AWW #10 - How to get Secondary Ignition Captures with the Picoscope, Snap-on and uScope

Automotive weekly waveform #10 will guide you through the process of obtaining a secondary waveform with the picoscope, the Snap-on 4 channel scopes, the Snap-on 2 channel scopes and the single channel uScope from AESwave.

WARNING!!! We are working with voltages up to 40,000 volts. Use caution for your safety and the safety of your scope. NEVER connect scope directly to the secondary ignition cables or the coil output.

For this test we are going to use a secondary ignition adaptor/probe. I used the ones that came with the picoscope, the ones available from Snap-On and the one supplied with my uScope deluxe kit. Most of these probes are interchangeable between scopes but the default scaling may be incorrect.
For a 2+ channel scope we will connect one secondary ignition pickup to the coil wire AKA the king lead(wire between the coil and the distributor) and a second secondary ignition pickup on a spark plug wire for a sync channel. I prefer cylinder #1 if it easy to access. If you have a 3+ channel scope you can add in the primary voltage or current.
single channel scope will only be able to capture the coil wire or the spark plug wire but not both at the same time.


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60 amp PDI low amp clamp with banana plugs- https://amzn.to/3qznAW0
Cheaper hantek low amp clamp(I have never used this clamp) - https://amzn.to/2JwUC8x
20:1 attenuator - https://amzn.to/2JSicwl
10:1 attenuator for uscope - https://www.aeswave.com/Primary-Ignit...
back probing set - https://amzn.to/3587E46
secondary ignition pickup(we will need this shortly) - https://amzn.to/35bxlkm