Pertronix Question

dotcentral · Post by **dotcentral** » December 1, 2007, 1:04 pm

Question: how clean do you think the inside of the distributor has to be for swapping in the pertronix stuff? The instructions sort of make it sound like it should be just about spotless inside. I can wipe the dirt off, maybe spray some electrical cleaner in there and get most of the loose stuff, but it is a 40 year old dist. Would it be okay as long as I get the worst of it out and it's relatively grease free? Any idea?

If not, I could try for a rebuilt and put the pertronix in it.

Problem is, no one carries a 352 distributor around here. After talking it through with a parts guy from Advance, I can get a '68 360 single vacuum distributor. That should be pretty much the same, right?

dotcentral · Post by **dotcentral** » December 1, 2007, 1:46 pm

I sprayed it with electrical cleaner, seemed to take the worst of it off.

2nd dumb question, the coil. The instructions show red wire to the + connector on the coil, the black to the negative. My stock coil is marked "BATT" and "DIST".

I'm thinking the DIST is the same as +, the BATT is the - or Negative connection. Am I right or wrong?

Macon ACE · Post by **Macon ACE** » December 1, 2007, 4:21 pm

I did just as you did for the inside of the dist. and it works fine.

As far as the coil goes, mine's a 292 and I don't see any markings or labels on it. But it has 2 wires: 1 black, 1 red. That matched the wires on the Pertronix. And I knew from previous testing that red was hot.

I used a volt meter and tested the wires with the switch on. Red wire had 12 volts.

May be different on a 352...

Macon ACE · Post by **Macon ACE** » December 1, 2007, 4:25 pm

I just looked at my 390. No Pertronix (yet) but the coil wires are the same: black goes to dist. and red goes to the switch I suppose.

This makes me think - is dist and + is batt but surely someone on here knows for sure...

ICEMAN6166 · Post by **ICEMAN6166** » December 1, 2007, 4:35 pm

+ is the battery or ignition side, - is the dist.

Macon ACE · Post by **Macon ACE** » December 1, 2007, 4:39 pm

ICEMAN6166 wrote:+ is the battery or ignition side, - is the dist.

There ya go!

Rosati · Post by **Rosati** » December 1, 2007, 9:46 pm

Just make sure there are no metal shavings. The Pertronix uses a magnetic pickup and shavings will wreak havoc

dotcentral · Post by **dotcentral** » December 2, 2007, 4:04 am

Well, I didn't work the way I had it wired originally, so I looked at it and swapped the wires around, still wouldn't fire. Scratched my head some, after hitting it twice on the latch, guess I need to find a tennis ball :cry:

Finally looked at the inner fender and saw the rotor sitting there.

Put the rotor in and it fired up. Guess the pertronix only eliminates points, not rotors. Tomorrow I'll change plugs and wires, then mess with the timing.

norville · Post by **norville** » December 2, 2007, 5:44 am

dotcentral wrote:Put the rotor in and it fired up. Guess the pertronix only eliminates points, not rotors. Tomorrow I'll change plugs and wires, then mess with the timing.

Ya know, no matter how many times I tried to start my vehicle without a rotor , I just can't get them to run....

PS one of the best upgrades I made, remember to reset your timing.

bob

fmartin_gila · Post by **fmartin_gila** » December 2, 2007, 10:01 am

Rotor on the fender, BTDT, another of my "learning experiences".
I installed a Pertronix I about 3 or more years ago and am well pleased with it. Just wiped down the inside of the dist and installed, I think IIRC I opened my spark plugs to .45.
Fred

dotcentral · Post by **dotcentral** » December 2, 2007, 5:27 pm

Changed the plugs and wires. The chilton's I was looking at listed 34 for the gap, I put it at 36. Still running the Ford coil, think it's original. My old distributor cap & rotor looked good inside so I didn't replace them. The old plugs were a little oily on the driver's side.

I drove over to a buddy's house and moved the timing up, it was at about 2 degrees at idle. Bumped it up to about 10. Seems to have given it a little better throttle response, and maybe a little smoother. My idle seems maybe a little high now. I'll drive it to work in a day or two and see how it does when cold.

Rosati · Post by **Rosati** » December 2, 2007, 5:33 pm

My Dad used to do that when I was grounded from my old GMC truck as a kid.
He'd pull the rotor or switch plug wires around.
The rotor tricked worked once, but I figured it pretty quick a kept a spare in the glovebox to use when he wasn't home.

YukonCor55 · Post by **YukonCor55** » December 3, 2007, 7:38 am

The Pertronix system is simple, reliable and in my opinion bulletproof! I use it in both of my 55 Ford cars and my 62 F-250. You gotta install the rotor though!! :lol:

To get the best performance and reliability though you should also use a Pertronix Blaster Coil (1.5 ohm for V-8 and 3 ohm for I-6.) The Pertronix coils are internally resisted so it eliminates the need for an external ballast resistor or resistor wire. You can run 12V hot from your ignition switch to the coil and the module in your distributor. It also eliminates that pesky "bypass" circuit used on the old vehicles to provide 12V hot to the coil at startup then a lower resisted 8V after the engine is running (to keep the old coils from burning up.)
Installation is simple, drop the module in place of your points, set the air gap with the provided feeler gauge, wire it up to 12V hot, wire in your blaster coil and let 'er rip! I'd also suggest (just like with any tuneup) a new cap, rotor, plugs and plug wires if needed. Since the Pertronix provides a higher energy spark you can open your plug gaps up a bit, I increased by .002 to take advantage of the better spark. It's not required though. I guess I'm not a true purist but the first 2 operations I perform on any of my old cars/trucks is a 12 volt conversion (if it was a 6V) with a Delco alternator system and next is the Pertronix swap.

shawns fords · Post by **shawns fords** » December 3, 2007, 10:20 am

whats funny about pertronix, its been around since points were around, yet I couldnt find a single parts guy that even knew what pertronix even was. I went to every single store to see if they could sell them, even checker who sells al lthe performance parts just like jegs or somewhat (summit) the district Rep from vatozone told me that "them guys just swap over to electronic ignition" my jaw dropped to the floor when I heard this and started laughing not believeing a district parts rep for a "parts store" didnt know, so I ordered mine online once again. no wonder we cant buy stuff locally anymore

jakdad · Post by **jakdad** » December 3, 2007, 10:51 am

For those that do not know how to time your vehicle with a flashlight, here is the procedure:
Turn on the flashlight. Put the light in your mouth with the beam focused on your timing pointer. Hold on to the number one plug wire with your right hand. Hold on to the fender with your left hand. Have a friend start the engine. everytime your eyes blink, you will see the mark.......................

blackagatha · Post by **blackagatha** » December 4, 2007, 1:31 am

I am running a pertronix with 12v thru a stock-style STANDARD brand coil, no resistor. runs great.

I tried to disconnect the 6v resistor wire at the ignition switch, but it made the starter grind over really strange. I have no idea how it is connected in the loom. Anybody know?

SO I left the wire in place, bandaged the end of it, and tucked it into my plastic loom.

definitely need to re-time it during the swap. I forgot to during the in-swap, and a while back I thought I had a problem with it, so I put the points back in for a while, forgot to re-time, and forgot to hook back to 6v. It ran like hell, and burned the points really bad.

ridiculous cleanlinesss is not necessary. I just cleaned the dist out with a rag, oh yeah, and I replaced the breaker plate to eliminate any issues of slop due to wear. Prob. not necessary, but I think it was a good idea.

I think that if it was clean enough in there to function without your points fouling, it is plenty clean enough for your pertronix.