Tension in every situation: inspected BERU brand quality for the complete ignition train
With more than 1,200 ignition lead sets and single ignition leads as well as 160 ignition coil types BERU offers workshops and retail trade a booming range of products in OEM quality.
(Ludwigsburg, 28 August 2008) Are ignition cable sets obsolescent as a mainstay of sales for retail trade and workshops because they are only installed in some newer vehicles? Not at all. Based on year of registration and motor vehicle population BERU product managers assume that there are over 100 million vehicles with ignition leads or ignition cable sets driving on European roads alone. In addition, the new generations of connector ignition coils and ignition coil blocks which BERU offers for almost all common vehicle types also need the most suitable ignition leads to supply the spark plugs with the required energy.
The intricate inner workings of BERU ignition leads and ignition cable sets are not obvious at first glance. In the engine compartment they have to operate at peak performance: Here temperatures can reach up to 200 degrees Celsius on account of catalytic converters and ever more powerful, more compact engines; electronic ignition systems produce high voltages up to 30,000 volts. Ignition leads of the PVC Hypalon class meet these demands – a few years ago still adequate – not at all now. In modern vehicles even ignition leads of the F silicone class must be installed with a temperature resistance up to 220 de-grees Celsius and a dielectric strength of 40,000 volts. The BERU high-quality single-lead CopperCable and PowerCable range, which covers the market, therefore includes exclusively silicone ignition leads of class F. They prevent energy loss, offer optimum protection against vibrations, water, acid, oil, gasoline and use the appropriate connectors to meet the highest demands with respect to interference reliability and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).
Vehicles on the market currently use ignition cables with three different technologies: Ignition leads with a copper core and interference-suppression resistors integrated in the connectors, reactance cables, resistance ignition leads with stainless steel wire-wound resistor and resistance ignition leads with carbon resistor. BERU manufactures ignition leads for the OEM, identical in design and quality for retail trade and workshops:
- BERU CopperCable: Silicone copper individual ignition leads for almost all models manufactured by Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, SEAT, Skoda, VW and various Opel models,
- BERU PowerCable: Silicone single-ignition resistance leads for vehicles of French, Italian and Japanese manufacturers with ferromagnetic core and stainless steel winding,
- BERU CarbonCable: Silicone-carbon resistor ignition lead sets for almost all models manufactured by Ford and Opel with effective resistance (15-25 kohm per meter of ignition lead).
BERU ignition leads and ignition lead sets in OEM quality guarantee a precise ignition sequence, optimum engine output and economic fuel consumption. They satisfy the following technical requirements:
- High-voltage safety up to 40,000 volts,
- High-temperature stability up to 220 degrees Celsius‚
- Absolute water tightness,
- Corrosion-resistant and reliable and safe contacting system,
- Interference suppression according to specifications of the vehicle manufacturers (VDE standard),
- Extreme vibration stability.
BERU ignition leads: optimum instead of universal
Ignition leads in the engine compartment are wearing parts which usually reach their service life limit in brief succession. Workshop professionals therefore know: If a vehicle is of a suitable age or has high mileage, it is recommended to replace the complete ignition lead set. The following also applies: The components of an ignition system are complex and must therefore be exactly compatible with each other. Therefore, if an ignition lead is inadvertently upgraded with another technology – for example a carbon instead of a copper ignition cable – this may result in serious errors in the engine management system and impair the EMC and even safety-relevant electronic components.
Ignition leads and ignition cable sets which, according to manufacturer specifications, should fit in several engines, may be just as expensive for customer and workshop as cheap imitation parts due to complaints and consequential costs. Upgrading with so-called universal solutions often results e.g. in misfiring and in the worst case scenario even in damage to the catalytic converter. There are various possible causes of defects:
- connection parts too short,
- no accurately fitting connectors,
- incorrect length: If the cable is too long or if the connector is too high, the engine cover will no longer fit,
- sealing lip diameter too low: risk of moisture penetrating the spark plug shaft,
- inferior materials, no adequate temperature resistance, inadequate dielectric strength,
- incorrect or inadequate resistance values
BERU therefore offers the correct, accurately fitting ignition lead for almost every vehicle. The range of products for the trade from the Ludwigsburg specialist for ignition technology, Diesel cold start technology, electronics and sensor technology includes 623 ignition cables, 648 cable sets and 115 connectors.
BERU ignition coils: Sales with brand quality
Whether traditional canister-type ignition coil for older vehicle models, dual spark ignition coils, plug shaft/connector ignition coils or ignition coil strips: BERU has 160 coil types in OEM quality for around 3,700 vehicle models in its range of products. Cheap imitation parts, such as those offered also in this product segment in the vehicle parts market, are nowhere near good enough to achieve the electrical properties and thermal load capacity of the original coils. They often do not func-tion optimally and may fail after a short time. Imitation parts with inte-grated electronics are pieced together by low-cost licensed manufac-turers often manually from a wide range of inferior components. In contrast BERU has fitted e.g. ignition modules with IC electronic components compatible with the control on automatic production lines and subjects its products to detailed quality tests throughout the whole production process.
