Subject: Re: [Spits] pertronix

From: "Alex&Janet Thomson" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 07:53:29 -0500

I have a Crane Cam XR700 ignition system on our 71 GT6 MKIII and it has been
perfect. Don't know if they are still available. With whatever system you
choose, follow the wiring diagrams exactly. If the unit needs a full 12V,
don't feed it with the existing ignition ballast resistor or resistance
wire.

Alex Thomson

-----Original Message-----
From: [email-masked]
[mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Dave
Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2014 5:57 PM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: [Spits] pertronix

hi.  have a 75 spit; was converted to allison ignition which is pretty dead.
I want to order a pertronix, but it appears there are numerous choices.

how do I choose????
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From: "Nick Moseley" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 10:43:27 -0800

Dave, (I assume that is your name...)
The best way is to order based on the distributor that is actually in your
car, as opposed to the one with which it was originally fitted.
Most distributors have the maker name and model numbers stamped on the
outside. For the Lucas ones, it is often on the side that faces the engine,
so you might have to free off the securing fitting and turn the dizzy until
you can see it. Sometimes a mirror helps.
Having had some experience of getting Pertronix units that did not fit the
distributor I had ordered it for, you might consider getting one of the
units for sale that include a new dizzy along with the, fitted, electronic
ignition. Sometimes these can be had for as little as $160. or so, and
considering the age of the original dizzy and its related parts and springs,
the price difference and value of all new parts make this the smarter long
term buy. It also means you could convert the one you have now back to
points, and keep it as a spare in case of problems with the new one.
Just my opinion...
Nick Moseley

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2014 2:57 PM

how do I choose????

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From: Greg Rowe <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 19:52:58 -0500

I
replaced my dead Crane unit with a Pertronix about a year ago.  I didnt
remember there being any difficulty
with determining which Pertronix to get,
however there was a lot of confusion
about the right ignition coil.  You may
already know this but if not, it may help.
Pertronix
talks about 1.5ohm and 3 ohm coils which correspond to 6 volt and 12
volt coils
(the 12 volt necessarily has more windings which results in the
higher resistance).  Depending on what year/model you have, your
spitfire may
have come originally with either a 6 volt or a 12 volt coil.  In addition, it
may have been changed by a
previous owner so double check.
Both
coils put out the same voltage out of the ignition wire to the
distributor, the
difference is the voltage that they need to operate, the
amount that should be
seen on the + terminal.  You may wonder
why Triumph
would use a 6 volt coil in a 12 volt system and that is because
when you are
starting, the heavy draw of the starter (and lack of alternator
charging)
reduces the available voltage below 12 volts.  You get a hotter spark to
assist with the
difficult task of firing the engine by temporarily overloading
a 6 volt coil
than underloading a 12 volt one.
So
normally a 12 volt coil gets 12 volts (nominally) ALL the time on its +
terminal.  The 6 volt gets the full 12
volts when cranking and then only 6
volts (through either a ballast resistor or
ballast wire) when running.
What
does all this have to do with the Pertronix unit?  When you install the
Pertronix, it will tell
you to hook up the red wire at the + terminal of the
coil and the black wire at
the - terminal.  It will also tell you
that you
need a 3.0 ohm coil, e.g. 12 volts. 
No one that Ive spoken with is really
sure, but it appears that
Pertronix is saying that their unit needs a constant
12 volts to operate.  The coil is a convenient place to take it
from even
though youre really just using a common junction, theres nothing
magical
about the 12 volts at the coil as compared with anywhere else (although
you do
want it to be switched in synch with the ignition).  And I cant think of
anything special about
the   terminal, the Pertronix is just grounding the
coil so it produces a spark
and I dont see how the unit could care whether
the coil is 3 ohms or 1.5.  So what I did was leave the 6 volt coil in
place
and take a 12 volt source for the red wire from the Pertronix from the
remnants of the factory electronic ignition.  So far thats worked.  Ive also
heard that some folks have just run
the Pertronix on 6 volts and it seems to
work but whether it shortens its life,
who can say?
So
bottom line:

If
you have a 12 volt coil and no ballast wire, you are good
to go.

If
you have a 6 volt coil and a ballast wire, you can

-      
Bypass the ballast and replace the coil with a 12 volt (lose
advantage of hotter spark when starting)

-      
Keep the 6 volt and find another 12 volt ignition source for the
Pertronix (not recommended by them but seems to work)

-      
Keep the 6 volt, hook up to 6 volts and see if it actually makes a
difference (uncharted waters).

I
hope this helps.  Good luck with it! Greg Rowe
 > From: [email-masked]
> Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2014 16:56:34 -0600

[email-masked]

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From: "Bill Gingerich" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 10:01:02 -0600

FWIW, I put a Pertronics in my '74 (Delco dist) about 10 years ago.  I left
the existing coil, and hooked up the Pertronics directly to the coil.  It
has seemed to function fine since then.  YMMV, etc.

BillG

-----Original Message-----
From: [email-masked]
[mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Greg Rowe
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 6:53 PM
To: Spitfires
Subject: Re: [Spits] pertronix

I
replaced my dead Crane unit with a Pertronix about a year ago.  I didnt
remember there being any difficulty with determining which Pertronix to get,
however there was a lot of confusion about the right ignition coil.  You may
already know this but if not, it may help.
Pertronix
talks about 1.5ohm and 3 ohm coils which correspond to 6 volt and 12 volt
coils (the 12 volt necessarily has more windings which results in the higher
resistance).  Depending on what year/model you have, your spitfire may have
come originally with either a 6 volt or a 12 volt coil.  In addition, it may
have been changed by a previous owner so double check.
Both
coils put out the same voltage out of the ignition wire to the distributor,
the difference is the voltage that they need to operate, the amount that
should be seen on the + terminal.  You may wonder why Triumph would use a 6
volt coil in a 12 volt system and that is because when you are starting, the
heavy draw of the starter (and lack of alternator
charging)
reduces the available voltage below 12 volts.  You get a hotter spark to
assist with the difficult task of firing the engine by temporarily
overloading a 6 volt coil than underloading a 12 volt one.
So
normally a 12 volt coil gets 12 volts (nominally) ALL the time on its +
terminal.  The 6 volt gets the full 12 volts when cranking and then only 6
volts (through either a ballast resistor or ballast wire) when running.
What
does all this have to do with the Pertronix unit?  When you install the
Pertronix, it will tell you to hook up the red wire at the + terminal of the
coil and the black wire at the - terminal.  It will also tell you that you
need a 3.0 ohm coil, e.g. 12 volts.
No one that Ive spoken with is really
sure, but it appears that
Pertronix is saying that their unit needs a constant
12 volts to operate.  The coil is a convenient place to take it from even
though youre really just using a common junction, theres nothing magical
about the 12 volts at the coil as compared with anywhere else (although you
do want it to be switched in synch with the ignition).  And I cant think of
anything special about the   terminal, the Pertronix is just grounding the
coil so it produces a spark and I dont see how the unit could care whether
the coil is 3 ohms or 1.5.  So what I did was leave the 6 volt coil in place
and take a 12 volt source for the red wire from the Pertronix from the
remnants of the factory electronic ignition.  So far thats worked.  Ive
also heard that some folks have just run the Pertronix on 6 volts and it
seems to work but whether it shortens its life, who can say?
So
bottom line:

If
you have a 12 volt coil and no ballast wire, you are good to go.

If

-
Bypass the ballast and replace the coil with a 12 volt (lose advantage of
hotter spark when starting)

-
Keep the 6 volt and find another 12 volt ignition source for the Pertronix
(not recommended by them but seems to work)

-

I
hope this helps.  Good luck with it! Greg Rowe  > From: [email-masked]

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