Pertronix or points

[AUSMHLY]

I'm going to have my distributor rebuilt by Advanced Distributors.
Question came up about using points or the Pertronix.

Jeff at Advanced Distributors recommends using points saying the car will perform better.

What say other Healey owners about what you use and why?

Looking forward to your views.
Roger

 

[tahoe healey]

Jeff did mine about 3 years ago. Runs great. I had to call him asking if it was really mine as it was soooo clean I did not recognize it. He adds a cam sweep to keep it lubricated reducing wear on the points follower. And uses a quality rotor. I have yet not had to adjust the point gap. You will be pleased. Electronic gets mixed reviews on the forums. Seems like it is recommended to carry points when using electronics. I was very impressed with his work and the timely return of my dizzy.
TH

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Jeff did mine about 3 years ago. Runs great. I had to call him asking if it was really mine as it was soooo clean I did not recognize it. He adds a cam sweep to keep it lubricated reducing wear on the points follower. And uses a quality rotor. I have yet not had to adjust the point gap. You will be pleased. Electronic gets mixed reviews on the forums. Seems like it is recommended to carry points when using electronics. I was very impressed with his work and the timely return of my dizzy.
TH

Jeff did my Distributor(s) and I had one done with points and the other with Pertronix which I use but never had a problem with. He did recommend "top" loading Distributor Cap with new wires. It seems as though the Pertronix can cause some cross-firing with the original side entry Caps. I also changed to a new Bosch Blue Coil that he sells as well as Rotors that he sells with spares.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I've had a Pertronix in my BJ8 for many years and tens of thousands of miles with absolutely no problems (I recently bought a spare, just for peace of mind). I only installed it to reduce routine maintenance--I drive this car over 5K miles/yr--but was pleasantly surprised to get easier starting and a smoother idle (down to 300RPM). We put a Pertronix in our BN2 and although I don't have a lot of miles on the car it seems to start and idle better as well.

I don't comprehend the 'points give better performance' argument (why don't modern cars, which squeeze every bit of power and efficiency out of undersized engines use points?). I believe even the early Pertronix gives a more constant signal to the coil; whereas as the signal from points varies with engine speed.

 

[John Turney]

I have the Crane system on mine. The only disadvantage to it is that you can tell it isn't original. There is a separate box under the passenger's floorboard.

 

[dougie]

Jeff built my period correct Lucas race distributor for my '57 100-6 MM and I use the Pertronix system with it. In our discussions, I got the feeling Jeff felt some of the Pertronix build quality was suspect. I've also had the Pertronix in my '65 BJ8 for the last 12 years with no problem up until 2 weeks ago. I think it's the coil, but have not completed my trouble-shooting yet. I pack 2 new spare systems with my race gear, just in case when traveling with Team Healey PDX.

 

[steveg]

Jeff built my period correct Lucas race distributor for my '57 100-6 MM and I use the Pertronix system with it. In our discussions, I got the feeling Jeff felt some of the Pertronix build quality was suspect. I've also had the Pertronix in my '65 BJ8 for the last 12 years with no problem up until 2 weeks ago. I think it's the coil, but have not completed my trouble-shooting yet. I pack 2 new spare systems with my race gear, just in case when traveling with Team Healey PDX.

I had an AutoZone coil go bad and eat my pertronix. Spoke to tech support there and they confirmed an internal coil short can fry the pertronix.

 

[Keoke]

Jeff at Advanced Distributors recommends using points saying the car will perform better--WOT ! ! !.

To improve performance:
: You want a hotter spark, Pertronix will do this without changing your coil simply because its switching time is faster than points and will not produce point bounce. incidentally the Pertronix will allso enhance your cold engine starts

I have used an electronic ignitions every since I have owned a healey and Pertronix is a favorite of mine, both my BJ8s utilise one.

 

[DerekJ]

One of the great things about owning a Healey, or indeed any classic car, is that they are analogue not digital. And you can fix them. Given the type of usage and mileage that most classics see, a points based ignition works perfectly fine. A set of points costs about $5.00, they can be adjusted and replaced very simply. Why complicate matters? All the cars that raced in the recent Healey International Drivers race ran with points and had power outputs up to 280bhp. All the Healey endurance records were set with points. And you can't fry them.

 

[aeronca65t]

Both my street cars (MGB and MG Midget) have points.

Both run fine with no issues other than checking them once a year.

The B runs about 1500 miles a year. The Midget runs a bit less.

I like the simplicity and ease of understanding with points.

But......

My race car runs Pertronix. The unit allows better idling and no misfire, even under rich conditions (in my experience). I have used the same Pertronix unit for over 10 years with no issues.

I also run solid-core (copper) wires and the old-style side-entry caps (with lock screws) in the race car. Both of these are supposed to be no-nos with Pertronix but I've never had a problem.

My setup with the Pertronix is not standard. I use a conventional coil and ballast resisitor. But I run the ballast resistor all the time, even during starting (in other words, I don't provide full current to the coil for starting)

My ignition wiring looks like ~THIS~ except I do not hook up the "Connect to Start..." portion (the coil gets current through the ballast resistor during starting).

The car starts well even with reduced current to the coil and I believe my setup provides an electrical "cushion" to the Pertronix so that it will get less of a voltage "spike" (thus, protecting it).

 

[rcflyer]

Are we talking the Pertronics replacement for JUST the points here...or are you speaking of the Pertronice electronic ignition system?, Lee

 

[AUSMHLY]

Are we talking the Pertronics replacement for JUST the points here...or are you speaking of the Pertronice electronic ignition system?, Lee

Stock distributor, replace points with Pertonix ignition.

 

[rcflyer]

Are we talking about the $80.00 Pertronics module that goes in the distributor or the complete Pertronics electronic ignition?? I am thinking of using the point replacement that goes in the disreibutor but NOT the whole enchilada, Lee

 

[AUSMHLY]

Are we talking about the $80.00 Pertronics module that goes in the distributor or the complete Pertronics electronic ignition?? I am thinking of using the point replacement that goes in the disreibutor but NOT the whole enchilada, Lee

https://www.pertronix.com/prod/ig/ignitor/default.aspx

 

[Keoke]

rcflyer;
This is a very creditable upgrade and simple to install. Similarly, slipping back to points in the unlikely on the road Pertronics failure is a snap.--Keoke--

 

[rcflyer]

Keoke, OK...Sounds like my plan to do the upgrade is good to go, Thanks, Lee

 

[57_BN4]

Both cars I currently own had original coils and when fitting the Pertronix both coils failed within a few days.

The Healey coil lasted less than an hour then completely quit during gentle acceleration with a cold engine earlier this year. I could hear the coil clicking internally when turning the distributor shaft against the advance springs to cause the Pertronix to operate. The failure was due to carbon tracking between the HT and LT circuits across the ceramic insulator which you can see in the second pic as a black line at 10 o'clock. The line rubbed off easily and the coil would probably have worked again for some time until it formed another track. The Pertronix makes the coil work much harder than the points do because it switches off almost instantly (this is why the engine runs so much better when cold) which causes the HT voltage to rise more quickly and to a higher level so any existing weaknesses will be discovered as happened to this coil. It would probably have continued on for years with points.



If you plan on carrying the original points in a bag in case of Pertronix failure then be aware that it isn't a five minute job to refit them as the base plate needs to come out to refit the terminal block plus the timing setting is quite different between points and Pertronix. Buy two units and carry one as a spare plus a spare coil and you are good to go anywhere. Too much hassle for some people I guess but the improvement in performance is well worth it for me. Andy.

 

[steveg]

Andy,
I had rough-running problems with a near-new Moss sport coil and decided to ditch it. They are quite flimsy compared to your original silver coil.

I have 2 pertronix unballasted coils on the theory that the pertronix-unit will work properly with their coil and if their coil fails and eats it I'll have an argument for a replacement.

Jeff Schlemmer at Advanced sells Bosch Big Blue coils and if one wanted maximum reliability over originality, maybe that would be the way to go.

 

[57_BN4]

Steve- I have a regular Lucas coil from the 70s in place at the moment and a spare Bosch GT40 which I plan on cutting open and swapping the guts into the original Lucas housing then welding up the cut which will be hidden under the clamp and hopefully nobody'll know. Andy.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Andy,
I had rough-running problems with a near-new Moss sport coil and decided to ditch it. They are quite flimsy compared to your original silver coil.

I have 2 pertronix unballasted coils on the theory that the pertronix-unit will work properly with their coil and if their coil fails and eats it I'll have an argument for a replacement.

Jeff Schlemmer at Advanced sells Bosch Big Blue coils and if one wanted maximum reliability over originality, maybe that would be the way to go.

Jeff sold me a Bosch Blue Coil that's made in a certain country and he said that they are not all "equally" made around the world. The Pertronix can make a cross tracking inside the Dizzy Cap and is solved with a "top loaded" Dizzy cap instead of a "side loaded" original style. Be sure to send Jeff your Dizzy Cap with plug wires and he'll check them when he rebuilds your Dizzy. You can have solid core coils and oil-filled coils. I recommend buying what Jeff suggests. I've never had a Pertroinx problem.