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Hall-effect vehicle ignition system

I am having problems with an old (H reg) Vauxhall Cavalier. Basically it won't start - there is no spark. These have a fairly basic electronic ignition system which consists of a hall-effect unit in the distributor, an electronics control module, a darlington power transistor amplifier and a coil. What I need to check first of all is if there is any output from the hall-effect unit, but I have no means of doing this. Anyone got any ideas about signal levels coming out of this, etc, or any other ideas about checks I can make without much in the way of test equipment?

Reply to
Barney
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I have a hall effect pickup on my truck's speedometer. It is three wire. Has +5 volts to one terminal, ground on the other and the middle wire varies from +5 to ground as the rear wheels turn. It is on the differential. Identical device on the drive shaft (anti-skid input?)

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Yes this is three wire too, but with a 12 volt supply - I think they usually have a voltage regulator, so that the supply voltage can be anything from about +3 volts to +24 volts. If the output is roughly a square wave from 0 to +5 volts I should be able make a simple tester for it quite easily.

Many thanks.

Reply to
Barney

Nice thing about it is you can slowly turn the engine and watch it turn on and off with a meter or use a magnet . . .

No reason it can't be a 12 volt switch. My truck is old and the speed sensor just goes into the "computer" which probably has a 5V regulator built in.

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That's an excellent idea. I don't need any kind of a tester - I can just take out the spark plugs, and then use your method of turning the engine over slowly and measuring the output with a meter. Cheers.

Reply to
Barney

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