What is this spark enhancer called?

gdtractor · Mar 21, 2020

Could anyone tell me what this is called and if you can still buy them and where?
Thanks much .. GD Tractor

Here is a video of the item: https://youtu.be/qG9cG1Bqbzc
Spark Enhancer

Bob · Mar 21, 2020

(quoted from post at 00:37:28 03/21/20) Could anyone tell me what this is called and if you can still buy them and where?
Thanks much .. GD Tractor

Here is a video of the item: https://youtu.be/qG9cG1Bqbzc
Spark Enhancer

If you do a GOOGLE search for "spark intensifier" you can learn about the history of them..

There's one similar to the one in your link on ebay, Auction #113407998740, for $100.

kcm.MN · Mar 21, 2020

Thanks Bob! Never knew such a thing existed.

Bob · Mar 21, 2020

(quoted from post at 01:42:54 03/21/20) Thanks Bob! Never knew such a thing existed.

Here's an interesting link from Steam & Engine Australia: https://web.archive.org/web/2005072...amengine.com.au/ic/history/spark-intensifier/

MarkB_MI · Mar 21, 2020

J. C. Whitney used to sell such things, along with many other miraculous products. Alas, their product line today is much more boring.

kcm.MN · Mar 21, 2020

Thanks again. Quite an interesting read!

Billy Shafer · Mar 21, 2020

I always called J. C. Whitney the dreamers book.

560Dennis · Mar 21, 2020

Step up transformation

Olyj1947 · Mar 21, 2020

John Deere uses them on lawn tractors with Kawasaki engines.

Crazy Horse · Mar 21, 2020

I remember when I was a kid in the mid-50's and going to the local annual exhibition fair with our family. There was usually a booth there with a relatively new car and some snake-oil salesman was selling a product very similar. He would let the car idle with some version of a tachometer showing engine RPM's. He would then shut the car down, stick one of these things on (I assume on the top end of the coil) and fire the car up again and the RPM's would have jumped up by a noticeable amount. My dad always said there was a little guy hiding inside the car (you could never seem to see inside very well) who would be pressing down the accelerator pedal after the changeover. That would have been a long day at work for whoever was in there. Ha, my dad always thought he was one step ahead of the shysters.

Crazy Horse · Mar 21, 2020

Here's a video link below of a FIRE STORM spark enhancer .... and it looks like you can still buy them (you'll have to cut and paste this link) ....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/FIRESTORM-Ignition-Coil-Booster-Car-Pick-Up-Enhancer-Racing-Fuel-Saver-/330852523667)

for $150. I think these are the same kinds of things I remember. Video below shows one working.
Fire Storm Spark Enhancer Video

Bob Collins · Mar 21, 2020

As I understand them from when I used to see them demonstrated at the fair, it is just an enclosed air gap which requires the coil to increase the voltage to jump it, once that happens the same spark continues to the spark plug. Often they are effective to start an old engine with marginal compression/fuel mixture/miscellaneous problems. No idea how long one would last with continuous use.

Brian G. NY · Mar 21, 2020

(quoted from post at 08:13:59 03/21/20)

(quoted from post at 01:42:54 03/21/20) Thanks Bob! Never knew such a thing existed.

Click to expand...

Here's an interesting link from Steam & Engine Australia: https://web.archive.org/web/2005072...amengine.com.au/ic/history/spark-intensifier/

I see that in that article mention is made of the discovery that when a plug wire is held slightly away from the plug a "contaminated" plug would sometimes fire.
How many of you older guys (like me) remember doing that with an old snowmobile to get it to fire?

sotxbill · Mar 21, 2020

coil discharge.. a coil discharge voltage is based on the resistance of the discharge path. The higher the resistance, the higher the voltage will be.

Increasing the resistance will increase the voltage. Once the voltage is high enough to overcome the resistance or gap, the coil will discharge. Making the voltage higher means it will jump a bigger gap or fire through a simi fouled plug. This works up till the voltage is high enough to overcome the insulation of the coil and short across internally or across the plastic output of the coil, as many coils will do, with no wire hooked to them.

Air has resistance. In a vacuum, it takes less voltage to jump a gap. As pressure increases, in take more voltage to jump the same gap.

changing to carbon wires or resistor plugs can increase the voltage and give you a """hotter""" spark potential. Adding an air gap will also do this. Remember however once the voltage is high enough to jump the gap, its going to fire/arc/discharge at that point and not go any higher. So a good plug will fire at a lower voltage than a bad plug.

A shorted plug will simply drain off the charge through its alternate path,, and not jump any gap and therefore produce no spark to fire off the gasolene.

Deere Mark · Mar 21, 2020

Bought one at a tractor show about 20 years ago ($20). Guy had a car set up with fouled plugs (of course he didn't tell us about that little trick) so that it seemed to make the engine run better (faster). He was saying that it would make any gas engine run much better. Can't find it now; might still be around here.

Dean · Mar 21, 2020

I remember seeing translucent ones on magneto equipped HD motorcycles in decades past.

Once available from J. C. Whitney.

Dean

gdtractor · Mar 21, 2020

I remember those days too .. and they did exactly the same thing .. GD Tractor

gdtractor · Mar 21, 2020

Thanks ... that was an impressive video .. again thanks for the info !!
Gary

gdtractor · Mar 21, 2020

Thanks everyone for the info ..
Gary

JerryCPP(WA) · Mar 21, 2020

Many years ago we had an ancient AC wheel tractor. One of the plugs constantly fouled, so someone got the idea of rigging the plug wire so the spark had to jump about a 1/4" gap to the plug. The wire was held in place with, what else, baling wire. As long as everything was in place, it would hit on all four. I wonder if the device is nothing more than an open gap in the wire inside.

Texasmark1 · Mar 22, 2020

Well stated!

Gene Davis (Ga.) · Mar 22, 2020

Years ago when the engines got worn out and were using lots of oil to foul the plugs on old vehicle around here people would take a large 4 hole button and cut the spark plug wire in two pieces. They would strip the wire back enough to fasten it through two of the holes in the button on the coil side and do the same on the end going to the spark plug and thus get a spark gap of about 1/4" that intensified the spark. It was known as a "button jumper fix" and was quite a sight to see at night when one raised the hood. Of course it totally did away with A M radio reception in the few vehicles that had a radio or anywhere close by. Gene Davis Tennille,Ga.

What is this spark enhancer called?

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