05-07-2019, 07:38 AM | #1 |
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Pertronics
I might have had a wiring situation where I blew out my pertronic on my 49 ford. Is there a way to test the unit to see if it is still working? Starter spins over well but no spark. 6 volt positive ground, flamethrower coil. I get about 4.5 volts to the coil. Car ran great, yesterday I reinstalled the old radio took power from the ignition switch radio worked, car started and ran great for about 2 minutes. Died and now no spark.?.
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05-07-2019, 08:06 AM | #2 |
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Re: Pertronics
I'm afraid the title of the thread tells it all.
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05-07-2019, 08:13 AM | #3 |
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Re: Pertronics
At least it didn't strand you at the side of the road.
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05-07-2019, 08:32 AM | #4 |
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Re: Pertronics
Do you use a ballast resistor on a Pertronix?
Last edited by JSeery; 05-07-2019 at 11:35 AM. |
05-07-2019, 08:39 AM | #5 |
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Re: Pertronics
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05-07-2019, 08:59 AM | #6 |
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Re: Pertronics
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05-07-2019, 09:07 AM | #7 |
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Re: Pertronics
I don't know how to test it, but I had a coil go bad and burned up a pertronix that had ran well for 10-12 years. I didn't know it was the coil, so I bought another Pertronix and the coil promptly burned it up. I called the tech line, they asked me if the unit had a brown/burned spot on the label. It did, so they cautioned me about the coil. I bought their coil and they replaced the Pertronix. I never had another problem till I sold the car after another 10 or so years.
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05-07-2019, 09:24 AM | #8 | |
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Re: Pertronics
Quote:
4dford that’s what I was thinking, could I have a bad ignition switch? It seems to work well every time I turn on the switch the amp meter shows a bit of discharge Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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05-07-2019, 09:42 AM | #9 |
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Re: Pertronics
Try jumping the coil straight from the battery to see if it makes a difference.
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05-07-2019, 11:32 AM | #10 |
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Re: Pertronics
You can also check the voltage into the ignition switch and out of the ignition switch. There should be very little to no voltage drop.
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05-07-2019, 12:17 PM | #11 |
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Re: Pertronics
It just might be your coil. I always use a ballast resistor with a Pertronivs ignition - had conversations with Bubba’s about my problem a few years sgo and we came to the conclusion to use a ballast resistor so as not to burn up coils.
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05-07-2019, 12:43 PM | #12 |
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Re: Pertronics
Tom, 6v or 12v?
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05-07-2019, 01:01 PM | #13 |
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Re: Pertronics
Tom 6 volt pos ground. I ran a jumper directly from the battery to the coil still nothing. With the cap off I checked to see that the rotor turned do not the distribution shaft or gear. Followed Pertronics trouble shooting guide, electro ic unit checks out ok coil shows the correct resistance. Not sure what my next step is??
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05-07-2019, 04:22 PM | #14 |
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Re: Pertronics
Try another coil.
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05-07-2019, 09:52 PM | #15 |
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Re: Pertronics
Contact Pertronix and they'll send you a sheet telling you how to test your coil and what readings you should have.
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05-08-2019, 12:16 AM | #16 |
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Re: Pertronics
Sorry, I should have been clearer in my prior post - I am 12v neg ground. I apologize .....
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05-08-2019, 02:30 AM | #17 |
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Re: Pertronics
Start by unhooking and loading the wire coming from ignition with a big bulb like a headlight bulb...measure voltage...if you get 4.5v you have a bad ignition switch or connection.
When you hooked up stuff under the dash you might have moved things around...or you added to much load burrning the contact points in the switch. A pertronics won´t be happy on 4.5v !! |
05-08-2019, 10:57 AM | #18 |
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Re: Pertronics
I talked with Pertronics the other day. They were pretty adamant about using a coil that's 1.5 ohms across the coil terminals in my 12 volt application. That's for the "Ignitor" version.
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05-08-2019, 04:27 PM | #19 |
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Re: Pertronics
Flathead in response to your reply about low voltage I had the same thought, but I hooked the coil directly to the coil, battery was at 6.5 volts still nothing
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05-08-2019, 10:14 PM | #20 |
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Re: Pertronics
Bubba's can test your unit. The Pentronix units are extremely sensitive to voltage spikes. I ran a Pentronix unit for years then they started to fail. Pentronix told me 14.8 volts max. Bubba and I could not figure out what was causing the failures. I burned out 3 of those pricey units and finally had Charlie NY put together and test run a stock distributor with points. Been fine ever since .... and a lot cheaper.
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