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Different kind of cam sensor for distributor engines

Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 1:45 am
by Chris Wolfson
For a "look as stock as possible" engine, I have no easy way to fit a cam sensor.
Some BMW fuel injected Motronic versions had a very easy solution, as they where still distributor ignited. They used a ring shaped Bosch sensor that was put on the No. 1 cylinder ignition wire. This makes a very simple, discrete, inductive cam sensor (with distributor ignition only).
Has anyone used such a part on Speeduino or comparable installations?
I would use diode, resistor and Zehner array to get a near to square wave, 5V limited output signal.

Re: Different kind of cam sensor for distributor engines

Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 7:10 am
by PSIG
Yes, and you can do a search for several examples here of inductive pickups and circuits. Some are based on DIY timing light pickups. Keep in-mind that certain wheel decoders that need cam signal to sync won't fire spark until it does, which means the cam signal never happens, so it never gets sync. Catch 22. :lol: