Here is one example, the new ribbed distributor block (K3822 or K3823).
The ribs help capture conductive carbon dust that wears from the brush and provides for a longer dielectrical path that reduces flash-over potential.
A close-up of the K-3822 block showing ribs.This is the older non-ribbed style:
This is what happens when with the old style distributor block if the carbon dust builds-up to the point that a conductive path exists from the carbon brush across the block.
If you repair or overhaul your Slick magneto you might want to replace the block with the newer style one:
K-3822 for 4 cylinder Slick 4300 series magnetos and K-3823 for 6 cylinder Slick 6300 series magnetos. You can purchase these from Sacramento Sky Ranch 800-433-3564 or www.sacskyranch.com
Most of the distributor block failures were caused by the carbon brush wearing prematurely.
ReplyDeleteThe improvement noted in this article is admirable but the brush was the real problem.
I suggested to slick at the time to use the same
brush grade as TCM . They did not respond at the
time, but I have noticed now that their brushes
are wearing as normal now. To me this was a
quality control problem that was not admitted.