another pertronix bites the dust

[frank long island]

ok i give up second unit to go bad and car is'nt on the road yet ordered a set of points and condenser going back to old school i did'nt leave the key on, noticed it wanted to start after i let go of the key while trying to start now no spark i guess overseas has struck again

[Daves55Sedan]

That's exactly how it acted when the Pertronix failed in my car. As soon as I decided to let go of the key it acted like it might want to fire off. Tried a few more times, finally no spark at all.
Oh well, lesson learned.

[Motorhead6]

Originally Posted by frank long island

ok i give up second unit to go bad and car is'nt on the road yet ordered a set of points and condenser going back to old school i did'nt leave the key on, noticed it wanted to start after i let go of the key while trying to start now no spark i guess overseas has struck again

6 Volt or 12?

[Ole Don]

They had a good product, at a reasonable cost, it worked great. Now they have a terrible reputation because they moved production off shore. Was it moved off shore because of lower production costs or because nobody here wanted to make them? Its sad when a good product goes bad before our eyes. I had one, swore by it and recommended it to others. Never again.

[46yblock]

Is there a similar ignition made in the US? I would like to replace the points in my Falcon and Meteor.

[craig]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

If you have a '58 or later distributor, why not install a mid to later 70's electronic Ford pickup coil into your distributor and let it fire a gm hei module, then you can run a later Ford E coil. I have converted many Fords, flatheads and later this way, it makes for a clean fool proof ignition system and parts are available most anywhere.
Another alternative would be to use your existing points to control a gm hei module, would work like the capacitive discharge systems that were on the market 40 years ago, the points last forever because the voltage is much lower. You can find wiring diagrams to do either on google

[frank long island]

its a 12 volt in a 64 ranchero played with it today had intermittent spark from coil while cranking also pertronix unit itself tested ok im looking at the autozone brand anybody have any input

[40cpe]

I've found it is best to use a coil from Pertronix, that way you know it is matched to the unit. Also, there is no resistor or ballast ahead of the coil, it runs on battery voltage.

I burned up a couple of ignitors with a bad coil that had run for years with the Pertronix. Finally it quit with the points, too, leading me to the root of the problem. Pertronix made the units good. I bought their coil and have been running perfectly for years and many miles since.

I hope they haven't sacrificed their quality and customer service, I've been a promoter of theirs for years because of the treatment I received.

[Lancer]

I have a new one in the box I am planning on installing. Hoping mine goes better. I was looking at the Accel one as they are cheaper. Guess I'll see how it goes very soon. I did get a new coil so...

40cpe, are you saying that I should remove the factory ballast when making this upgrade? Do they recommend that?

[40cpe]

Originally Posted by Lancer

I have a new one in the box I am planning on installing. Hoping mine goes better. I was looking at the Accel one as they are cheaper. Guess I'll see how it goes very soon. I did get a new coil so...

40cpe, are you saying that I should remove the factory ballast when making this upgrade? Do they recommend that?

Correct. Unless something has changed. Read the instructions or call the tech line.

Is your coil from Pertronix? Coils have varying resistance, some need ballast, some don't. Again, verifying everything with the tech might save you some misery.

[Lancer]

I just sent an email to Pertronix asking them if I will be okay. The two coils are very close in specs, mine is the summit brand.

[Lancer]

I just heard back from the Pertronix tech. He said if I run a ballast resistor with my new coil I should be fine.

[46yblock]

I believe one or two of my Pertronix failures were due to trying to run without the ballast resistor.

[krackerjack1951]

frank..i hate to hear that about petronix...mine have been in my 51 merc for at least 8 years,,not a hicup yet, i keep a point loaded distributor in my trunk just in case.. the new and improved petronix has proven itself to be like the rest of chinese parts..knock off junk like we used to get from tiwan and japan just a few short years ago...sad times have arrived for the hobby..!

[Hot Rod Reverend]

While I have 0 experience with Pertronix, I have quite a bit with points/condenser, and quite a bit with the ACCEL units.

We all know the reasons why we switch to a pointless ignition so I won't go there, but I will say that the ACCEL 2020 is the points eliminator kit that does all 1957-74 Ford V8 distributors. I have installed 3 and have had no issues with anyone of them. I do run a resistor on a 12 volt system with the original coil. No problems with leaving the key "on" or burning anything up either. Where is it made? I have no idea - most probably China or Taiwan.

[rick55]

I actually bought my first Accell unit from Dan (the Hot Rod Reverend) on ebay about 5 years ago - I think. I dont use a ballast with the system and have had no problem with the system. I fitted a system to a friends 55 292 and fitted a Mallory coil which was the correct coil for the Mallory system which I believe is the same in a different box. The coil burnt out, replaced it with a new Bosch GT40 coil with a resistor and the system has been working flawlessly since for the past 2 years.
I dont think a Pertonix would have survived the coil failure. The Pertronix requires the correct coil and just to me seems more temperamental. I have used a Pertronix in the past which just failed for no apparent reason.
The Accell unit is simply a solid state switch which works similar to the old Lumenition branded systems.
From my experience I can only recommend the Accell units.

[Daves55Sedan]

I was using a 6volt, positive ground Pertronix unit made for the old load-o-matic distributor.
Here is what the actual instruction sheet says that came with the unit.
The ignitor is compatible ONLY with a points style coil.

Do not use HEI type coils.

Leaving ignition switch on while engine is not running could cause coil to overheat which may cause permanent damage to coil and ignitor.

For use without ballast resistor.

A wiring diagram on back of sheet also shows point-to-point wiring connections without a resistor.

[miker98038]

I hope this isn't frowned on here, but if you go over to y-blocksforever.com and look this up, there's a very detail discussion on electronic ignitions by Greenbird56, and others. No help for the 6 volt cars.

http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic73993.aspx

[GREENBIRD56]

I think you hit the nail on the head Mike - there isn't a good 6 volt spark controller around. The Ford Duraspark triggers will make their own signal OK - it only requires a volt or so - but there aren't good low voltage (6v system)controls for the dwell and grounding transistor.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by frank long island

no spark i guess overseas has struck again

Originally Posted by krackerjack1951

the new and improved petronix has proven itself to be like the rest of chinese parts..knock off junk like we used to get from tiwan and japan just a few short years ago...sad times have arrived for the hobby..!

For what it's worth... "the new and improved petronix has proven itself to be like the rest of chinese parts" are Hecho en USA.



FYI, if using a Ignitor III Pertronix recommends "Removal of the Ballast Resistor for Optimum Performance." Looking at the trouble shooting section it appears most problems are caused by a "Low Voltage Problem".

I have never had a Ignitor problem except for the one I burned up by leaving the ignition on while adjusting my charging system Low Voltage Alarm. I should have pulled they ignition system fuse but didn't and I blame myself for the ignitor failure.