there closed now so that's the reason for the post.got the revenator and the coil package, question is about the 2 pin ballast that came with the ECU. The car this is going g into is a 83 and it had the 4 pin type, do I have to use the 2 pin or is the 4 pin good enough for the revenator?

Wells 4 pin GM module gets it done

What is really in The REV N NATOR?

thanks for the bump, but please if you have nothing constructive to add to the question at hand just move it along skip

You are not a moderator so unless one steps in, it is a FREE country.
Don't like it? Start your own forum and enforce whatever rules you want.


"What is really in The REV N NATOR?"

Digital circuitry....It works more efficiently compared to the factory style spark boxes.
I had a Rev-N-Nator. It worked fine but it OF COURSE did not provide 40 HP gains as stated in some tests. I didn't like that it was not compatible with vacuum advance so I sold it.

If the revenator is a 4 pin module then you only need the 2 pin (terminal) ballast. You could use the 4 pin and the 5 ohm side will be dead but I don't know if the primary coil side of your 4 pin ballast is the same ohm as the 2 pin ballast that's comes with your revenator. You can ohm it and check or just use the 2 pin ballast that came with the revenator which is what I would do. Good luck , Ron

Just hook it up. Don't worry about the 2 pin.

WELCOME TO MOPARTS

Ahhh. Moparts. Kind of like watching congress on C span!

I'm assuming the revn pkg comes with a coil included so yes you would use the 2 pin that is in the kit as this "sets" the voltage that the coil will "see" when running & this is the voltage amt that the revn ECU will make/break to trigger the coil. A full 12V coil setup would not use the ballast. I hear the revn is dependable but X2 on the HP hype! On a side note: on a "regular" ECU conversion from points or OE ECU you would mix/match ballasts to get the ohms ideal for the coil you are useing & you can parallel wire 4 terminal ballasts to get the ohms down. A 5 pin OE ECU (like what your car started with) would require the 4 terminal ballast that was originally in there but definitely not used for your conversion/question. When up & running holler if the revn is good.

Pete not sure what they give you but they said my stock 4 pin was fine when I did mine. I remember measuring the ohms at the time and it was OK.
Ron

got it for the 73 RR, thank Ron for the straight up answer

i'm curious; do the rev-n-nator folks say the box won't work with a vacuum advance?

I try, if I don't know I'll tell you that too. I think it's a very nice piece of equipment, I think I told you in another post I dummy'd it up with stickers.
Ron

Well, I read the patent for the Rev-N-Nator. #8584651 B1

It is some pretty impressive work. It also shows that some of my earlier thinking was incorrect.
For example, the TO-3 case on top of the box is not a transistor, it's a voltage regulator made to look like the Mopar transistor.
The box keeps a running average of the time between sparks and fires when it calculates the next spark should occur. A microprocessor does all the thinking. The inventor calls it a "digital flywheel".
A coil driver supplies voltage to the coil.

I was surprised about a year ago to see an article online explaining why certain high performance engines use optical triggering rather than magnetic, and the reason they gave was spark-to-spark variability. There are several degrees of variation in the spark, between cylinders.
This was in a racing type distributor without vacuum advance. Adding vacuum advance adds another source of jitter which makes the Rev-N-Nator's microprocessor's job all the harder.

They do say in the FAQ that in certain circumstances vacuum advance is OK.

Most of us know that at part throttle, the engine can tolerate more spark advance. By adding advance at part throttle, the vacuum advance can increase economy. I could see a future example of the box using a MAP sensor to alter the timing curve to achieve the same function. I know that some digital controls do that already, along with most automobiles built in the last 20 years.

R.

I have had one on my 70' Charger now for many years & 10's of thousands of mile and hundreds of passes with no issues. No real horsepower/torque increase felt as claimed but I just like it for the built in rev limiter. My car is an automatic so it's not like I over rev it too often anyway. Just having it there makes me feel a little better just in case.

I know from experience that using a vacuum advance with an aggressive centrifugal curve can be tricky, but don't see where the actual timing in degrees advance would have any effect on the electronics. the thing just fires either sooner or later in the power curve. I do look at dwell with any of the boxes and do notice differences between them. not sure how relevant that is in creating spark energy.

The vacuum advance issue not wanting to work with the revinator most likely would be caused by the reluctor not in phase with the cap. There is not one valid reason for any ignition box not to like proper timing advance and the engine appreciates it the most. These are not 10 sec dragsters

When the rotor is out of phase it gets confused as to where to send the spark esp when the plate advances ...amazing isn't it? Simple too.

Most distributors require phasing.

Now play nice children or you can figure this out yourselves.