Packard Forum Index » General

Today I read in a serious source about a postwar government vehicle (no Packard relation) with an emergency ignition system, which works when the normal ignition system fails. The driver has a switch beneath the dashbord to activate it and after activation, the car is able to drive for 30 minutes. The alternative ignition system itself is described as "vibration ignition" but no further details are given. I asked Google but there was nothing.

Wonder if it was anything like the old Model T ignition system which used a vibrator circuit to produce a spark. I think the T used individual coils but if points failed and a vibrator worked a single coil it might work. Timing would probably be for crap unless somehow the distributor was modified at the same time and could factor that into the spark to the plug timing but maybe work well enough to keep the vehicle moving.

A perfect starting point for further research. Howard, that was great!

'Vibrator Ignition" might be a better search term. Other possibilities: "Buzz Coil", "Trembler Coil", "Master Vibrator"

Yes, every of the mentioned search terms has been better than mine, thanks.
Meanwhile, I found out that this ignition system is as old as the automotive engineering. Even the Benz Patent-Motorwagen was furnished with it in 1885.



-> Here is, how the shower of sparks looks like.

It sounds like trembler coils. They use the magnetism of the coil operation to turn it back on so you end up with a continuous series of sparks when you have power. So the distributor will just connect power to it just after TDC but the power stays on a bit to get many sparks.

Of course, each spark is less powerful than a normal coil. Tremblers are great if the engine needs to run on any fuel imaginable, like 20 octane gas. A normal ignition system gives more efficiency and power but the fuel must be sufficiently volatile to deflagrate with the single spark. Makes sense for wartime use if fuel quality was intermittent. I see no real use in a normal postwar vehicle.