Hot Rods Want to hear another Pertronix woe

thanks, logical answer appreciated

 

Many electronic units went bad because of secondary voltage looking for a place to go because bad plug wires

 

My personal favorite system is a MSD box triggered by the stock points distributor. Points last forever and if the MSD box takes a shit you can swap a couple wires and be back up and running.

 

Yep ... when the engine is spinning and there is no ignition, the gas flows through the engine and dumps into the muffler. Seen it happen with a parked car that the owner had trouble starting and I had it happen to my MOVING car

I was on the highway at speed when the idiot "friend" sitting beside me thought it would be fun to reach over and turn off my car . Well, that killed the ignition but the engine continued to spin enough to put a good amount of fuel into my muffler (single exhaust). Due to the fact that I was literally on a busy highway, I had no choice but to turn the ignition back on and .... BOOM. My muffler blew open

 

Doing this on my SBC, mainly for point life. My FlatFord has a Pertronix in the crab distributor, because it's inaccessible without removing the radiator. My understanding is the MSD 6A doesn't actually multi-spark until above 3,000 RPM, which my engine rarely sees. Maybe it helps the Pertronix last longer, otherwise it's just using extra amps.

 

I've had flawless performance from a GM HEI for 20+ years now, but dang that thing is ugly to look at.

 

GM HEI is pretty bullet proof. I had one in my straight eight and , as you, thought it ugly. I had an original distributor modified , remotely mounted the module and am now a happy camper. Electronic ignition needs resistor, not solid, core plug wires.

Ben

 

AMEN AMEN !!!!!!!!!some good points ( pun not intended lol lol ) on both sides !!!!!!!!

 

So weird that I have had the exact same experience.

Must be some kind of conspiracy.

 

Its a 351w ? Why not use a Ford Duraspark dist.
MSD box and coil, been using that setup for MANY years, lights every time. FEs too

 

The end of my story is I was googling summit website. When I told the salesman I wanted. Petronix actniter 2 He got me the replacement module instead of the kit. All the parts to install an make it were not in the box. Runs great on points.

 

Bet it is! Conspiracy to do things right. LOL.
As I have said many times the modified GM HEI system I use works . Points work, but for me, required more attention than I wanted to give. Guess I am lazy? So be it.

Ben

 

Ignition Basics (motortrend.com)

 

Oh well !

And you KNOW...that it was the (either !) modules fault...how ?

Mike

 

I'm sorry , I am not trying to hi jack the thread, but what is a crab distributor?
I'm not familiar with the term, and am following this thread because I have a petronix I in my chevy.
Thank you!!

 

Flathead Ford V8 distributor. They way the wires come out looks like an 8!legged crab.

 

got it, thank you!!!!!

 

Same here. I'd love to weigh in further on this topic but I have to catch up on some work after I logged 1000 miles this weekend with my unreliable Pertronix ignition.

 

No exploded muffler...!!??

 

He's the guy that buys from the guy with the boat.

 

This is what I did but with a summit CD box. I put quick connections at there distributor so I can swap 2 wires and be back on points should the CD box fail. Starts better and idles smoother with the box.

 

The notion that ANY points based system is more reliable than an electronic ignition is a complete fallacy. Period. I don't care if someone doesn't mind doing periodic maintenance on their points based system. The only thing better than periodic maintenance is never having to touch it once it's set up because it just works and you don't need to mess with it any more. If points were better, some automaker would have used them in the last 40+ years. Instead, everyone continues to use some variation of an electronic ignition, some more complex than others. The result has been steadily increasing performance and reliability, able to go well over 100,000 miles without so much as changing spark plugs, all the while permitting higher compression and forced induction with lower grade fuel than ever before, the ability to start quickly and idle smoothly in extreme temperatures, allow higher RPM operation, resist detonation, increased fuel economy, lower emissions, even shut off cylinders for increased fuel economy.... Not saying most of that has a place here, but it has been made possible in large part by accurate control of spark and timing. That being said, a simple Hall effect sensor that never comes into physical contact with anything (if you set it up right) will work longer than a set of points that are still a mechanical device, moving thousands of times a minute, that inherently wear out.

As to the Pertronix units, most of the issues people encounter could be avoided by simply READING THE DIRECTIONS. I know, I know.... we're men. We know how it works. But believe it or not, the engineers that designed this thing probably know better than us and we should take heed of their advice. The reality is that when a Pertronix fails, it's usually not the fault of the unit, but rather the loose nut doing the installation.

I'm not going to post the directions, nor the number of videos on YouTube that make this install virtually idiot proof, you can look those up yourself. But we can synthesize many of the common mistakes to these issues;

-DON'T LEAVE THE IGNITION ON WITH THE ENGINE OFF. Less an issue with the IgnitorII or IgnitorIII, but it doesn't hurt to just get in the habit.
-Use the proper coil with resistance within the spec of the Ignitor system being utilized. The coils are named after the ignitor, so this one is pretty easy to follow.
-Don't use solid core wires.
-Set the air gap of the reluctor wheel to within the spec called for, which is .030". They literally give you the shims to set this properly.
-The Ignitor requires a 12V power source. That means 12V. So power the unit from the upstream side of the ballast resistor, or just take the whole resistor out all together. You don't need it any more, which is yet another bonus in that there are less parts to break in this system. If you grab power from the positive side of the coil or the downstream side of the resistor (like I have seen so many people do over the years), the ignitor is only getting 6-9V. It will work. But not well, and not for long. This is a common screw up, and then the unit gets the bad rap because it fails. No kidding, it's trying to work with half to three quarters of the necessary voltage.
-Clean the damn distributor and block so you have a decent ground. Maybe even put a dedicated ground to the distributor housing to be on the safe side.

None of this speaks to the operator's ability to actually set the ignition timing properly, or use non-damaged parts like burned, grounded and wasted spark plug wires, cracked caps, shitty rotors, etc.... that would screw up any ignition system, points or otherwise.

The best part of all of this? It's not a secret. It's literally all in the directions. Do this, and chances are your Petronix will run perfectly for tens of thousands of trouble free miles.