DMC bronze box amps draw?

Rusty Spokes

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Location
Decatur, Ga. USA
Any idea how many amps the DMC box pulls? Red wire into the box without the coils? The search function discussions indicated about 4 amps?

I do know the Nology coils draw between .5 to 2 amps each depending on dwell time.

Anyone know? Thank you in advance.
 
Dunno the actual answer for a DMC, but the electronic brains of the unit wouldn't draw much current at all. A few milliamps I guess.

The coils would draw a few Amps each though. That coil primary current is switched via the ignition box. Some electronic ignitions have higher tolerance for coil current than others. The installation guide for most electronic ignitions will normally specify an optimum (or minimum) primary resistance for the coils to be used with it. Lower coil resistance than specified means a higher current that the ignition has to switch, which could fry its circuits.

I find it simpler to imagine a points ignition system to figure out what goes on. The actual current that flows through the an energised coil doesn't change with time. The current either flows or it doesn't, depending whether the points are closed or open. The time the coil is energised (dwell time) is determined by the number of crank degrees that the points are closed, so the actual time interval that the points are closed decreases with increasing revs, as does the points open duration. So the coil is always energised for the same percentage of time, regardless of revs. That means the average current draw is roughly constant throughout the rev range.

Some electronic ignitions have two lobes or magnets on the rotor, one to switch the coil on, and one to switch it off, so it works pretty much like points.

For electronic ignition units that have a single rotor lobe and a fixed dwell time in milliseconds rather than crank degrees, the average current flow through the coil will increase with revs because the coil is always on for a fixed time, but  spends less time switched off between firing cycles at higher revs.

You'll have to ask a DMC specialist how the system figures out its dwell. Then you can then estimate the current flow through the coils by applying Ohm's Law to the coil primary resistance (I = V/R). Multiply that by the fraction of time the coils are energised and you'll have an answer (of sorts) for average current over time. It won't be a perfect answer because there may be a better way to work out average current. RMS (root mean square) is the preferred arithmetic for sine wave signals, but a coil current profile is roughly a square wave, so arithmetic average will be near enough. I suspect you're only looking for a ballpark figure anyway.

There are also other factors that come into play such as coil reluctance and saturation. But that's getting into stuff that none of us want to know about.  ???





 
Dellortoman said:
There are also other factors that come into play such as coil reluctance and saturation. But that's getting into stuff that none of us want to know about.  ???

Oh I dunno, some of us aren?t reluctant to spark that kind of discussion, even if it causes tension. After all, it may plug a gap in our knowledge  ;)
 
I am shocked by the lack of continuity in the battery of answers. I suppose I could relay this topic to a group more grounded.  :P

Nology says: depends on the rpm, coil and ignition system, 0.5-2A
current draw is measured over time, and since the coil is only on for a few milliseconds, the measured A is very low, even if the coil dwell time shows 4-7 A.

Makes sense that the DMC box is a low amp draw.

What I am doing is using my original 3c stop relay, re-wired off the battery 12v+ and powering up the DMC box (one of the two relay 87 12v outputs) and the coils (the second 87 relay output) so the DMC/coil side 12v power needs are outside the ignition switch. The original blue trigger wire still operates the stop relay.  This takes some load off the ignition switch (4 amps?) and all the long wiring from the battery to the ignition switch and back to the coils then the DMC under the seat.

I am fusing the battery + to the #30 on the relay. I think a 10 amp fuse will be a safe bet for coils/DMC. That is why I asked.

Wired in the relay like this:

mHtIjKRcT1MSsIxW14uX-FYEc-7EJsUj56KssoOhGdiRXvRMZYUktH4m3Lfsu_N4fFn2XvCemuGNtrQE83K4vUsNmMlJ5h91dc8_5sXRPDQ3iwDa1JQUqa-tYOZcyNp_xvCHLglT4w


Sorry if I seem a bit short.


 
Damn! Somehow I unintentionally repeated your horrendous use of a word I won't repeat in a failed attempt at being humorous. Apologies - musta got me wires crossed.
 
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