Holden Commodore Ignition Module V8 VN-VT 5.0
- EXCHANGE AUCTION -
This is a CHANGE OVER (Exchange) "Buy it now" auction for a Commodore Ignition Module to suit the Commodore 5.0 V8 engine as used in the VN to early VT models. It has been refurbished bringing it back to as close to brand new as we can get.
Please note that since people have been buying the OEM modules and tossing out their Bosch ones, this may now be a rebuilt OEM module, so if you explicitly want a Bosch module then get me to rebuild yours.
This Ignition Module has been refurbished, not just fixed by replacing a part that has failed. It has been through a complete rebuild. Time has also been put into optimizing it to improve the spark energy and spark length and can result in up to 10% apparent increase in engine torque over the original modules.
If you are sentimentally attached to your own module then it can be
refurbished instead of an exchange one.
If you need custom modifications for a specific purpose, eg. higher current limit,
or additional noise filtering (for fault code #49), then message me.
There is a 2 YEAR WARRANTY on this module.
Email me for international postage rates. Address details for exchange will be sent soon after completing a "Buy It Now". If you are unsure as to if the module is the cause of your problem then message me.
This is an EXCHANGE auction. You send me your old module and then I send you this refurbished one.
NOTE: When removing the module take care that the rubber seal inside the
4-pin flying-lead connector doesn't get lost! -It should stay in the
car-side of the connector.
Also, the two mounting bolts have a nut and sometimes a washer on them
underneath. Don't let them fall to the ground and lose them.
The washers could also be stuck to the car body! (Don't send me the bolts
since you will need them for your new module).
Payment by:
Payment to be received within 1 week of closure. Pickup from Epping, Sydney area, or exchange via Registered Post. If posting your old module then please use either Registered Post or Express Post Platinum (which now has insurance with it also) if you need fast turn-around. The refurbished module will be mailed to you either by Registered Post or Express Post Platinum.
Please email me with any questions.
WHAT EXCHANGE MODULE WILL I GET?
| Ignition Module Comparision | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Feature: | GM Modules | MY STD REFURBISHED MODULE | OEM modules |
| Current Switching Capacity of Coil Driver Device(1) (Continuous) |
10 Amps | 15 Amps | 10 Amps |
| Current Switching Capacity of Coil Driver Device(1) (Pulsed) |
15 Amps | 30 Amps | 15 Amps |
| Coil Kick-back Energy Absorption Capability(2) |
Nil | 600 mJ | Nil |
| Saturation Voltage(3) | 2.6V @7.5Amps | 2.1V @7.5Amps | 2.?V @7.5Amps |
| 12V Voltage Spike Tolerance | 80V @0.83W |
100V @2.5W |
60V @0.40W |
| Temperature Rating | 105 Deg C | 125 Deg C | 105 Deg C |
(1) Module is internally limited less than this.
(2) 1000mJ is equivalent to a 1kW pulse for a millisecond. (One spark is about
90mJ - 9kW for 10uS, or 90W if averaged over 1mS). This is a "must have" if
the spark can't jump anywhere due to a disconnected ign lead or broken rotor
etc).
(3) Voltage that is not switched to the coil and remains across the module
causing heat and loss of spark energy, particularly at high RPM.
(a) Specifications subject to change without notice.
LOOKING AFTER YOUR MODULE
If your car is misfiring or running rough then there is a possibility that it's not the module. Check the usual things first: spark plugs, ignition leads, distributor cap & rotor.
On a Commodore 5.0 I would suggest changing:
Distributor caps have a habit of suddenly corroding. One year it looks fine, a year later it's shot.
When changing rotors always keep the old rotor to compare against. I've seen some after-market rotors that are shorter by up to nearly 1mm. This is equivalent of a 2mm spark plug gap!
Yes - You will probably get an electric shock if you touch the coil driver
device on top of the module with the engine running - this is normal.
Avoid touching it!
What you are feeling is the kick-back from the coil. When it fires, voltage
comes out both sides of the coil, which the ignition module must handle.
By the way, the kick-back will increase if the coil has a harder time getting
rid of the energy it has created when it's fired, such as if your spark
plug gap increases or the ignition leads get old. This can reduce the lifetime
of the ignition module - so get any electrical problems fixed fast!
So ensure you don't spark test the car by seeing how far you
can get the spark to jump. This is not good for it. With electronics now
firing the coil, gone are the days when you do that!
WARNING: DON'T LET THE case of the coil driver short to the chassis or it will turn your coil fully on. This will burn out the coil, it's only designed to be pulsed. The device should be coated to protect against this but falls off over time.
If your coil has died, FIRST CHECK THAT THERE ISN'T A SHORT CIRCUIT between the two fat end pins of the module's 6-pin connector. There should not be a short circuit between pins 1 & 6. A short circuit there means your module is holding the coil on (so keep your ignition key turned OFF!).
Note: The pre-96 GM modules generally ran better than the post-96 ones due to changes (imposed by the electronics industry) in the parts used by the manufacturer around that time. My modules generally run better than the pre-96 ones.
QUESTION AND ANSWER
Q: I've changed the module but the car's still intermittently stopping.
What else could it be?
A: The Hall-Effect sensor in the distributor generates the main timing signal.
This sensor (sometimes called the Crank sensor) is usually more reliable than
the module but is dying in most of the Commodores now.
The VSs onwards were worst than the VRs for some reason.
Maybe they changed the sensor type and it was less reliable. Check the coil too.
NOTE: Bosch has not manufactured these for a long time now. There are two different
sensors on the market, both of which don't seem to be lasting anywhere near as long
as the originals. Some even die as soon as the car gets up to operating temperature.
Q: I get no spark while cranking the car until I stop then I get one spark.
The module, coil and distributor are all ok. What could it be?
A: There is a problem with the Bypass line - the brown wire running from the ECU
to the module in the 4-pin connector, or your ECU is either knackered or has
lost its earth. Check the EFI fuse and relay. (The ECU is telling the module to
use the EST timing signal which isn't present until after the car starts).
Q: My (auto) car has difficulty holding idle when put into gear, mostly after
warmed up. The garage smells of fuel after parking it there for a while.
A: These cars are getting old and the fuel breather tubes around the fuel
tank are perishing. This not only stinks the garage out if parked with a full
tank, but produces a vacuum leak in the emissions control system.
Q: My car has a lot of difficulty starting, but once warm will run all day then the
same problem occurs when it's cold again.
A: These cars have two temperature sensors, well, the VR does anyway.
One feeds the gauge, the other supplies the ECU. The ECU sensor may have died,
causing the ECU to think the car is up to running temperature when it's not.
Contact me for voltage readings to check against.
Q: I accidently shorted the battery terminals of my car while working on it.
Now the car won't crank when the key is turned.
A: You have given a "brown out" to the BCM (Body Control Module) and it's
gone off into gaga land and is no longer reading the key code to start.
Reset it by disconnecting the battery for 10s.
Q: My car's running really rough and rich and has no power.
A: Check the MAP sensor vacuum hose for splits/leaks.
Q: If I stop the engine for anything longer than about 1 minute, then when I
go to start it again the engine takes many cranks to start and I can smell
fuel out the exhaust.
A: Your fuel pressure regulator might be stuffed and is leaking fuel back down the
vacuum tube into the intake manifold and flooding the engine. Diagnose flooding
problems by stopping the engine by pulling out the fuel pump relay.
Wait a while then put it back in
and if it starts easier then suspect flooding from fuel reg or leaky injectors.
By the way, the ECU is programmed to keep the fuel injector pulse to a minimum
when starting if it sees the accelerator flat to the floor. It knows you are trying
to clear a flooded engine.
Q: I don't know if it's a fuel or spark problem.
A: Spark test your car by unplugging an ignition lead, plugging it into a
spare spark plug and lying it's thread against the chassis (away from fuel
or battery vapours), OR,
poking a screwdriver into the end so that it touches the plug connector,
and sticky taping it so that the shaft of the screwdriver is 1.0mm away
from the chassis or a strut tower bolt.
Don't exceed 1.0mm! DON'T TOUCH THE METAL SHAFT!
(Tip: using a non-resistive plug makes seeing and hearing the spark much
easier).
If spark is ok then get someone to squirt some "Start Ya Bastard" Instant
Engine Starter into the air intake as you try to start it and see if it
coughs and splutters.
Q: I don't know if it's my ignition module, coil, or hall-effect sensor
that's at fault. I don't want to pay hundred$ to a mechanic to find out.
A: I can make you a diagnostic tool so you can diagnose it yourself.
The module can die either hot or cold whereas the hall-effect sensor
mainly dies when hot.
Q: My car sometimes has trouble maintaining idle and stalls.
A: 4 things to check. They are, in order of ease of checking:
1) Base idle adjustment screw, 2) Inlet manifold vacuum leaks,
3) Idle Air Control (IAC) valve (stepper motor), 4) Injector clean.
The base idle adjustment screw on my car is now slipping regularly. It should
be able to be reached with a long screwdriver and torch without having to
remove engine covers. With engine up to operating temperature, turn it
clockwise and wait for the IAC valve to bring it back down again.
Keep doing this until it doesn't go down then back it off a bit.
The inlet manifold bolts are renowned for coming loose on these engines.
If you've never replaced the IAC valve then it might be time to replace it.
It could also just need a throttle body or injector clean.
Q: I've got the dreaded VT error code #49. It's misfiring and my timing has
now also retarded back to base timing and no one can time it.
A: 5 things we can do. Contact me.
Q: My car only runs on certain modules, but the modules run fine in other
people's cars.
A: Same deal as above. Contact me.
Q: Do I need to change the coil suppression capacitor?
A: No one ever tells anyone to do this. Well I'm going to start...
The 0.5uF coil suppression capacitor should be changed with every coil
change. In fact it should probably be done sooner if you are waiting for
your coil to die.
What symptoms can I expect if it isn't changed?
Hopefully nothing much except increased clicking noise in the radio.
If you are unlucky it can lead to engine misfires and ECU fault code #49
being produced in extreme circumstances.
Q: My car's automatic transmission can suddenly stop changing gear properly.
It hangs onto each gear until very high RPM then slams into the next gear.
Once it happens, the only way to clear it is to turn the engine off and
restart it.
A: A faulty Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) can cause this. It should be
accompanied by a 19, 21 or 22 ECU fault code, but quite often the ECU fails
to detect the fault until it gets very persistent. Try reseating the TPS
connector first.
Q: My car's indicators have stopped working. The last thing I did was press
the Hazard switch.
A: The indicators are routed through the Hazard switch. Since you haven't
used the Hazard switch for so long, the contacts have oxidized
and now it's not making contact. Before replacing it try giving it a dozen
on/off's to knock the oxidation off.
Q: Some people start their car then idle it to warm it up before driving off.
Should I do this too?
A: They're wearing their engine out. After you start the engine you need
some oil pressure to push the oil around the engine. All this idling they're
doing is on no oil pressure. An idling engine doesn't have enough
pressure to get things going. They're also wasting petrol.
Start it and drive straight away. If you can't do this then hold the
engine at 1500-2000 rpm for 10 to 20 seconds to push the oil through
before bringing it back to idle.
FUEL & OCTANE RATING
Most people tend to believe that octane rating has something to do with power but it is only an indication of speed of burn. Higher octane means a slower burn rate - usually better for the engine. To raise the octane rating they add stuff to it that doesn't burn. This used to be lead, but since that was considered poisonous we now use cancer-causing benzene. The higher the octane rating (of the same type of fuel) the lower the energy content of the fuel, which tends to be contrary to what most people think.
High compression engines need to run high octane fuel to stop them pinging so people have mistakenly assumed that it contains more energy and will make your engine more powerful since this is the fuel that is marketed towards sports cars. The advertising people have championed this idea to sell you the more expensive fuel.
You should run your car on the lowest octane rating that it will run on without pinging. This varies for different engines.
In general, the smaller the engine, the higher the octane rating is likely to be needed. Big engines can cope with low octane fuel, having more space to expand in when burnt. Just because someone tells you they use high octane fuel because it runs better, doesn't mean your car will. The fuel needs to be tuned to the engine. It varies with engine timing too. Retard the ignition to run lower octane fuel.
Another thing people tend to think is that since it goes through an extra stage at the refinery (adding the additive) some people then think it is somehow cleaner and helps clean your injectors. Can't see this myself but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!
By the way, injectors can be cleaned with 50 cents worth of kerosine.
But the injector cleaner has some red dye added to make it look impressive,
so buy it instead :-)
Kero burns, lubricates, and is very good at removing built up grime.
Kero also goes well in the oil for unclogging sticky lifters.
Some mechanics just use kero and charge you full price. Try smelling a bottle
of injector cleaner and a bottle of kero and see if you can tell the difference.
BUT I don't think it's good for your fuel hoses so only use this stuff when
absolutely necessary. Normally you are better off just taking your car for a
long drive.
91 octane fuel runs fine in my VR V8.
ENGINE OILS
Same deal as fuel:- it must match your particular engine.
Oils typically have a rating expressed as two numbers, such as: 10-40. The first number is how the oil behaves when cold. The second number is how it behaves when hot. The higher the number, the thicker the film strength.
Oil gets thinner as it heats up. An unprocessed oil is basically just one number, say 30. Additives are put in the oil to make it behave differently at high temperatures, thereby giving oils the two number ratings. A 10-40 oil is an oil that is thin like a 10-rated oil when cold and therefore flows easier and can get quickly pumped around the engine at startup, but does not thin out more than a 40-rated oil once up to operating temperature. These additives are NOT unaffected by the heat and cause the oil ratings to go out the window after only a few thousand kms so change your oil regularly.
A higher film strength protects your engine better, but on each stroke of the piston, it has to move the thicker film out of the way, thereby reducing power.
Don't be tempted into putting a racing oil, which is very thin oil such as 0-20 into your engine to get a few more horse power out of it. You are wearing your engine out faster, and you might actually lose power since the film thickness may be insufficient to seal the (worn) engine properly. The key thing to remember is that it's like Fuel, it must match your particular engine.
Try experimenting with various oils to suit the level of wear in your engine. I have recently changed to Penrite HPR Gas 10, which is a 10-50 rating. Compared with what I was using before, I am getting a noticable increase in power (feels like about 5%) and am now losing much less oil between changes as I was with the previous 5-50 rated oil. In Australia we don't have much of a need to go below a 10 rating on the first number.
VOLTAGE SPIKES
I have seen a few Ignition Modules that have been damaged by voltage spikes.
This can happen when your alternator regulator dies but can also occur by not having a good
battery or by not having the battery terminals clean. The car battery has a second
important function in the car, it is not just there to start the car.
It shorts out voltage spikes from the alternator.
This is why the alternator is wired direct to the car battery before the
wiring goes off to the rest of the car.
(Something to watch out for if you ever remove your voltage regulator -
disconnect the battery first or you may get a whooping spark!)
WARNING: Don't wire anything electronic off the alternator. The alternator is wired
directly to the battery, everything else is star-wired off the battery.
How does a voltage spike occur?
When something that draws heavy current is turned on, such as your headlights, the electric field in the alternator ramps up to deliver the extra current. When the headlights are turned off again, this electric field, which is sitting in an inductive system, cannot just disappear instantly, it has to decay away. That can leave a few hundred watts of power with suddenly no where to go. Watts = Volts x Amps, so if the current suddenly decreases then the voltage will suddenly increase (due to the laws of physics) to maintain the field. It's called an Alternator Load Dump. Alternator Load Dumps get shunted into the car battery to be shorted out. Weak batteries and faulty voltage regulators can cause irregular voltages.
Disconnecting a battery from a running car is a big "NO! NO!". The idea of doing this went out the window with the event of car electronics which was incorporated into cars a few decades ago, but not many people seem to have changed with the times.
The original equipment modules have a voltage spike immunity that I'm not particularly happy with, so all my modules feature improved robustness against voltage spikes.
The thermostat specified for my VR V8 is a 200F (93C) opening one.
Most cars run a 180F (82C) opening one. Changing to a cooler one is highly
recommended. It increases the life of everything in the engine bay who's life
span depends on chemical reactions, such as the electronics in the ignition
module and the distributor hall-effect sensor (crank sensor) just to name a few.
[It is called the Arrhenius Equation, which generalizes that near room
temperature the reaction rate of common chemical reactions doubles for every
10 deg rise in temperature].
I also have VR & VS 5.0 V8 automatic transmission computers (PCMs) available, both HSV and standard. Memcals include: BFPL (VR HSV), BLCC (VR V8), BLCJ (VR V8), CKUP (VS HSV), BWCU (VS V8).
Ok, time to forget that technical stuff, it's time for the.....
*** TOASTED MODULE AWARD ***
This highly coverted award is given to the person who single-handedly destroys the most components in their ignition module. A new winner has emerged who has simply blitzed the field, despite the number of people who have tried.
CONGRATULATIONS GOES to..... DM (aka "Conan The Destroyer") from HIGHFIELDS in QLD!!!!!!
With no less that 6 dead transistors and both ICs, DM is the clear and outright winner. And, as a bonus, he is also the very first person to toast the ICs.
DM -
I'd just like to thank my family,
the many shorting and cross earthing wires,
the dud battery that poured acid everywhere,
a now damaged alternator regulator and most of all the battery leads that
came lose while driving because I forgot to tighten the damn things up!
Most of all I'd like to thank the fuel pump for alerting me to the danger
even though I just ignored it anyway. Lastly I'd like to thank you,
the good people for nominating me for this award. I dedicate this to you!
Well done DM! We wish you all the very best in the future production of chaos and mayhem in the field of car electrics.
ooooOOOoooo