Trouble with pertronix ignition

[big block]

Need a solution guys. Been through 3 pertronix ignitions in the last 5 years. 1 was a shorted electric fan maybe. Last 2 I don’t know. Have 12 volts, off ignition. Have a blaster .03 ohm coil. No resister. I do run a old sun tack 30 years old. Are pertronix igniter 2 not compatiable with old tacks? May not matter but I have converted my alternator to a 1wire alt direct to the battery so there shouldn’t be any spiking there. Ran a relay last time straight off the battery so it would get 14 volts when running. Distributor is reconditioned from autozone for points. Not manny miles in it maybe 500. Just stumped guys any ideas? Motor is a 360 mild tune no racing on the last 2 ignitions so no high rpms.

 

[pishta]

Ditch it, strike 3 and I would be out. Get an all in one if the self contained units are your flavor. either HEI adapted or a Bosch ignitor style (the ebay 'drop in' ones). Sorry I cannot offer you a fix, but if 3 have gone out in 5 years (almost my luck with MSD 6's) , maybe its just not the best solution.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Put the stock Mopar back in it with a good curve kit and an FBO limiter plate. One and done and no more problems. You'll have a better ignition than that other crap and you'll have something that any parts store stocks parts for when and if it ever needs maintenance.

 

[67Dart273]

My first "jump" would be the coil is too much current (too low resistance) for the module. What does Pertronix say to use? I would be going Mopar breakerless and HEI. GM HEI module that is

 

[big block]

Sorry I mispoke on the coil. It is a Pertronix flame thrower 2 oil filled .06 ohm matched to the igniter 2 ignition. Came from pertronix. I've checked the coil. It's .06 ohm as advertised. I'ts fairley new so I don't think that's the problem. I've got an electronic dist, gold control unit and wiring, but I was hoping not to have to rewire everything again. I have a painless wiring harness in it.

 

[halifaxhops]

Call Petronix, thney will make it good. I dont care for the II, I like the origionals. Never heard of three of them going bad has to be something going on, what no idea.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Sorry I mispoke on the coil. It is a Pertronix flame thrower 2 oil filled .06 ohm matched to the igniter 2 ignition. Came from pertronix. I've checked the coil. It's .06 ohm as advertised. I'ts fairley new so I don't think that's the problem. I've got an electronic dist, gold control unit and wiring, but I was hoping not to have to rewire everything again. I have a painless wiring harness in it.

Just imagine if you had it wired for the stock Mopar unit. You'd probably never had a problem in the first place.

And is this a race only application? That gold box AIN'T for street cars.

 

[Bewy]

First, I doubt if the coil is 0.06 ohm. If it is it would be for CD ign [ like MSD 'box'] & that would certainly take out the Per module. Is it a misprint & actually 0.6 ohms? That would make more sense.
AFAIK, Per makes 3 types of elec ign conversions. Their requirements as far as ballast resistors etc varies, so the instructions need to closely followed for the model you are using.
They certainly do not seem to be very reliable & I would ditch it. Best bang for the buck [ & best spark for an inductive ign system ] as mentioned in post # 2, is the ebay Bosch type [ module mounted on the side of the dist ]. These are better than the Mopar elec systems in a few ways. Fewer connections, so greater reliability. They do NOT use a ballast res; a ballast res limits current & spark energy. The Bosch 4 pin modules are very reliable, were used in many brands of cars here. I have compared them to the GM HEI 4 pin module & they switch a little more current, about 5.7 amp v 5.5 amp. That is good, hotter spark. Some cars had 0.065" plug gaps, gives you an idea of the ign energy you get.

 

[67Dart273]

Need a solution guys. Been through 3 pertronix ignitions in the last 5 years. .

Is it possible that you or someone has left the key "on" sometimes? "Back in the 70's" I had a cousin with a Jeep/ electronic. He had been through several boxes, and it turns out he did not realize you cannot listen to the radio with the key "in run"

 

[BillGrissom]

Hard to beat the price of the Ningbo Ready-to-run HEI distributor, just $45 for a small-block. Add a $20 e-core coil. See Skip White Performance and others on ebay. I haven't read of problems with Pertronix Ignitor II. I definitely wouldn't use the original Ignitor since an old design which requires a ballast resistor. Ignitor III adds multi-spark and rev limiter.

I question Rusty's claim that you can get replacement parts for the old Mopar electronic ignition at any auto parts today. People have trouble finding an ECU that lasts. Many are Chinese knock-offs w/ fake TO-3 transistor.

 

[yellow rose]

Hard to beat the price of the Ningbo Ready-to-run HEI distributor, just $45 for a small-block. Add a $20 e-core coil. See Skip White Performance and others on ebay. I haven't read of problems with Pertronix Ignitor II. I definitely wouldn't use the original Ignitor since an old design which requires a ballast resistor. Ignitor III adds multi-spark and rev limiter.

I question Rusty's claim that you can get replacement parts for the old Mopar electronic ignition at any auto parts today. People have trouble finding an ECU that lasts. Many are Chinese knock-offs w/ fake TO-3 transistor.

One of those distributors is made so you can’t change the advance curve. And the curve it comes with sucks.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Is it possible that you or someone has left the key "on" sometimes? "Back in the 70's" I had a cousin with a Jeep/ electronic. He had been through several boxes, and it turns out he did not realize you cannot listen to the radio with the key "in run"

I believe that is only an issue with the original Pertronix. One of the improvements in the II version was to have a timer on the switch so it would not act like points in the closed position with the key on.