How To Adjust a
Puch Maxi Ignition
accurately.

Tags: ignition, timing
Author: Thomas R.

In this beginner friendly post we share with you how you can adjust your Puch Maxi ignition step by step. No prior experience is needed to start adjusting your Puch ignition today. This "how to" is suitable for ignitions using Bosch Breaker points or electronic ignitions (such as the Vec Ignition Coil)

Tools used / needed

When working on engines and ignitions, you'll need to work as precisely as possible to get the best performance out of your Puch Maxi engine. To do so, you'll need the following tools:

A piston stop
A timing induction light
A 12V battery
Some Screwdrivers
A Bosch flywheel puller
A Feeler Gauge
A micrometer (optionally)
A Black marker

Why use a timing induction light?

I’ve been working on Puch mopeds for some years and never did I succeed adjusting my ignition timing 100% right. That is until I met the timing induction light.

A timing induction light is an absolute must have. It allows you to adjust your ignition timing accurately. Let me be clear on this:

There is no better way to adjust your ignition timing accurately!

I know that with this statement, not everybody will agree. That’s ok. Until a year ago, I also tried to adjust my ignition by “eye-balling” the breaker points, but never did I achieve the same results as with a timing induction light.

5 STEPS TO SET YOUR IGNITION ACCURATELY

Step 1: adjust your breaker points at 0.35 mm

If the ignition you want to adjust uses breaker points, I recommend you to use a feelergauge and set the points at 0.35 mm. I always use 3 blades. A 0.30 mm which should fit between the points without any friction. A 0.40 mm blade which doesn't fit easily, unless the blade opens the breaker point. And at last but not least, a 0.35mm blade which should fit between the points with a little friction - a little rub without opening the breakerpoints gap.

How to adjust Puch Bosch breaker points? If you don't know how to adjust the breaker points, you can find more info here.

Step 2: Find Top Dead Center (TDC)

If you don't know what TDC is, it's the furthest point of a piston's travel towards the spark plug. After this point it goes back down towards the engine case.

This is a pretty easy step but keep in mind to work as precise as possible, each mm counts.

Follow the following steps to find the TDC.

Insert a piston stop
Turn your flywheel in the normal direction (the running direction) until it hits the piston stop.
Make a mark on the flywheel and carter as shown on the above picture (the right mark). Let's call this the ignition mark.
Turn the flywheel in the opposite direction and make a mark on the flywheel where the ignition mark on the carter is drawn (see above picture, the left mark).
Measure the distance between the two marks and draw a third mark right in the middle of the two other marks. This is your TOP DEAD CENTER mark.

Step 3: Mark the pre-ignition point.

Option : working with 16-18 degrees

For stock Puch E50 engines it’s advised to set your ignition timing on 16 – 18 degrees before TDC. Given the fact that a Bosch flywheel used on the E50 Puch engines has a circumference of 360mm, we can say that 1° = 1mm.

Start from the TDC mark and add 16mm (in the running direction). Do the same but now for 18mm.
As from now we will refer to this as pre-ignition marks.

Small note: some engine cases / flywheels already have the TDC marked originally. If this is the case, you don’t have to perform the steps above.

step 4: Check your current Ignition Timing with a timing light

The pre-ignition marks (the 16° and 18° markers) are drawn, so it’s now time to check how far or how close we are from our desired ignition timing point.

Common Error! Make sure that the connector on the sparkplug cable is set in the right direction. There should be an arrow located on the sparkplug cable connector showing you the direction to the sparkplug. If this is not set accordingly, you’ll get some strange results when checking the timing.

Take the 12V battery
Connect the timing light to the battery
Connect the timing light to sparkplug cable (see picture)
Start the engine
After all plugs are connected, it’s time to start the engine and hold the timing light towards the flywheel.
Now you’ll see how close you’re at the desired ignition timing point. COOL ISN’T IT!

How does a timing light work?
How does it come that with a timing light we only see our marks? A flywheel rotates by thousands of rpm, way to much for our eyes to follow. The timing light only gives light when your spark plug fires. So each time the light flashes is when the mark is near the case mark, making it easy for us to adjust our ignition timing.

Step 5: Adjust your base plate

Based on the previous step, there are 3 possible outcomes.

Flywheel mark left of case mark: In case of a right turning flywheel: if you notice that the mark on the flywheel is located on the left of the case mark, this means that your ignition fires to early. You'll need to set your base plate to the right (a few mm).
Ignition mark on the right of the case mark: In this case your ignition is set too late. Solution: turning the base plate to the lift, will give you advanced ignition time.
Flywheel mark hits the case mark: Hoeray, your igntion is set accurately! Enjoy the driving.

common problems and solutions

Here we will discuss some common issues and how to solve them. If you have an issue that needs to be solved, send us an email to thomas@puch-mopeds.com

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How To Adjust a Puch Maxi Ignition accurately.