Sacramento Sky Ranch

The Magneto
Ignition System

by John Schwaner

Table of Contents


  1. Introduction
  2. The Magneto
  3. The Magneto Coil
  4. The Magneto Rotor
  5. The Magneto Capacitor
  6. The Ignition Lead
  7. Electrical Testing of the Ignition Lead
  8. "E" Gap
  9. The "P" Lead
  10. How Much Voltage is Required?
  11. How Much Energy is Required?
  12. How Altitude Affects the Magneto
  13. How Temperature Affects the Magneto
  14. The Impulse Coupling
  15. Inspecting the Bendix Impulse Coupling
  16. Installation Tip for the Bendix Impulse Coupling
  17. The Retard Breaker Magneto
  18. Retard Breaker Circuit Description
  19. The Magneto Check
  20. Magneto-Induced Engine Roughness
  21. Magneto Waveform Interpretation
  22. "Bumping" Magneto Timing
  23. Bendix S-20/S-200 Rotor Bearings
  24. Bendix S-20/S-200 Bearing Grease
  25. Moisture Drains on Bendix S-1200 Magnetos
  26. Bendix Breaker Cam Lubrication
  27. Bendix Distributor Block Bushing Lubrication
  28. Replacing Distributor Felt on Bendix Magnetos
  29. Coating the S-20/S-200 Distributor Block
  30. Magneto Oil Contamination
  31. Checking the Ignition Filter or Mag Capacitor
  32. The D-2000 and D-3000 Dual Magneto
  33. Timing the Magneto to the Engine
  34. Ignition System Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
  35. Electrical Bonding
  36. Storing Magneto Rotors
  37. Slick Magneto Supersedure Listing
  38. Data Plate Information
  39. Service Bulletins for Bendix S-1200 Series
  40. Service Bulletins for Bendix S-20/S-200 Series
  41. Service Bulletins for Bendix D-2000/D-2200
  42. Service Bulletins for Bendix D-3000/D-3200
  43. Service Bulletins for Slick 4200 Series
  44. Service Bulletins for Slick 6200 Series
  45. Which Magneto is Best?
  46. Index

How to Order