEI in a matter of 30 mins or less. Also, my car has just under 73,000 miles on it.


              It took me about 3 hours of my time, yeah yeah...but that included the time it took to go to the store and buy Wells part # DR-100 and come home and find all my tools. Part cost me $15.99 at Autozone. I had some 16 AWG wire laying around and used that along with some wire crimps I had. So far this has been a really cheap mod. I placed the HEI behind the drivers side head lamp and used a hole that was already there as my ground to bolt to. I had to remove my bat. to get easy access to the hole. I then covered my wires with black wire tubing...you know the same stuff that the factory uses to cover its wires. Looks good...anyway...

              Jumped in and started her up...everything seems fine. Ok, lets go for a spin! I back out of the driveway and play with the throttle a bit. I love the sound my Probe GT makes. I have a flowmaster series 30 or 40...haha I can't remember which. Plus a resinator tip, soon to have a test pipe also. Ok, back to the drive...I noticed that it seemed to rev smoother....hmmmm....ok. So after I let her warm up a bit I give her some gas and off I go. It feels like she is pulling a bit harder than before. After spending about 45 min behind the wheel and drive out along the twisty back roads, I have come to the conclusion that the GM HEI helped my car.

              Now, what did it really do? I am not really sure. Was my stock module not performing 100% ? I didn't notice anything wrong with it. But that's not to say there wasn't. What I do know is that the car pulls harder and smoother. It is very noticable to me at higher RPMs as well. Like about 4000 +. Is the GM HEI a more efficent unit? What can it do better than the stock Probe unit? I dont know...all I know is that I am glad I did it. And I would like to thank the guy that wrote up the article in the first place. The pics helped out tons as well!

              By-the-way...this mod works on lots of other cars. I have seen them done to the older Z cars as well.

              Just my thoughts,
              Jason
              Something new coming soon!!!
              1994 Probe GT...
              Badass Probe build... Soon to be turbocharged http://forums.probetalk.com/showthread.php?t=1701254359 http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3865502

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              • #82
                Originally posted by jwink25
                Is the GM HEI a more efficent unit? What can it do better than the stock Probe unit? I dont know...all I know is that I am glad I did it. And I would like to thank the guy that wrote up the article in the first place. The pics helped out tons as well!

                By-the-way...this mod works on lots of other cars. I have seen them done to the older Z cars as well.

                Just my thoughts,
                Jason
                The fatness of the spark is proportional to how much current the coil's primary can soak up. The HEI module provides around 4 or 5 amps of primary current. The stock Probe module probably does less. Aftermarket HEI modules do maybe 7 or 8 amps.

                If you get an external HEI coil it will probably be even better yet.

                I'm glad it worked well for you. I kicked off this whole thing because I'm cheap. I never immagined how well this mod would take off!

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                • #83
                  If I were spending your money on HEI upgrades, I'd get a HEI module and its matching coil from someplace like Accel or MSD. I'd buy an already done cap if they're quality made.

                  Make sure the 'B' wire and 'C' wires are big-at least 16ga if they're short. Also make sure the ground is secure too.

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                  • #84
                    so my HEI is actually as cool as the air temp around it, now that i hooked up back to stock ignition for right now. before, i was running megasquirt ignition, with an experimental circuit controlilng the HEI, pulling way too much current I believe, and it possibly blew the transistor in the megasquirt.
                    1996 Boysenberry Probe GT MTXtreme
                    2014 Fusion SE MTXtreme
                    2005 Mountaineer Premier

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                    • #85
                      Will this work if I'm getting an NE1 (CKP2) error code 04?
                      Make sure it's the sensore first by following these steps:

                      1.Make sure the NE2 connector and PCM connectors are clean and tight. Re-seat if necessary.

                      2.Check the resistance of the NE2 sensor. Unplug it and use an ohmmeter to measure the resistance across the two sensor pins which are the DB and DG wires. It should measure between 520 and 580 ohms.

                      3.Check for a short between the DB and DG wires and the BK/R wire (ground). If there is a short, the harness has a short.

                      If it is indeed the sensor, you must get a working CKP (NE2) from another disty or a new/reman disty. Nobody sells the sensor seperatly new.
                      Last edited by KevinD; March 8, 2007, 07:52 PM.

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                      • #86
                        Very worthwhile mod.

                        Even if the Ignitor is working in your car, spend the $15 and do this mod.

                        My car runs so much smoother now, at idle and throughout the powerband. My disty is a remanufactured unit from advance with 15K on it. You would think that it would work perfectly, but after the results from installing the HEI, it is obvious that it wasn't.




                        I think that the HEI works better than and MSD6A & Blaster 2 coil.
                        Last edited by Silver_Bullit; July 27, 2004, 11:10 AM.
                        ~Aaron~
                        1993 Silver PGT MTX ~~R.I.P~5/7/14

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                        • #87
                          The difference is that on the 95 two wires on the three wire plug are switched around. The signal wire from the other plug (Blue/orange) is the same. I did mine back in May so I'm not 100% sure which wires were switched around. I'll report back here after I get to the car and look.



                          BTW I was thinking that if the ignitor AND coil are bypassed, then a 93-4 distributor and cap could be used on a 95 because the three wire plug doesn't get plugged into the distributor. However, a 95 distributor could NOT be used on a 93-4 because the 95 distributor lacks a 'crank position sensor'.

                          Can anyone back this up or tell me I'm wrong?

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                          • #88
                            Originally posted by Joe Bialy
                            This mod will save lots of people lots of money. It is also a good basis for real ignition upgrades.

                            After 173,000 miles, my ignitor finally bit the dust. Not wanting to spend $224 for another one, or an equal amount for a feeble MSD, I wired in a $20 (Wells #DR-100) generic GM 4-pin HEI module instead.

                            In a nutshell:

                            The ECU's trigger output wire (BL/O) feeds the HEI's pin 'G'.
                            Ground the HEI's pin 'W'.
                            Ground the HEI's base.
                            HEI's pin 'B' taps into the +12V dizzy feed wire (BK/P).
                            HEI's pin 'C' taps into the coil's primary wire (Y/G).
                            Remove the internal strap connecting the old ignitor to the coil plug center terminal.

                            I mounted the HEI module on a bracket next to the LH headlamp.

                            If $20 is too steep, head to the wreckers and get a used module for a buck or two. Almost every GM car from the mid 70's to the mid 80's has one.

                            If you don't want the stock coil, it would be just as simple to use an external coil if you add the extra terminal to the cap for it. Lotsa places have hi-perf. HEI modules and HEI specific hi-perf. coils too.
                            There is no need for: "Remove the internal strap connecting the old ignitor to the coil plug center terminal." Instead simply cut Pin5 wire and internal transistor is disabled! There is no need for removing internal strap in distributor!

                            I started new tread: Cheap, cheap, cheap: $18 HEI ignitor as backup to STOCK ignitor, volunteers needed
                            where I explained idea: http://forums.probetalk.com/showthread.php?t=1701114166


                            Any comments are welcome

                            Comment


                            • #89
                              Originally posted by kuki
                              There is no need for: "Remove the internal strap connecting the old ignitor to the coil plug center terminal." Instead simply cut Pin5 wire and internal transistor is disabled! There is no need for removing internal strap in distributor!

                              I started new tread: Cheap, cheap, cheap: $18 HEI ignitor as backup to STOCK ignitor, volunteers needed
                              where I explained idea: http://forums.probetalk.com/showthread.php?t=1701114166


                              Any comments are welcome
                              That depends upon how the internal ignitor failed. If its output transistor is still intact you won't need to cut that strap. If it leaks as it is gets warm, you'll need to get it out of there.

                              The only way to find out is to try it. If it doesn't work, you'll need to tear into it again and remove the strap. I wasn't about to mess with that problematic distributor twice in the middle of winter, so I took the sure way and cut it out.

                              Comment


                              • #90
                                Originally posted by kuki
                                No matter how internal ignitor failed, by cutting Pin-5 and Pin-6 ignitor is disconnected. Ignitor is 3-terminal device, and by leaving only one terminal (internal strap) connected inside distributor changes nothing. Ignitor is disabled, he can't leak because for leak you need at least two terminals or one terminal and ground, and Pin-5 is Ignitors ground.

                                By the way, are you still running on that HEI module? How many miles? I am little bit woried about matching impendance beetween PCM (computer) and HEI (G) pin. If there is now good match it can overload PCM ignition output and burn him, so I am looking to put opto-coupler beetween them to isolate PCM from HEI ignitor. Internal schematic of HEI module would be helpfull. Also it is questionable how HEI module behaves in the case of failure. If he has bad insulation (and I think that's true) he will burn PCM. That's the reason of using IGBT transistor on stock module. But opto-coupler can prevent that.
                                If what you say is correct, than you're right, one wire won't mean anything. However, I think you're grounds are confused. The trigger ground is through pin 5, but the power ground for the output driver is probably through the distributor body, not much different than how the HEI grounds itself through its mounting hole. The ignitor will pass around 4 or 5 amps as it charges the coil, I don't think Mazda would run that much current through that dinky wire on pin 5. It is also a noisy circuit too as the coil dumps and recharges.

                                The reason HEI modules are nice is because they do not load the input at all. They are really made to work with high-Z reluctors, consequently the PCM is less loaded than it originally was. An opto coupler will consume far more current from the PCM than the HEI module does or even the stock ingitor unless its buffered.

                                Search for Motorola's "MC3444" IC.That is the heart of the HEI, and in fact the data sheet will tell you enough to build your own module. Sad that the chip is obsolete and not commonly available AFAIK. With this chip between the PCM and the driver though, I doubt if you'll see any thunderbolts going back to the PCM.

                                IGBT is used in the stock module just like it is used in any inductive ignition, high breakdown voltage>350V and low on resistance. Some ignition drivers don't even need the Zener snubber. You will note that the stock ignitor also has a small signal transistor driving that IGBT. THAT is what protects the PCM when the ignitor dies a violent death. Contrary to Julian Bradbury's comment on his otherwise superior website about it not being needed, it is very much needed- to protect that PCM.

                                I would spend time adapting the '7 pin' HEI module to this car if I was going to do anything new here.

                                My Probe's been gone for a few months now. Some guy in Lansing bought it, but I'm sure its still running like a top though. I had to make room for the XJR I'm picking up next week. Also known as a "four door Ferrari"

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