Hey Greg,
I have gotten pretty excited about putting the Pertronics in my TR4, but
your message sort of takes me back to my original reservations. In reading
your message, it would seem that replacing the points only is only part of
the job, thus it would seem that for proper performance, one should replace
the points, coil, and distributor, is this correct? Also, I have Draeger
gauges (not sure they read acurately now) in my TR4, am I likely to have a
problem with these? If I'm going to make a change, I prefer to do a complete
and correct job, and have my car hummin. What are your recommendations?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gregory Tatarian" <gtwincams@gmail.com>
To: "North Bay British Car Club" <nobbc@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 8:10 AM
Subject: Re: [Nobbc] Petronix ignition testing
>I have a few observations and some experiences with Pertronix:
>
> First, the ignition timing will change after conversion. The trigger point
> of the unit is different than with contact points, and most likely your
> timing will be REALLY advanced, so keep that in mind.
>
> Next, the coil resistance is very important, and must be matched to the
> existing wiring in the car and the type of Pertronix used (Ignitor vs.
> Ignitor II vx. Ignitor III). Specifically, cars with ballast resistance
> wires will affect the coil resistance selection, as will the conversion
> unit. Most of the conversion units for our cars are Ignitor (not II or
> III),
> but new distributors come with II or III versions, so be careful there.
>
> One effect of changing your ballast wire/coil configuration is your
> tachometer; using a 1.5 ohm coil instead of a 3.0 ohm coil after removal
> of
> the ballast wire will often result in a tachometer that does not read
> correctly - often 2x the actual reading. In many cases, your tachometer
> will
> bounce around no matter which coil/wire/Ignitor combination is selected.
> This is due to the older type of triggering used in older cars. If you
> have
> Smiths gauges, for example, and have an RVI movement tach, you will be
> likely to have issues. If you have a later RVC tach, it will almost
> certainly perform properly, due to the compatibility in circuitry with
> electronic ignition. Old tachs can be converted, but that's easier done in
> England than here, though there are one or two shops that handle the
> conversion.
>
> What I have found is that it is generally safer to use a 3.0 ohm coil with
> our without a ballast wire and have the Pertronix see extra resistance
> than
> to use a 1.5 ohm coil without a ballast wire, even if that is the
> preferred
> configuration, unless you convert your tach.
>
> There are other considerations when converting to Pertronix, and we can
> cover those at the tech session if that's a popular subject.
>
> FWIW, I have Pertronix units on the Elan and TR6, and they function
> flawlessly, and have since being installed. I don't keep a spare set of
> points, but I do have a spare Pertronix. I've had plenty of points and
> condensors fail or wear prematurely, so always used to keep spares of
> those,
> although they are cheaper in comparison; I just always expect that
> something
> will fail, and I'm not disappointed when it does. Hmm. Cynical of me...
>
> Spark on!
>
> Greg Tatarian
>
> On Wed, Feb 17, 2010 at 7:50 AM, Walter Kilchherr
> <wkilch@sbcglobal.net>wrote:
>
>> I've heard nothing but good about Pertronics, it improved my Sprites
>> performance. BUT, I've heard you can kill them by leaving the ignition on
>> too
>> long without the engine running. It does hurt to have the old parts in
>> your
>> car just in case.
>>
>> Walter
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