Another amp failure motivated me to go ahead and move it.

I had a nice aluminum heat sink and I decided to mount the module onto it. I relocated just the module to the front of the car mounted right in front of my electric puller fans. I left the ab-14 box in place and am using the original components. Resistors on order, this is just temporary.

I’m amazed at the heat the module generates at idle! No wonder they fry.



NOS GM module off eBay. They’re getting rare.

Wired up. Original mounting plan shown here got ditched.

Final mounted position. Frame makes an additional heat sink and the fan, a centimeter behind the sink, draws through it.

 

Will water be an issue?

 

Not to put words in Jigjag's mouth, but I wouldn't think so. The GM unit is sealed. If he uses proper resistors and uses marine style heat shrink on their connections, they shouldn't be an issue. He's mounted the unit out of direct water blast. The engine compartment isn't sealed anyway, and the existing location is subject to condensation.
I'm interested in the source of the heatsink.

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I moved the AB14 out the front on all mine and many others, YEARS ago.

I kept it simple as I see no need to re-invent the wheel.

HOT, yes that AB14 can get hot.
I still have the burn mark from mine, and mostly other items contribute to the heat.

Spark plug gap
HT leads, way past the use by date.
Cooling system not at 100%.
Cap and rotor getting too old.
etc etc.

 

I moved mine too, to the same place. Water will be an problem, as was mentioned above, all the connections, including the male side on the amp, should be very carefully sealed. Driving in a rainstorm otherwise has a very good chance of stopping the car.
Love that heatsink! I wish I had one.

 

Interesting stuff. I don't have this style ignition amp(s). Merelli car, I have 2 right on top of the rad, aluminum plates, putty and as I've learned more about the function I've wondered about heat. Especially with the rad and having one FAIL. They are very expensive. I have a permanent eBay search set up so that if one comes up cheap, I'll get and have another.

Is heat as described also such a concern on Merelli cars? A little less? Not so much?

Yeah, they cost so much having one damaged with water as opposed to regular use would be a bummer...

 

Any electronic component is going to fail from:

Heat
Voltage spike
Poor wiring and resulting failure to do its task.

Topside of the rad panel is HOT, but NOT as HOT as the engine manifold, or in the case pf the Opus system, in the middle of the V.

Moving the Marelli to a cooler spot could be an advantage, and sealing from water etc is NOT difficult, just requires a bot of thinking.

My AB14 were all sealed with RTV, carefully and 100%. The wires were individual not in plugs, the plugs had long time fell apart, and they were sealed also at the case with RTV.

The Red Rocket was in 1995, and never touched the thing since.

 

Thanks Grant...
I will have a look at mine. Maybe,,, take a good section of steal, bolt in the steal so it hangs out forward of the top rad plate, and then bolt the two aluminum plates and the amps to it...? Would be aluminum to steel heat sink, air flowing underneath. Would have to be better than bolted directly to that sheet of steel that covers the radiator. We'll see.

Can't envision the space well enough sitting here with my cup O joe and it's chilly out today. But I'll have a look soon enough. The list of STUFF I would like to do is growing faster than the amount of time had AND,,, the depth of my shallow wallet. Yikes!!!

 

I cut that heat sink down to size from one I salvaged from some electronic component. I couldn’t find anything perfect online.

The GM unit itself if fully sealed. I suspect it could run submerged. I sealed the connectors with clear rtv and put dielectric grease in the connection ends. This will get wet. I’ll enclose the connections if I have any issues.

In testing, resting on top of the intake manifold, this heat sink was too hot to hold after 5 minutes at idle. Intake was still cool. Good wires, gapped properly. Mounted to the frame, fans inactive, it gets warm, but not hot. After a run, or fans on at idle, stays ambient temperature.

My concern with this setup is that I have a meter of unshielded wire from the amp to the shielded wire. No issues so far, our initial test drive took me and my girl out to a fish camp. No hiccups or misses, and the shrimp cocktail was delicious.

Shielded wire on order. I’ll let you know how it goes.

 

Your call on that shielded wire.

Only one of mine still ran it.

The others, no.
I picked up the shielded wire in the aperture behind the front wheel, where the loom enters the cabin. Normal wires have served me well, They run up the ledge of the RH wing mounts, so nowhere near HT leads etc,

Shrimp cocktail, WELL DONE.

 

My amp runs normal wire from the amp in front of the rad until it joins with the OEM shielded loom. 100% fine for several years now.