> It was the Petronix Ignitor electronic ignition module(s).
Welcome to the club, Jim. One of the worst aspects of the Pertronix design
is also it's only selling point (IMO) ... the heat sensitive electronics are
housed inside the distributor, where they always run at engine temperature.
Doing so shortens their life and leads to weird intermittent heat-related
problems. Also because of space limitations, the design is fairly crude and
doesn't, for example, shut down the output transistor when the engine is not
running.
> I can't believe how little there is to the points.
> From all I had
> read I had the impression that they were the worst thing since
> unsliced bread.
Having driven with points for many years, about the worst you can say about
them is that they do need to be replaced on a regular basis. Like so many
other things on our LBCs, all you need do is follow the factory's advice and
things work very well.
> Don't be a scaredy-cat like me and be afraid of putting points back in at
> least as a test if you have one of these modules and have any sort of
ignition
> related problems no matter how minor they might seem.
I've mentioned this before but it can't hurt to do it again ... my advice to
those with electronic ignitions is to get a spare point plate, mount points
& condensor on it, set the gap & carry the plate in the trunk as a spare.
That makes it easy to switch back on the side of the road, if necessary. It
also makes it easy to switch if you think a problem might be due to the
electronic ignition. Some of the more experienced LBC drivers actually
carry an entire distributor as a spare, including cap & wires. Suitably
packed, it fits nicely in the center of the spare tire.
Randall
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