Pertronix I and II ...oh my

[spmdr]

Back in the 1990s I pick up a Sun 504 Distributor Machine, mostly

to deal with Ford V8 Distributors.

But, of course, I did run a few Alpine distributors.


Compared to the Ford units, the Alpine parts were down right

impressive!

I could run an Alpine Dist up to the RPM limit of the 504

with Solid point control!

So I had a strong opinion of the standard Alpine Distributors.


Recently, I used up the points in the Weekend Racer and decided

to make the jump to Electronic.

Through the years, I ended up with 2 New Pertronix units,

a LU-142A Ignitor (for std typ 25 Alpine) and a 9LU-143A

Ignitor II (for a later typ 43/45 Lucas unit).

Seeing I was using a typ 43 (41404) centrifugal only Distributor

in the WR Alpine, I installed the new Ingnitor II.

It would not start!

The best it would do is fire once with a big time period

to the next fire.

I concluded the Distributor was in fact firing the coil

a grand total of 1 time for every one turn of the distributor shaft.

NOT GOOD.

I thought maybe it was the ballast resistor, so I by-passed it with

no change.

I thought one of the few possibilities could be the Magnetic ring

was faulty, so I attemped to use the magnetic ring from the typ 25 unit.

No Go, it wouldn't fit the 43.

BUT, in this process, I found the Magnetic ring was a VERY BAD Fit

on the original points cam!!

WOW, I didn't expect THAT!

I checked the fit on Both Pertronix Kits.

Both had the same bad fit on their respective units!


Jarrid has been beating the drum about how BAD the Pertronix units

were with timing errors from one cylinder to the next.

But with these LOOSE fitting magnetic rings, I can't see any way to NOT

have the timing change from one cylinder to the next!


Yet again, I thought about the MSD world, But I didn't have a suitable

Tach to use in the Alpine to use with the MSD.

And I didn't have enough spare MSD wiring to install a unit on the Alpine.

Also, I was not thrilled to have to cut some very Small wires in the MSD unit

to make the rev-limiter work with a 4 cylinder.


So I circled back to the Pertronix, how about the typ 25 unit?

I installed it into the first 25 Distributor I found and did a quick Bench test and it WORKED!

I installed it in the car and it fired right up!

Quickly, I realized to use this distributor, I Needed to address the advance curve.

I pulled it apart and removed one of the springs.

It still needed a reduction in advance travel but at least I could get a quick read on how it was

all working.

I set the Max timing and took it for a test drive.

The quick test drive was very encouraging!

AND, the Tach seemed to work better than ever!


I ran out of day, and Now have a yet LONGER list of things to do.

More later.

DW

 

[sunalp]

It does seem to be hit or miss with Pertronix. Had a Tiger in that the owner wanted to be converted
to electronic ign. I have a local customer/supplier that sells not only the kits but complete distributors as
well. I got a brand new Petronix III distributor and it wouldn't seat in the block. The old Ford (Motorcraft)
one would snap right in. Called Pertronix, waited over 45 minutes to have their rep say "huh, never heard
of that" and "we don't make those, we buy them".
Took the unit back to where I bought it and returned it. Bought the Igniter III kit and cleaned up the old
dizzy. Worked like a charm.

I have one of their D25 distributors on my stroker motor (1789 ). Haven't fired that up yet, so time will tell!

 

[sunalp]

I should also say that I had a SII Alpine that the owner wanted the same thing. Bought the kit and installed.
The kit made the rotor sit too high. You could see the dist cap moving as the rotor spun. Tore up the internals
of that cap. Car had no power with this set up. Put points back in, ran like a freight train!

 

[911tr8r]

I tried to tell the parts guy that Pertronix were iffy in V6. He poo-pood me. Sticking with points. THanks much for the post

 

[spmdr]

I ended up keeping the 25 distributor and std Pertronix Igniter

for the time being in the Alpine.

I checked the resistance of the coil at 3 ohms,

so good to go without a Ballast resistor.

We took the WR Alpine to the LA SAAC track event

at Willow Springs, the Garden spot of So Cal

in the Summer during July.... (NOT)

It was a Record Breaking 113 degrees that day!

So I guess we can say we Gave the Pertronix

the HEAT test! And it's STILL running!

I'm Not sure the Pertronix is working 100%

because the engine is still not running clean through

the RPM range.

But there are still too many loose ends to know

what is what.


BUT, I did play with the 43 Distributor and Pertronix II

I concluded the Magnetic ring was clearly too low

compared to the sensing unit.

When bench testing the 43 it would Not have continuous Spark

as I rotated the shaft.

After raising up the magnets, the spark was more consistent,

at least the faster I turned the shaft.

However, at low shaft speeds, the spark was not as consistent

as the 25 installation.

At some point I'll try the 43 Distributor and see if it will

start the engine.

I assume if it starts, the engine may run OK.

I made a metal spacer to hold the magnet ring up

in a better location for the sensor.








DW

 

[spmdr]

You can see in the center picture above, there are 2 rotors.

The tall one is for the type 43 Distributor.

Fortunately, the type 25 rotor is shorter, to use with

the custom magnet spacer.

The Distributor spins freely with the cap on,

but I want to check the rotor to cap position

before putting it into service.

AND, of course, at some point, I plan to RTV

the magnet ring to the shaft to keep it from moving.

DW

 

[Jay Laifman]

Odd wear marks on the Pertronix sensor. Pertronix has a designated gap required. In a recent installation (the new real Holbay H120 distributor for my car), the Pertronix kit came with a gap blade to make sure the gap was correct.

Is something else going wrong with that shaft or the gap? Pertronix does say that 99.99999% of the failures are not the Pertronix system. (ok, I might have more 99s than they did. But still the point).

 

[spmdr]

There are no wear marks on the sensor.

The parts came out of a sealed new bag with a Black

and a white spot on the face of the sensor.

Both Pertronix kits have very little adjustment

in the installation of the sensor gaps.

The Std type 25 had a bigger gap than the type

43.

I had a chat with Pertronix Tech and they

suggested there was a wide range of gap function

but .030 was a good average/starting point.

They also said a 3 ohm coil was too high

for an Igniter II.

And they Did verify I had the correct kit number

for the distributor. Also I had the correct magnet ring.

But I can prove the magnet ring sits too low on the

distributor shaft to work correctly, as it installs

out of their box.

I guess I found the .00001% of THEIR failures.

.....It SURELY can't be ANYTHING I Did wrong... ;-)

It is comforting the Pertronix kits/parts are SO perfect...

DW

 

[Jay Laifman]

Those bare metal patches on the red plastic are not wear marks? My Pertronix do not have those. But also mine are all black and not as tall. Maybe we have different versions.