69 Pontiac 428, pertronix set up. all new or minimal use ignition components. spark cuts out completely from time to time. No trend. Will not start. BUT if i use a screwdriver or in line spark tester for diagnostic purposes it suddenly comes alive and the ignition behaves normal. In the most recent experience, I did the following. Driving and the car dies and will not restart. Tested the spark at the sparkplug with an inline tester. No spark. Tested spark coming out of the coil. Excellent spark. Tells me cap or rotor is bad. I open up cap and look around, all seems fine. Tested spark coming out of cap at the cap (for ****s and giggles) knowing there wouldn't be a spark if not at the sparkplug, and the car started right up! Another time it dies and I used a simple screw driver to test at the #1 plug and it came alive... It seems like the act of testing is somehow doing something to correct whatever is faulty. I understand the pertronix debate but outside of blaming pertronix anyone have another idea? thanks
Had the exact thing happen with a complete pertronix "kit" in a vw. Wasn't the prodding that would make it restart, it was the letting it set for awhile. It'd run about 10 minutes then die, I could change out the distributor back to the stock in a couple minutes and drive it for hours with no problem. Drop the pertronix back in it and dead in 10 minutes. Now I did this 7 or 8 times after rechecking every connection, wire, voltage etc. Called them, they said I needed to run their coil etc, told them I was running their complete kit they sent me, coil, complete distributor, resistor etc. Sent it back to them, 2 weeks later I get it back, same story. I call them again, they tell me they ran their diagnostics on it and it was fine, I told them put it in a car and drive ! It will only take 10 minutes to see exactly what I was talking about. Told me they wouldn't do anything else to help me. So out it came, original distributor back in, no problems whatsoever since then, brand new "kit" is sitting in its original box and on the shelf for the last couple years, pure junk.. Wasn't the only one I've had problems with, the other 2 were pontiacs.... ...never again.... ..
Had a similar thing on my sons truck once, turned out to be the distributor cap, the carbon ****on on the coil post had come loose and would sometimes push up into the cap past the rotor contact reach and not start, small thing, hard to find.
I usually drill and tap an 8-32 or 10-24 hole in the side of Pertronix distributors and run a separate good ground. MSD comes with one already installed.
Are you running solid core sparkplug wires? I had the same problem, and it was solid core sparkplug wires. I changed the sparkplug wires and the problem disappeared. I'm running there stock look distributor. The solid core sparkplug wires burned it up, and I had to replace the inner module.
had a some similar problems one was a wire running through the hole in the distributer or in the distributer had a very small bare spot the other was a bad ignition switch it would just die sometimes would restart while cranking then die or sometimes not want to start very intermittent one day it died while raining and the wiper stopped new exactly what it was then changed the switch. had a bad coil that would die after running a while had another used coil that I would swap in run a while and die they were both bad what are the chances put another coil on fixed it. I threw those 2 away
Ditch the pertronics , put in a stock distributor and you'll be all set, I had 2 different pertronics setups leave me stranded, they stink, especially when they get hot.
Check the condition of the wire at the terminals on both sides of the coil, and at the distributor. I have experienced a bad wire between the coil to the distributor, it was failing right where the wire entered the distributor housing. If you moved the wire just right, the car ran, if you moved it just wrong, the car would quit running. The wire being moved by the wind blowing past it could make the motor quit running. Had another one where the 12 v power wire connection on the coil was bad. On that one, there were only about 3 or 4 strands of wire that were still making connection inside the terminal end, when it got hot, the resistance over come the wire's ability to deliver power to the coil. The car would be running down the road and simply die. Sometimes by the time you got over to the side of the road, the wire had cooled long enough it would work again and the car would start right up. Both took a while to find, guess what I check first now. Give the wires a tough tug, if they break, they were junk, if they don't break, they are probably OK. You will not be able to pull a good 16 gauge wire apart. The Petronix systems do seem to have a pretty high failure rate.
thanks... no resistor, running 12 volts right to the coil. Now improving grounds and will check connections. we will see!
I called my brother last fall to check in and see how he was doing, he said he doesn't get out much as his truck keeps breaking down. His "mechanic" had replaced the distributor twice already. I had his '75 chevy 4x4 towed to my house so I could work on it. I removed the Chinesium "accel" distributor that resembles the GM HEI. The only ground on the entire engine I could find was a 16-18 gauge wire from a valve cover bolt to the heater box on the firewall and it had been spliced a couple of times. I bought a plug-n-play MSD for it as I have them in 4 cars of mine at the moment and trust them. I also bought an MSD coil, wires and plugs. I drilled a hole in the frame up front, removed the paint from the area, made a 1 gauge ground cable and installed it to the head. I grounded the distributor there as well as a ground to the alt and the starter. I called him the other day, the truck is still running great and he has regained his confidence in it. On an unrelated note, I have a nice billet, Accel distributor for a SBC for sale, low mileage, ran when removed.
I had a Pertronix on my 67 2+2 Pontiac with a strange failure. Started,,drove fine short trips. Longer trip about 35 miles at expressway speeds, let off the gas and it would stall out. Try to restart, nothing unless you turned the ignition off and back on. Played that game for a day or two and replaced it with a Mallory distributor. That worked for about ten years until I cooked a ignition coil, from what I read if the coil went out it was recommended to replace the distributor pick up module also as many times the module would get internally damaged also. At that point I gave up and went with an HEI. Sure it’s not period correct but I’m too old to be breaking down on the side of the road anymore.
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