My thoughts exactly
One thing I have noticed about the E/P-mag issues posted her and elsewhere is that no two installations seem to be the same.
Could it be that the issues people are having with these units are related to their installation?
With traditional mags, the installation is well understood and thus they are more than likely installed per the manual.
With the E/P-mags there is the Emag Air manual and then there is Bob K's Aeroelectric diagrams. Emag Air suggests using 18 AWG wire but Bob's book lists 20 AWG wire. How many people wired these things per Bob's diagrams and then point their fingers at Emag? How about the other wires coming off the E/P-mag, did the people having issues really understand how to wire them and do it correctly, with good connectors?
Also, more than one person has wired them different that either Bob or Emag recommends and have had problems, again, only to point their finger at the product, not the installation.
Ignitions are like fuel systems, if you do something non-standard, you run a risk. Could it be that the fuel line is being blamed, not the installation?
I've often thought the exact same thing. Some installations try to reduce the number of switches, use a standard mag key switch, incorporate a "maintenance" switch somewhere under the hood, use pullable breakers, hard-wire to the battery bus, etc. While any/all of these options may work, my initial thought was that they just complicate the situation.
I have four SPST switches: a power switch for each P-mag, and a spark (commonly referred to as a p-lead) switch for each P-mag. Nothing is combined with anything, and I can manipulate the switches appropriately to do what I need to do. Here are some examples:
Setup mode: Turn on the power switches, leave the spark switches off.
Run mode: Turn on the power switches, turn on the spark switches.
Mag check (dual P-mags): Run the engine up, turn off the power switches. Now both P-mags are running on internal power. Turn off one spark switch, see RPM drop, turn it back on. Do the same for the other spark switch. Then turn back on both power switches and you're done. You just checked the spark generating capability and internal power sources of each P-mag independently. If something doesn't work right in this test, further investigation (proper switch manipulation) will reveal whether the problem is with self-power generation or spark generation.
I have 75 trouble-free hours on my P-mags and really like the product. Their customer service is also very good. However, I do have issues with their record-keeping. For example, they should know (by serial number) exactly which units are affected by the latest SB, but they don't because they didn't keep those records. Having to take the units off the engine to look in a little hole with a flashlight and magnifying glass is a PITA and could have been prevented by better record keeping.
Also, all of their features are not available in all of the units -- even though they may look identical, some units have different circuit boards inside which may or may not support some of the EICAD-related adjustments. The manual doesn't mention this, and you have know way of knowing. I *think* this may be what's preventing them from moving towards firmware updates in the field -- something they really need to do. Some firmware isn't compatible with some of the actual hardware on some versions of their circuit boards. I know this from personal experience.
That said, I like the product and I'd buy it again. It sure is a lot "cleaner" than the other ignition systems from an installation standpoint.