used mallory unilite- good or bad

Thinking about a used unilite off egay. The guy says untested. What are the odds of it being good ?. trying not to spend 200+ on a new one .Thanks.

 

untested means....does not work. Unilite cost me a 150 mile roll back bill this year. My opinion is they ****

 

The optical pickups in them are prone to failure from electrical surges and/or overheating. They are easily replaced; the replacement module is about $90 from Summit. You should factor that into the cost. Beyond that, if memory serves, Pertronix makes a conversion kit for them. Mallory themselves can also convert it to a magnetic-style pickup.

I'd have to agree with dynaflash about his definition of untested.

 

X2 on they ****! (left me stuck on side of the road more than once). What engine do you need a distributor for?

 

I wouldn't pay more then 40 bucks for it ...and plan on getting an extra optical pick up..and never jump start it !

 

i had one on my t that just ****ped out.If you do a search, alot of people hate em. I also didnt have the matching coil and resistor so i can blame myself. I also heard alot of people say theyve been running them for along time problem free. Just one of those things.

 

run points, get an amplifier box (MSD or something) to make the points last forever and give you a nice hot spark. Keep a spare set of points with you, and if the amplifier box dies you don't need it to make the engine run.

I'd send the unilite to the nearest trash can.

 

Some people have good luck with the Unilite, but they do tend to fail. Mallory sells what I believe is a power diode for the supply to the unit. That piece isn't cheap, but it seems help in cases where the unit keeps failing.

 

Untested= POS
They also seem to have a High failure rate. I would stay away! if your on a budget just run points and a MSD 6A box. if the box fails you can just go around it and still get where you need to.

 

Thanks guys, From your responces, I just changed my mind. I'll just stick with my points.

 

i buy em all day long for 40 to 50 bucks, still a good product, jus like spare points, keep a spare module

 

and a spare ballast, and a spare everything else too.

At least they look pretty sitting on the shelf where they belong.......

 

I have heard about guys doing this to a dual point distributor. How is this wired up? I have a couple of old dual point distributors I could use.

Honestly, I had one that was in 3 different cars and went for 15 years with no maintenance. However, I have heard a lot of negative press on them.

 

Bad.....control module "goes pop"......dead in the water! (ask me how I know.)

 

You couldn't pay me to put a UniLite back in my car.
No other part has caused me so much misery.

 

msd 6 to points,,,,

Big red: battery power
Big black: ground
little red: ignition hot
white: points (primary if dual)
Orange: coil +
litlle black: coil -

edit: **** can the ballast resistor too, not needed no more.

now then,,, if for some reason the box fails (it wont but anyway)
Run ignition power to + side of the coil, run negative side to the points. drive on.

 

I found this after I posted.

page 10 has a diagram
http://www.msdignition.com/uploadedFiles/MSDIgnitioncom/Products/Ignitions/6420_instructions.pdf

 

Soooooooooo;

I take it you leave the condenser in the dual point hooked up?

 

UH,, good question,, not sure what you are supposed to do with it. I've always left them in place and not had any issues, but that doesnt mean its the right way.

 

i,ve had good luck with them one in my chevy for over 10 yrs.

 

I've put them in quite a few cars that have never given any trouble-------but a few that have. If I was gonna run one on the road, I'd carry an extra module or distributor with me.
And I think there is a magnetic pickup you can put in them to replace the LED module. Might be something to think about.
Larry T

 

You can leave it in. It only 'absorbs' voltage spikes normally, so with way LESS spikes (probably none) it won't matter. It would be there if for some reason you'd have to byp*** your "box" and get home.

Oh, and the 'unilite'.... I have some friends that swear they're made by Lucas

 

I had msd reddy to run and it died at 30,000 k .

 

Totally different thing than what we are talking about. msd boxes are about as bulletproof as you can get.

 

I remember back in the '80s, when I had enough of points in my '57 and started looking for an electronic that would work without beating up the firewall. HEI was out for that reason. Mallory was out because I had heard they were unreliable, and the only place you could get one semi-locally (about 40 miles away) was at Stupid, uh I mean Super Shops. I went with an Accel distributor that was small diameter like stock, but used an externally mounted GM HEI module and a Chrysler style cap and rotor. The module never failed, but spares were cheap and I could get them at the boneyard if needed. I don't know if they still make them, but that distributor was one of the best mods I ever made to that car.

 

I've never had a problem with one other than I bought one from an off roader that wired his up wrong and I had to replace the module/pickup.

You can purchase a surge protector for one pretty cheap and it is good insurance. Or you can just fuse it. The Unilite pulls one amp per thousand RPM. So if you got a 6K motor (pretty rare for most of the fellas) a 6 amp inline fuse will protect it. It doesn't take much of a surge to pop a 6 amp fuse.

Anyway in answer to your question the most that goes wrong with them is that the mod is blown and it'll cost you around 90 bucks to replace. As with any used distributer the bushings on the shaft could be shot and mallory won't sell you a new one so if its bad you either send it to mallory to freshen or make your own. I usually make my own cause I'm cheap *******.

BTW I have had problems with Petronix ignition before.

 

If the add reads untested the guy selling probably picked it up at a garage sale for $5.00 or less I would p*** and find one you know is good.

 

I seem to remember ElPolacko being stranded on one of the hamb drags cruises way back in the old days. He was having a hard time finding one in Afton, Oklahoma.

That is the only experience I have ever had with an MSD box. I am wanting to try it on my next build though.

 

I bought mine from a swap meet and it works great.

 

The best day I ever had with it was when I sold that piece of junk. Horrible and unreliable.