I know it's not on line anymore.... but there was an article
way back when, about a batch of magnet rings that were out
there, mis-manufactured. All the poles of the magnets need
to be at the same ends (top and bottom) of the rings, and a
bunch were found to have a few out of 'polar alignment'
with the rest. (1-2 swapped end for end) I still have one of
them myself laying around here (somewhere).
I actually still am running an original Perlux unit in one of my LBCs.
Perlux was the original mfr name, before a group of the engineers
bought the division and renamed it Pertronix. So that means
mine is 10-15 years old now, and still runs great.
I've run (at one time or another, the Cranes, Allison's, Luminitions,
and others, and none come close to the performance, reliability,
and cleanliness of installation of the good old Pertronix units.
Yes...you can easily blow 'em up if mis-installed. So pay attention
to the instructions, especially +12V sourcing when using ballast
resistors and etc. I've only ever had one go bad, and I KNOW
that one was definitely my own fault. (playing with it)
So... check the magnets. Try holding one ring up against the other.
The poles of the magnets should try and pull the same way all the way
around. I'm betting one is either VERY weak, or simply inverted in
the ring.
Paul Tegler
ptegler@cablespeed.com
www.teglerizer.com
----- Original Message -----
From: <ATWEDITOR@aol.com>
To: <mgs@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2005 5:54 PM
Subject: New Petronix glitch
> Greetings,
>
> When it failed, my old Petronix was polite and chose to crap out at the
end
> of my driveway. I did the standard troubleshoot to eliminate other
causes,
> but I had a feeling that was the cause. And when I put in the replacement
> sourced from Moss--fast as always--the car started right up. However, it
ran
> like crap. I tried to drive it three blocks and just made it back. The
engine
> was severely backfiring, temperature gauge shooting up the dial.
>
> I called Moss and Jason said I probably had botched the install ever so
> slightly. So I redid it three times, but it didn't help. Then I started
to swap
> old parts back in--I changed the dizzy cap and rotor, too--but it wasn't
> until I stuck the old circular magnet back in that presto!, the car ran
as
> sweetly as it did before. I undid the swap and put the new one back in,
leaving
> everything else unchanged, and the old crappy running returned. Old one
> in--runs like a champ.
>
> To be clear, this is the magnet that fits around the cammed rotor drive.
I
> tried to get a replacement magnet from Moss but they don't make them that
> way. Hope this one holds up.
> Only thing I can think is that it was the wrong magnet in the box, one for
a
> different firing position.
>
> That's the report from MG Electric Land, always a thrill, the unexpected
> around every corner, even if it ain't Lucas.
>
> Jay Donoghue
> 72B-GT
> 66 Mustang
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