Pertronix Install Problems

[BH_CustomTrucks]

I finally got around to installing the Pertronix Ignitor II in my 62 with a 223 today. Problem is, it won't fire. It will crank just fine and about every 10 seconds give a real rough stumble and back to cranking. Installed it per for instructions and I have no idea...

Could the timing be off somehow? Possible bad unit?

[LM14]

What coil are you using?

Are you feeding it a straight 12V? Per II uses no resistor in the voltage coming in.

SPark

[BH_CustomTrucks]

I put on the Flamethrower coil that Pertronix suggests. It's straight 12v to it, I even jumped a line direct to the battery to check it and see if that helped. No luck. I've been very cautious as I've read you can't leave it powered on too long without running or it will burn up the ignitor unit itself. Just cranks good...hiccups a little and shakes bad when it does it and then back to cranking. I've redone the ground and everything as well.

[charliemccraney]

Make sure you're getting a spark. Check timing.

[6166 Junkyard Dog]

me personally Back to Points,, ours have not replaced points since Altoona back what 6 years ago, truck sat last 2 years without not even opening the door and fired up after sitting 2 years now and sitting in the driveway like it was running all its life,, One thing is to keep all your point hardware cause your going to need it when it lays down on you,, some will argue best thing out there and to set points some will say go by the book, I was taught back in the early 70's do it by eye and set the timing by ear and dist. on a V-8 the rotor when up on #1 should point between the # 7 & #8 spark plug and the vacuum advance SHOULD Not be slammed all the way against the thermostat housing, if it is then its one tooth off We tried that stuff and high RPM'S could not get the Big Slick to run right so went back to points and buy good points NOT that Junk that cheap places sell or LMC sells

[BH_CustomTrucks]

Definitely getting spark. I'm close to giving up on it and going back to the points. I've tried contacting Pertronix with no luck for a response.

[6166 Junkyard Dog]

when installing the Petronix, did you gap the unit like it says in the instructions ?m

[slick4x4]

If you think you have it timed correctly....

Try one thing before taking parts out...

Change out the sparkplugs

I can you a long story about "wet" plugs ....

3 days to get a 223 to run... about pulled out my hair

[ThinLizzy13]

Is it possible you have the timing 180 out? I’ve done that before and the truck would just crank. Drove me nuts.

[BH_CustomTrucks]

I appreciate the help!

It's got new plugs (not in but probably 50-75 miles before I pulled the points). It's been gapped. I'm starting to think timing is out. I've read some other threads where a guy had put it on the 170 in his Ranchero and he had to modify the mount of the Pertronix because it wouldn't line up with the exact spot it needed to in the center of the distributor. Also crossing my mind that they COULD be an issue. I've reached out to Pertronix with no response so I definitely appreciate the input here!

[unibody madness]

Call their help line, you will need the info on your distributor data plate. The guy that had to modify his unit had one for a different dizzy

[chris401]

I finally got around to installing the Pertronix Ignitor II in my 62 with a 223 today. Problem is, it won't fire. It will crank just fine and about every 10 seconds give a real rough stumble and back to cranking. Installed it per for instructions and I have no idea...

Could the timing be off somehow? Possible bad unit?

Sounds like you could have a fuel deliver problem. If you can start and run it with a little gas poured down the carb your fuel delivery is the problem. You can pull all your plugs, ground them and hook the wires back up. I like to use 14 gauge jumper leads with alligator clips. Should see a steady spark pattern on all 6. The Pertonix will run and drive on the factory resistor wire but straight 12 with the coil you have is better. Another thing I tested on my mine was gap. Whether the gap was .030" or .060" it still held 32 deg dwell at 4000 rpm. Seems like it was 35/36 deg idle to 3500 or so.

[BH_CustomTrucks]

Turns out it was a combination of problems.

1. The set up sent in the 1261 box was a 1263. Pertronix says it should still work but did not mount correctly. I drilled a new hole in the plate and moved it over to where the points used to sit.
2. By the time I got this far and had it figured out, the plugs were wet. Took them out, dried them off and put them back.

Put it together and bumped the key and it fired right up without the choke which it normally wanted a little of.

Appreciate everyone's help on this!

[Qcowboy]

. . .

Put it together and bumped the key and it fired right up without the choke which it normally wanted a little of.

Appreciate everyone's help on this!

I'm curious, after a year, is the Pertronix trigger still working? I ask because I've had poor luck with Pertronix twice, and it left me stranded both times. Both units failed after about a year or two.

I have only one vehicle that still uses Pertronix. Like 6166 Junkyard Dog I carry a complete set of points and condenser in the car, so I won't be left stranded when the last remaining Pertronix unit fails. It will be the last aftermarket ignition I ever use. Points are simpler, easier to fix when something goes wrong, and no matter how badly points may get worn, they have never left me stranded. Carrying replacement points and condensor is cheap insurance against a Pertronix failure.

Of course, for that cheap insurance policy to work, you have to be capable of removing a dead pertronix trigger and reinstalling the original points alongside the road. I suspect many people who turn to Pertronix do it because they DON'T already have the skill set to make points work properly, and they don't realize that it's really quite simple to learn.


I hope you're still on the road!

[oldsmiley]

Years ago i had a Physics teacher at Duke University who wanted me to do all the work & repairs to his 66, and one request was to install the Pertronix unit for quick & easy starting. I did it and he was loving the performance it providing in the quick starts. About a year later it failed him and I tested it and found out it was bad, so I installed another one.

Again, a Happy Camper for about 19 months and that one too went bad. I installed one 17 years ago, on my 1957 FORD 800 tractor, and it's still performing like it should, so I knew it had to be something else. To cut to the chase, I questioned him on both failures and found out that 3 months before the 1st one failed, he had somebody do some welding on his trailer hitch. The second one failed 3 days after installing a NEW battery.

Lesson is, always unplug the unit if ANY THING electrical is being performed. All it takes is one spark to kill it.....

The 3rd one was installed 13 years ago, and the new owner of it says it's still doing fine.

[unibody madness]

When working the cranes at the Crockett sugar refinery, we would always tell outside contractors to place the ground wire where they were welding rather than where the welder was, sometime up to 100 feet away and 60+ in the air.
If we did not catch them we would be replacing dc motors somewhere on the machine within two months, every one needing a forklift to move and a mobile crane to lift and install

[Jerry D]

I'm on my 3rd Pertronix. The latest is the Ignitor II, and has been problem free for the last 8 or 10 years since I bought it. This one is the first that I understood and realized that I wasn't providing full 12v to it, as I had the resistor wire still in place for the first two. No idea if that added to the problem. I have run the Flamethrower coil on all three. My truck has a 300 in it, and after reading about it on the fordsix.com site, am running a long reach plug, and run plug gaps of around .050". Does it give me more performance? Probably in my head it does, but it does run fine with the way it's all set up.