Need help with a rare MOTOROLA transistor 'TE 184'

[LvdK]

Hello, I need some help with an old Motorola TO3 power transistor.
It has TE 184 and 423 written on the top and also you can see the Motorola logo on it.
At the bottom side you can see a B and E inscription near the pins.
I searched all over the web but I cannot find anything about this device... 
I desoldered it from an old transistor car ignition unit built around the year 1975 because I have to repair it.
I analyzed the pcb and together with the B and E inscription I assume that it is a NPN type transistor. B-E shows no connection in both ways, so it is broken.
Who can make me happy with some data of this transistor  and perhaps also knows a good substitution type ? Thanks ! 

[Leadfootin]

I would think this is used for an ignition system where the transistor replaces the points and if so the open E-B connection may point to further problems. As for the power transistor I would first try a 2N3055 but a recent production as this part has evolved quite a bit since the '70's. If a PNP try a 2N5884.
One caveat is that this might be a darlington pair so check base emitter connection with at least 2 volts. If so the above recommendations won't work.
Did you determine the cause of failure as the coil is most likely going bad unless the engine sat with the ignition on for a significant period without running.

Additionally what make is the box, what engine is it on and is the distributor mag pick up or points or opto?

[DC1MC]

I think 185 should replace it:
https://www.ebay.com/c/697589595

Cheers,
DC1MC

[grumpydoc]

Might this be the more modern equivalent?

https://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/9774/NTE/NTE184.html

[CaptDon]

Was that from one of the old 'Mark' aftermarket ignition systems??
A gold and silver box with one or two TO-3 devices on the top?
That system had a power oscillator to build about 400vdc and an SCR
to fire that voltage through the original equipment ignition coil. Mine
had a switch on the side that would revert to conventional arrangement
if the solid state ignition failed. I think you had to remove the condensor
from the distributor? The NTE/ECG 184 is NPN and the 185 is the matching
PNP. Not sure which you may have. I had my unit on a '70 RoadRunner.
That thing would throw over 2" sparks and you better have a good rotor
or the excess high voltage would punch through it and short out to the
shaft!!! The unit should make a whining sound as it charges the capacitor
and a tick sound when it fires.

[fzabkar]

Might this be the more modern equivalent?

https://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/9774/NTE/NTE184.html

That's a plastic package. The rating is only 80V.

http://www.nteinc.com/specs/100to199/pdf/nte184.pdf

[fzabkar]

Check the databooks for likely candidates:

https://mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/components/motorola/_dataBooks/

Judging by the date code, I would start with 1974.

https://mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/components/motorola/_dataBooks/1974_Motorola_Discrete_Semiconductor_Series_A_Vol1_to_1N5000_2N5000.pdf
https://mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/components/motorola/_dataBooks/1974_Motorola_Discrete_Semiconductor_Series_A_Vol2_1N5000_2N5000_and_up.pdf
https://mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/components/motorola/_dataBooks/1974_Motorola_Discrete_Semiconductor_Series_A_Vol3_Non-Registered_Type_Numbers.pdf

[LvdK]

  Thanks for all your help guys !!
Specially the Motorala databooks links mentioned by fzabkar are worth to consult !
And also thanks to Leadfootin who made me realize that also a Darlington could have been be used.
But still I cannot find this Motorola device...
Is'nt it strange that a transistor of a well known brand as Motorola can't be found on the web ?
For now I am going to try several NPN high voltage transistors with TO3 case.
Thanks !

[fzabkar]

It could be a custom device for a particular customer, or it may be just a relabelled version of a standard part.


Edit:


See page 84 for a circuit diagram of a transistor assisted ignition kit (from 1977):

https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Electronics-Today/Australia/70s/ETI-1977-05-May.pdf

Note that CDI (capacitor discharge ignition) is a different technology that was also available at that time.

[ralf]

Busch Jaeger CDI? Had success replacing this transistor by a BUX98A type and adding a protection diode...

[rfclown]

It could be a custom device for a particular customer, or it may be just a relabelled version of a standard part.
...[/url]

I worked at Moto in 1986. We had custom part numbers for Motorola transistors for our land mobile radio products. Sometimes these were common parts, but that was not published information (not even internally). I remember when I found someone who had a cross reference for several internal vs standard part numbers (hand written on a piece of paper). It was golden information. The person that originated it may have just guessed from specs. I was in development engineering, and we weren't supposed to know these things.

[LvdK]

Busch Jaeger CDI? Had success replacing this transistor by a BUX98A type and adding a protection diode...

Yes it is a Busch Jaeger CDI. So thanks for the information !

[CaptDon]

Motorola was always a BIG player in the 'house-numbering' of parts for its customers advising them to do this in an effort to protect intellectual property. I have run across so many house numbered motorola parts that it made me turn away from motorola products completely!!! No motorola pagers, two-ways, etc. etc. At least with Tektronix and others like Peavey you can guess what the 'real' number should be, a TEK741 is a hand selected LM741 a Peavey T2222 is a 2N2222A. Motorola made the JEDEC parts since that was a military requirement of second sourcing. But, they also house numbered the exact same parts for consumer manufacturing with no cross reference available back to the JEDEC part. Why, because they charged about 10 times as much for the JEDEC 'militarized' parts which were simply run-of-the-mill parts tested and proven to meet worse case specifications!