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Pertronix Ignitor (Was: Running Question / Electrical)

To: "Chad & Ariane Jester" <ajester@kscable.com>
Subject: Pertronix Ignitor (Was: Running Question / Electrical)
From: "Kai M. Radicke" <kmr@pil.net>
Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 22:23:38 -0400charset="iso-8859-1"
Cc: "Triumph List" <triumphs@autox.team.net>, "6-Pack" <6pack@autox.team.net>
References: <200006242157_MC2-A9FB-E1E@compuserve.com> <0f5301bfde47$d29e57a0$0700a8c0@lucifer> <005101bfde4a$d00b2240$9b855c18@kscable.com>
> Kai, Dave, and List,
>
> I have a pertronix ignitor in my '74 Beetle....works great...and has for
> quite a while.  I planned to get one for my TR6.  What is wrong with
> them?  Why don't they work well on a TR6?  They are an incredibly
> simple device.
>
> Chad

Well first of all, when I purchased my Ignitor in Feb of 1999 and installed
it I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out why the car wasn't
running well.  It eventually was found that the Ignitor's magnetic collar
only had four working magnets in it!  I call to Pertronix and they promptly
sent out a replacement collar.  Tuned the car since then, and it was
alright... but there have been times with the mysterious misses at highway
speeds.  And I know when I was running points and condensor from purchase of
the car in Dec of 1998, until Feb of 1999 I had no problems... even though
this was in the depths of the PA winter.

I just am not happy with it, and for the $95 retail price I can think of no
reason to do away with the points and condensor.  I haven't seen any
improvement from it, and it seems many people's professional opinions of the
unit isn't that great.

I know it is extremely sensitive to low voltage situatiions.  Also in 1999,
my alternator decided to stop producing electric, slowly draining the
battery.  The pertronix was not happy with this, until I rectified the issue
with a new battery.  The old battery still had plenty of power to initiate
the starter and turn the motor over, but the Pertronix just refused to cope.
At this point the battery was still reading in the region of 11.5 volts, as
compared to a healthy fully charged battery in the mid 12s and low 13s.

As I noted in my last message, I think an MSD electronic ignition will be
soon displacing the Pertronix.

I'm not entirely convinced that Thursday's running problems were not related
to the Pertronix.  Especially as I had noted I was getting plenty of voltage
to the coil.

Cheers,

--
Kai M. Radicke -- kmr@pil.net
1966 MGB -- 1974 Triumph TR-6
http://www.pil.net/~felix (pix soon)








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