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Pertronix Ignitor: reliability & suitability

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twas_brillig

Jedi Knight
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There was some discussion regards the Pertronix Ignitor on another thread and I contacted Pertronix, asking if their Ignitor was still subject to failure if it was left switched on without the engine running; if so, how long it could be left before failure; and if the Ignitor II was available for positive ground. Here's their reply:

Doug,

You are correct about leaving the key on. The amount of time is really hard to say for certain. On your application I would estimate no longer than five minutes.

Sorry the ignitor II is not available in positive ground.

[FONT=&quot]Your Pertronix Team,
Marvin Grebow Jr.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Technical Dept.

[/FONT] [/FONT]
 
Yes, the original Ignitor module can overheat if left powered on in the conductive state with the engine not running. As the tech guys told you, the amount of time is hard to predict because it depends a lot on how quickly heat can be drawn out/away from the distributor. 5 minutes is a number I had heard before. However, if the module is not conducting (not powering the coil just because of where the distributor shaft happened to stop turning) then there is no current flow and no heating.

Consider for a moment that there are very few occasions where you would leave the ignition on and engine not running. Remember to turn off the ignition or unplug the Ignitor module from the coil and you won't have any problems.

I currently have an Ignitor module in my GT6 and it has never given me a problem. I used to have an Ignitor in the Mini and it never gave any problems either. However, I had Advanced Distributors re-curve the Mini distributor and Jeff encouraged me to go back to points.

There are several arguments for and against making the switch to electronic ignition. If an Ignitor fails, it is dead. You will not limp home or fix it on the side of the road. However, you can fix points on the side of the road AND you can carry points and a condenser in the boot while you are running an Ignitor. If the Ignitor fails... you can always refit the points.
 
Switched to ignitor during 1275 build on my BE. Positive ground, D23 dizzy. Car ran perfectly for about 1000 miles. Maybe a little hard starting frorm cold but I may have had the timing a little off.
Out of the blue the car refused to start after a week idle. Checked everything, traced to no spark. Dragged out old set of points and fitted to dizzy.
Instant start. I do not know what happened or why . I am pretty certain that the Ignitor was not left on, big red race type ignition switch.
I do not know how to check out the module to see if it was the real issue or not.
I agree with Doug points will always get you home.
 
At the Spridget 50th in Elkhart Lake Jeff Schlemmer said that electronic ignitions like Pertonix don't like variable voltages. There was one he said was better but, off the top of my head I can't remember which. (But I don't think it was Pertonix)
 
He sells both but commented to me, I only use Pertronix on my tractor, but then I can always walk home. Bugsy’s new Dizzy has points.
 
I have a Pertronix dizzy, BUT I keep an original one in my parts bin (wtih me in the car).
 
All this talk about having a backup dizzy floating around in trunks .
i have to ask has a body actually had one fail?
in all the years of being on this forum I have never heard of one failing...
yet everybody carry’s extra this that and the other
Generators fail are people driving around with those in the trunks too?
 
No failure here... but heard of them. Easy to carry an original though.
 
SD Bugeye said:
...has a body actually had one fail?
Click to expand...

I have had a Crane/Alison ignition fail in the GT6 PRIOR to fitting the Pertronix. That ignition used a separate amplifier which turned out to not be waterproof. I washed the engine, got the amplifier wet, and found myself installing a replacement. After that I started carrying a set of points and a condenser in the boot for any of my British cars that had an electronic ignition.

I have acquaintances in the Mini community who have burned out Pertronix modules. However, this has not been "on the road". The typical failure mode is for the person to be working on their car in the garage and they forget to disconnect the ignition. That's when that 5 minute rule mentioned above comes into play.
 
Exactly never heard of a failure ( driving down the road)
The buzzer connected to the gen light is just annoying enough to remind you that things are get hot sitting still.
 
I put a Pertronix points replacement in the VW dizzy when I resurected it in 1995 and it still works perfectly.
 
If you change to Pertronix (points ARE a pain in the ass, let alone trying to go to the parts store to get replacements) get two. Cheap insurance for when the first one fails. OR, carry a second dizzy with points already gapped so you can just switch out.... OR, put in a Crane unit and be done, basically until the dizzy wears out.


YMMV
My 2¢
 
Note, I cannot be certain that my failure was the Pertronix unit. All I know is that one morning there was no spark. I could not find any loose or othewise wiring issues.
I just switched out the pertronix unit for points and off it went.
Maybe the Pertronx unit is still a working unit but I have know idea how to check it out.
 
Joe Schlosser said:
Note, I cannot be certain that my failure was the Pertronix unit. All I know is that one morning there was no spark. I could not find any loose or othewise wiring issues.
I just switched out the pertronix unit for points and off it went.
Maybe the Pertronx unit is still a working unit but I have know idea how to check it out.
Click to expand...

One way to check an Ignitor module (NEGATIVE GROUND CAR) is to disconnect the module's black wire from coil (-). Connect the black wire to a test lamp and connect the other side of the test lamp to +12V. Crank the engine over on the starter while watching the test lamp. The lamp should blink on and off as the distributor turns. If it doesn't, the module is not switching.

There is only one "partial" failure mode I know of with Pertronix. If your car has a ballast ignition system (yellow and white/pink wires on coil (+)) then the Pertronix red wire should NOT go on coil (+). If you have a ballast ignition and connect the Pertronix red wire to coil (+) the module is operating on reduced voltage and may not function properly. This is mentioned in their instructions. For ballast ignition cars you need to connect the module's red wire to a switched +12V circuit (Green or White wires circuits).
 
I switched to Pertronix ignition about 7 years ago and it has been trouble free. I do not leave the ignition on for any length of time without the engine running; it's easy enough to pull the power to the Pertronix at the coil if I need to work on the car.
 
I completely understand this. If you were to turn the ignition on even in a points/ condenser car after a few minutes the coil would get hot and possibly you could damage causing it to leak oil or burn it out. In extreme cases FIRE. So always pull a coil + or feed wire off the coil to be sure. If your testing dwell manually obviously it will take some time with points adjustment to get it correct but at least you are cranking it over so give it a rest if the coil gets hot.Its kind of like a starter, if the car is not starting rest the starter for every 1 minute of cranking rest it 5 minutes or more to allow starter to cool down.
I have used pertronix in at least 100 cars with little or no issues most being the gap too far away when hot the car can stall run rough or misfire.The dwell issue someone from a previous forum was talking about compared to crane and points was in my technical experience way off and simply not true. Dwell on a pertronix module is constant and even bush wear inside the distributor is compensated if the gap is not too large on the maximum play or the bush. ie if you pushed the dist. shaft away from the module and had the .040 play it would be fine of course unless you had .040 play in the bush then NO. Replace the bushing,
Cheers, David
 
I thought the latest version of Petronix wasn't prone to this "leave the ignition on too long" problem.
 
Boink said:
I thought the latest version of Petronix wasn't prone to this "leave the ignition on too long" problem.
Click to expand...

The common Ignitor module design is many years old. There is also Ignitor II and Ignitor III. I believe that these later two designs have addressed the overheating problem. However, a side effect of the "fix" is that Ignitor II and III no longer support "zero speed firing". That means you can not static time a car with these ignitions while you can static time the original Ignitor.


David at BMC said:
I completely understand this.
Click to expand...
Welcome David. This appears to be your first post. I see you are from Vancouver BC. I was just there last week. You live in a beautiful (but expensive) place!
 
Thanks for the tip on the Pertronix. I do have "II" in mine.
Still, I play it safe: a) don't leave ignition on for long periods, and b) carry an original dizzy in my parts bin (on-board).​
 
Have not had any trouble with the Pertronix in Baby Blue since I've owned the car -- 6 years now, if you can believe that. You could probably add a couple of years to that number when Longbridgehealey owned the car.

However, on my current project, a '53 Plymouth Cranbrook, I'm leaving the original points & condenser system intact.
 
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