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EI options for Dual Mag provisioned Engines

flintstoneflyer

Well Known Member
Hi All,
I know some are running EI's on their dual mag provisioned engines. Curious to see what the different options are. I have an O-320 H2AD going on an RV-4. I know...got a deal on the engine I couldn't pass up.

Trying to determine how to tackle the EI upgrade.

Thanks in advance.
 
We can do CPI or CPI-2 EI on Dual Mag engines. It's crank triggered. One coil pack can mount where the mag was and another on top of the case if it's a wide deck. If narrow deck, can mount the 2nd coil pack to the firewall or engine mount tubes.
 
Hi All,
I know some are running EI's on their dual mag provisioned engines. Curious to see what the different options are. I have an O-320 H2AD going on an RV-4. I know...got a deal on the engine I couldn't pass up. Trying to determine how to tackle the EI upgrade. Thanks in advance.
Lycoming did that dual mag in one housing with one magneto drive thing. Not a great idea but it was a thing. The O320 H2AD has this? As Ross said you can do EI with crankshaft trigger. There are several EI that do this. SDS is one of the best however, sincerely.

Light Speed Plasma II & III (crank trigger or mag drive)
E-MAG P Mag (mag drive only)
SUREFLY (mag drive only)
FLYEFII (crank trigger only I think)
SDS EFI (crank trigger only)

So E Mag and SUREFLY are out. I know nothing of FLYEFII. Light Speed has been around forever and has it's pros and cons. I suppose you could jam a single regular Slick/Bendix MAG (or E-mag, Sureful) in the case drive and use crank trigger for second ignition....

FYI not EI related, your O320 H2AD has/had known cam issues. It is also an odd ball Lycoming model. Many parts are not interchangeable with standard O320's. This is why you likely got a good deal. So nothing wrong using it, especially if you got a steal price on it. Not a deal breaker, but not the most desirable Lycoming model. There are special oils and additives for the cam. It has been decades since I met a H2AD, so take this with grain of salt.
 
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If you do decide to switch over to one of the EI choices, be sure to remove the mag drive gear & block off the oil passage in the removed gear pilot shaft.
SDS supplies a cover plate with shaft in their kit for H2ADs
 
Beware

I have an H2AD myself.

A lot of EI's were listed... in my research, lot's will not work.
The dual mag on the H2AD rotates opposite (at the engine) from a conventional mag. AND the drive is the same as a 6-cylinder mag. A 4-cylinder P-MAG etc. will not just drop in.

What I've gone with is the Lightspeed II with the crank trigger for EI. For the mag, you could just remove some parts from your existing housing and convert it to a single mag. However support for those mags was limited the last I looked. It's possible to build up a single Bendix 1200 mag with an assortment of parts (4 cylinder internals for opposite rotation, different drive), which is what I have. An old time mag shop knew exactly what needed to go in and built this up for me. PM me if interested and I'll try to come up with the name of the shop.

If you do confirm an EI that will work on this engine, mounted on the mag drive location, I'd be interested to know.

Bryan - IO-320-H2AD (yes, injected!)
 
We can do CPI or CPI-2 EI on Dual Mag engines. It's crank triggered. One coil pack can mount where the mag was and another on top of the case if it's a wide deck. If narrow deck, can mount the 2nd coil pack to the firewall or engine mount tubes.

Ross,
Thanks for the response. What is the advantage of the CPI-2 over a CPI. I assume there is a cost factor. The engine is a bare bones H2AD. I have a Bendix I thought of installing, so the EI will be for redundancy. Is this possible with your setups?
Thanks
 
Ross,
Thanks for the response. What is the advantage of the CPI-2 over a CPI. I assume there is a cost factor. The engine is a bare bones H2AD. I have a Bendix I thought of installing, so the EI will be for redundancy. Is this possible with your setups?
Thanks

If you'll retain one mag, I think the CPI would be a better choice. It can be blind mounted if you don't want to install the controller/ display in the panel. No need for a backup battery if you have the mag.

The CPI-2 has a smaller, remote panel display, auto battery switch over and charging capability to the backup battery and might be a better choice if dual EIs are installed.
 
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