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Pertronics Perturbed

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fireinc

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Howdy all,

Trying to "reanimate" a long term hibernating '68 sprite. PO had gotten it seductively running at time of purchase, so I know it ran. (It's got heinously home-made wiring setup tho'... /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cryin.gif )

In quest of reliabitly/peace of mind I aquired a Pertronics electronic ingnition adapter (under rotor cap type). I've installed it and have some questions. Modules black wire is attached to lucas sport coils negative side and red wire is attached to coils positive side per the instructions, but what/where else is to be attached? Obviously I need a hot wire energizing the coil right? Haynes wiring schematic shows a (presumably hot/positive?) wire coming from back of Tach(?), But my original (very shade tree wiring) setup (back when running) had a (hot?) wire going to the negative pole on the coil from the ignition switch(?)- Which is NOT shown on the Haynes wiring diagram...

Now I have no/zero spark coming from distributor and was wondering if you Gents could offer any advice?

I have tried only having the wire from Tach going to positive terminal on coil (with any thing other than Pertronics on negative disconected). and,

Only having the (extra?) wire from the egnition to the positive terminal on coil (with any thing other than Pertronics negative disconected). and,

reversing the above. and,

having both wires attached and alternating their (pos/neg) attachment/orientations.

No spark.... What should I do now? Have I fried the Pert? /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif Is there anyway to test it?

Thanks in advance! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/driving.gif

Edward
 
I'd go back to original Distributor to establish a baseline to at least get it running. Once that is in order, experiments from Petronix can proceeed. If your existing Dist is toast perhaps someone on the list has one they can lend so you can get a baseline on tuning.
 
The wire from the tach (white) makes a loop inside the tach, there are 2 wires with different connectors on the tach.
They come from the key through the tach to the + side of the coil.
To bypass any/all wiring problems, keep the petronix hooked up, do NOT turn on the ignition, run a seperate wire from the + side of the battery to the + side of the coil and push the button on the solenoid. If you have the later no button solenoid, use a large screwdriver that you don't mind possibly messing up when you arc across the 2 large solenoid terminals.
At least you will know if it runs, then you can back track the wiring.
 
Thanks Jim, Spritenut,

So (other than the petronix's leads) the (+) on coil should be hot/energized, but there is no requirements for other wire/lead to be attached to the coils (-) side, right? Or should there be something attached there as well? My car has completely wrong colored wiring everywhere.... (purple wire going to tach to coil for examp.)

Thanks again,

EG
 
There's a lot of information to sort through in those posts above. Can I back up and ask a couple of questions?

Your car is a '68. Is it negative ground? The color codes for the Pertronix that you mentioned are for a negative ground ignition system. If your car is positive ground I believe you have killed the Pertronix.

You mentioned switching wires around. Which wires? Hopefully not those of the Pertronix. A Pertronix with the red/black wires expects a negative ground connection through its mounting plate, a positive 12V supply on the red wire, and it provides a path to ground through its black wire. Hook it up wrong and the white smoke leaks out.

The information from Spritenut above about the white wire making a loop on the back of the tachometer is correct if your tach is an RVI type. You should see the letters RVI written somewhere on your tach's face. Do you see those letters or do you see "RVC"?

I agree with Jim that at this point you should start by putting the points and condenser back in the distributor. Make sure the car will start and run as it was and that nothing else is at fault.

For a negative ground Pertronix you should have the following connections for a standard (non-ballast) negative ground ignition system.
1) You need a hot, switched 12V wire going to coil (+). This is usually a white wire coming from the ignition switch. With RVI tachs, this white wire makes a loop on the back of the instrument before moving on to the coil.
2) The Pertronix RED wire also goes to coil (+).
3) The old white/black wire that ran between the distributor and the coil (-) terminal is removed.
4) The Pertronix BLACK wire goes to the coil (-) terminal.
5) Inside the distributor you will remove the points and condenser.
6) There will be a high-flex wire going between the breaker plate and the dizzy housing. This MUST be retained. It provides the ground connection for the Pertronix Ignitor module.

Once you fit the Pertronix module to the distributor breaker plate, fit the magnet ring to the distributor shaft. Make sure it goes all the way down. Put the rotor on and refit the cap.

Pertonix (regular Ignitor... not Ignitor II) can be static timed. BE CAREFUL. You CANNOT leave Pertronix switched on for more than about 3 minutes without the engine running. If you leave it on too long without running the engine the electronics will overheat and die.

Anyway, make sure the car will run with points. Then fit the Pertronix as described above. Go ahead and set the static timing, don't count on it being correct or unchanged after the Pertronix was installed.

EDIT: BTW, Lucas color codes are almost universal. If you don't have a diagram for your car you can probably get by temporarily by going to Dan Master's web site, https://www.advanceautowire.com , and downloading the MGB wiring diagrams in PDF format. If you want to rewire the car using standard colors and/or a new harness, both should be available from https://www.britishwiring.com .
 
Doug,

Many thanks for the info! I appologise for taking so long to express my gratitude for your taking the time to give that post and pass on that much information.

I'd tackled several projects on the sprite during a recent week off. Now I'm back to having to plot and scheme to eek out a stray day every other week or so to work on the car... I'd sure wanted to cap that weeks effort with a first test drive, but alas....

Hopefully I'll get it sorted out soon.

Edward
 
Not to worry. You'll get it all sorted in time. I've found the important thing about projects is to try and force yourself to do something (even if it's only a 5 minute task) every day. It's all too easy to let a project slip onto the back burner and before you know it you've piled other things (literally) on it.
 
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