TOPIC:

I have a Martek electronic ignition on eBay auction right now and would like to get some info on this unit.

1. does the Martek work with OEM pickup coils?
2. how is the Martek wired? OEM pickup coils have blue/black coming from 1/4 side and red/yellow from 2/3 side. The Martek box has four wires in and four wires out. Each set of four wires is: green, black, red, yellow. WHICH set connects to the pickup coils and how? Which set connects to the power source and coils and how?

Thanks! BTW: This note isn't to plug the auction but to get info. I will plug the auction in chit chat bwhahaha (note I didn't list the auction number here)!!!

I have the same unit at home but will have to check it out tomorrow. I labeled everything when I removed it just in case this very thing happened to someone.

WG,
I posted Martek stuff a while back for someone, it's still up @ s12.photobucket.com/albums/a234/bob_z1/
later! Bob


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Th only Martek ignition I've seen used photo pickups. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be compatible with the stock pickups. There may be some other type of Martek units.

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2007/01/08 05:50

There seem to have been two types. The first fits onto the end of the crankshaft, sort of like a Dyna S. The other is called a 440 and is essentially an igniter box. I looked at the scans Bob posted links to and they are just too small to read.

That martek unit in bob_z1's link is the one I dealt with. What it's showing is how to remove the original points-plate and replace it with the optical pickup-unit, which has the ignitor electronics built-in to the pickup-unit.

I guess it means it's different from the unit you have for sale.

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2007/01/08 05:56

I picked up a KZ1000 that had been laid down and some damage done. Part of the damage was to the points cover. The OEM pickup coils came with the bike and it appeared they had been connected to the Martek wires BUT both ends had been cut in the accident so I can't swear to the OEM pickup coils being used since they were off the bike. The Martek was still wire tied to the frame above the battery.

Yeah, tough call on trying to figure out what was wired and how. I couldn't find anything on that Martek, but there is still some company using the name, at least, I wonder if it's the same company?

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2007/01/08 05:57

WG,

I found some infomation here.

May not be the same model you have, but it looks like they have wiring instructions. Maybe similar enough to what you have to be helpful.

I saw your Ebay listing yesterday, and didn't realize it was you. I just bought a '78 KZ1000 B2, and thought about getting your Martek. What would be the benefits of doing this conversion?

Great find Skyman! That looks like a CDI conversion for magneto ignitions. It also lists their other products. Cool. So Martek did make several different types of ignitions. They also used Hall-effect pickups on some of them, in addition to the optical pickup units.

The Martek 440 series covers the KZ's (that had points).

That literature has a date of 1978. That means it all came out out before the KZ had electronic ignition. Maybe later they came out with an igniter for KZ pickups?

Martek
3609 W. MacArthur Blvd.
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(714) 751-7901

what are the chances they are still there?

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2007/01/08 05:59

loudhvx wrote:

Martek
3609 W. MacArthur Blvd.
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(714) 751-7901

what are the chances they are still there?

I'm guessing close to "zero". If the company still exists, they should have a website, and we should be able to find it. Since we can't, I'm guessing they're gone--unless they were bought by another company and changed names.