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Thread: Maiden voyage

  1. #11
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    Do you think that finding and purchasing a original equipment M715 coil is still better than the new Chinese coils that we are having to buy?
    What exactly would be the problem with the newer coils? Cheap materials? Not enough windings inside? Poor insulation?
    militarypotts Spec/4 Military Police, Vietnam Era, "Does the noise in my head bother you? Welcome to the Twilight Zone!"

  2. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by militarypotts View Post
    Do you think that finding and purchasing a original equipment M715 coil is still better than the new Chinese coils that we are having to buy?
    What exactly would be the problem with the newer coils? Cheap materials? Not enough windings inside? Poor insulation?
    If you could find a NOS coil, Heck Yes, even at twice the price of a new Chinese unit.
    I bought two NOS coils off of ebay back when Italylovers was selling NOS M715 parts for VPW about four of five years ago. Sadly those days are over.

    The Chinese coils are getting a poor track record for lasting very long at all, They must be shorting out internally from poor insulation or poor manufacturing methods.

    I had a new, Chinese made reproduction oil pressure sending unit that I installed in my rebuilt Tornado fail about 20 miles from home on the truck's second "shake down" run Luckily rboltz found me a good used original one.
    Last edited by jeepdan; August 7th, 2017 at 05:50 PM.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by militarypotts View Post
    Do you think that finding and purchasing a original equipment M715 coil is still better than the new Chinese coils that we are having to buy?
    What exactly would be the problem with the newer coils? Cheap materials? Not enough windings inside? Poor insulation?
    As Dan said, I too think that the Chinese coils are made poorly (don't exactly know how or why) and are breaking down when hot. Possibly they didn't design them to be used without a ballast resistor and are not able to withstand a full 24 or so volts. Remember, the very early ignitor had a ballast resistor under it. Could be that the Chinese copied that coil and it is just overheating, I dunno.

    If one could find an original military coil, new or used in good condition, I would be inclined to go that route (pun intended ) even if it costs more. I was extremely fortunate to have been able to get good used one. Just lucky.

    But most importantly, I sincerely hope you have no problem with your new coil.

  4. #14
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    I wonder how many other people on this site have had to deal with the inferior Chinese coils? After the wonderful rebuild you did on your motor Dan, it must be frustrating to have the Chinese sending unit fail after such a short period. What are we to do? Their just can't be enough old equipment out there to supply all of us owners. It's actually quite a dilemma.
    militarypotts Spec/4 Military Police, Vietnam Era, "Does the noise in my head bother you? Welcome to the Twilight Zone!"

  5. #15

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    This coil problem has me really glad I converted to 12V.

  6. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nailhead View Post
    This coil problem has me really glad I converted to 12V.
    Did you just convert to 12v and still have the original 230 Tornado in your truck? If so, do you now just use a 12v ignition coil in the stock distributor? Does everything on the truck need to be swapped out from 24v to 12v, like gauges, bulbs, wiring harness,etc? Basically anything that ran on 24v before? I'm just curious, not that I would go ahead and do it, although it would solve the problem of the coils.
    militarypotts Spec/4 Military Police, Vietnam Era, "Does the noise in my head bother you? Welcome to the Twilight Zone!"

  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by militarypotts View Post
    Did you just convert to 12v and still have the original 230 Tornado in your truck? If so, do you now just use a 12v ignition coil in the stock distributor? Does everything on the truck need to be swapped out from 24v to 12v, like gauges, bulbs, wiring harness,etc? Basically anything that ran on 24v before? I'm just curious, not that I would go ahead and do it, although it would solve the problem of the coils.
    The 230 we installed in my truck had a GM one-wire alternator already on it from its fire-zone days. I bought an NOS civvy distributor from Kwai, installed a Pertronix, and we used a coil Harry had sitting on a shelf. We swapped out the remaining 24v gauges for new SW gauges, all new lighting, and a complete wiring harness from Hot Rod Wires.

    The wiring harness didn't need to be changed out, strictly speaking, for the 12v to 24v conversion, but I think it made it easier starting from scratch with multi-colored wiring.

    I think the only electrical component that can be used with either voltage would be the fuel gauge sending unit. I didn't have a fuel tank to start with, so a new sender was my only option.

  8. #18
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    Interesting. That's way more work than I'm ready to do at my age though, (66). I guess if I used my truck a lot, I'd consider it, but my truck is just used for local cruise nights, maybe twice a week, and a few parades through out the year. I put on maybe 400 miles a year at the very most. With that being said, I know it doesn't really matter about how many miles I drive with these crazy cheap coils. The Pertonix ignition and my new coil have the truck starting and running great......SO FAR! Hope I just didn't jinx myself.
    Thanks for the information though, I appreciate it.
    militarypotts Spec/4 Military Police, Vietnam Era, "Does the noise in my head bother you? Welcome to the Twilight Zone!"

  9. #19
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    My feeling is that if everything's working OK and the wiring in your truck is in good condition, I would just keep a spare coil handy and keep looking for a military one. My wiring had a little tampering with and I just put it back to the stock condition. Whenever I had wires which were exposed and cracked, I went back under the plastic wrapping and spliced a new flexible piece on. Mind you soldered splice and heat shrink tubing. I bought a few NOS wire harnesses of of eBay just for cutting up and using the wire and factory connectors already attached.

    My reasoning is that the TMs have all of the correct info. No engineering to be done by me. Everything is 24 volt in my truck and two batteries give a lot of cranking power. Also, you need half the AWG for wire since when you double the voltage, you half the current. No loss of voltage on the way to the lights or starter etc.

  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by militarypotts View Post
    Interesting. That's way more work than I'm ready to do at my age though, (66). I guess if I used my truck a lot, I'd consider it, but my truck is just used for local cruise nights, maybe twice a week, and a few parades through out the year. I put on maybe 400 miles a year at the very most. With that being said, I know it doesn't really matter about how many miles I drive with these crazy cheap coils. The Pertonix ignition and my new coil have the truck starting and running great......SO FAR! Hope I just didn't jinx myself.
    Thanks for the information though, I appreciate it.
    The guy who did most of the electrical work (especially the wiring tie-ins) is over 70. You might be making a bigger deal out of that one than it is.

    That's really as frequently as I use mine, but I think a 12v system makes it more enjoyable knowing I can buy electrical components over-the-counter. I had two M-series Dodges that I used, and the 24v thing got old after a while, with its lack of availability.

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