installiing pertronix ignitor

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Spectre
Posts: 37
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2013 9:47 am
Location: Bluegrass

Post by Spectre »

Thanks fellas...

I figure I'll just hook her up with the stock coil and see what happens as it gets warmed up.

presh-i-ate-it. (translates as "I appreciate it" for you non-speakers)
"Quench my thirst with gasoline"
Hetfield, 1996
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Nick Pepe
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Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 12:58 pm
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Petronix

Post by Nick Pepe »

At my shop in L.A. we installed Petronix for years and used the original coils and never had anyone complain that the coils went bad or hard starting. I have one in my 66 and have had it in there for probably 8 years or more and it is still running strong and the car starts first time always. Well, now it doesn't since its been sitting for more than 2 years and is pissed at me for letting it sit there and get dirty and ignoring it. There like women.

Nick
1966 Thunderbird
1960 Dodge Phoenix
1970 Dodge Challenger
1972 Thunderbird
1972 Mustang Mach 1
Spectre
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Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2013 9:47 am
Location: Bluegrass

Post by Spectre »

Update:
Module and coil arrived!
Installed the module in the distributor per instructions and a youtube vid from pertronix.
Fired it up, purred like a kitten, no more misses, exhaust even stunk less.
Let her run for a few, grinnin like a mule in a briar patch.

**POOF**. Shut off like somebody turned the key off. Fired her back up, ran great for a few then..poof again.

2morrow I'll try running the red to an alternate source and installing the new coil as well/

Suggestions?
"Quench my thirst with gasoline"
Hetfield, 1996
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RedBird64
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Post by RedBird64 »

Maybe the pickup is spaced a bit too far from the center piece?
I dunno, it's not very sensitive though. I've played with the spacing to see what would happen to dwell - answer is almost nothing.

Scott
1964 Coupe Wimbledon white/Rangoon Red w/black int. Owned for 42 years. It was my folks car before that (second owners). VTCI # 12013.
MelanieCooper
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Location: Spanaway WA

Post by MelanieCooper »

spectre please look at my topic as i had the same issues and the fix its listed there .. hats happen is the coil is runing out of power can hold the voyls casue its not getting it running the red coil wire is the fix
tyrone
Posts: 57
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2011 9:06 pm
Location: peoria ill

pertronix

Post by tyrone »

I wondered installed the ignitor in my 66 bird with has a 428 I found that if u go online or look in a summit book you can find a harness made by pertronix to bypass everything . And all you have to set it up is in the engine bay
Spectre
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Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2013 9:47 am
Location: Bluegrass

Post by Spectre »

Ms. Melanie..I read your post before dragging this back up, and it has been a help.

Mr. Tyrone, I checked Summit (and Jegs) after I read your earlier post and couldn't find the harness you referred to.

I 've been fooling with it off and on for a couple of days...seemed to be running OK. Start-up is the problem. If I keep it hooked to the stock coil, nothing.

If I hook it directly to the positive post on the battery it fires right up.

That's backward from what it would do if the resistor wire was interfering.

I installed the pertronix coil this morning and it seemed to do fine. I wasn't able to let it run for to long, probably didn't get very warm, so the resisitor probably didn't have time to drop the volts.

I'm going to try and find an hour or so this week to REALLY let it run and see what happens. I suspect I will have to wire to a 12v source under the hood. I couldn't locate a source yesterday.

Thanks for the replies, i'll update soon.
"Quench my thirst with gasoline"
Hetfield, 1996
tbird
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Post by tbird »

I believe that when the resistor wire is failing that the voltage will drop further than the normal 6 to 7 volts as it heats up, a number of people have had to replace the wire it is available from NAPA or other parts sources. A full twelve volts to the original coil will damage the internals over a extended length of time.

The resister wire is required with the original style coils as they do not have a built in resistance to reduce the voltage, new style coils may require full voltage to them.
Jim Mills
VTCI # 8071
VTCI 1964-66 Technical Editor
2002 Thunderbird
1965 Convertible
1962 Convertible (in progress)
1959 Ford Retractable HT
Many parts cars
tyrone
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pertronix

Post by tyrone »

I just looked it was on the second page its the ign power relay
Spectre
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Re: pertronix

Post by Spectre »

tyrone wrote:I just looked it was on the second page its the ign power relay
AHA!!
Thank you Tyrone...I haven't had any more problems since installing the new coil, but I sure as heck will get this if I do.
"Quench my thirst with gasoline"
Hetfield, 1996
Zkroland
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Location: Sarasota, FL

Post by Zkroland »

Im doing the same now. (Pertronix I with 12V coil). Runs fine with original resistor wire but I want to replace It to get 12V to coil. I found the pink wire terminating under dash on passenger side and found other end behind the ignition switch (but cant see the end). It is said that it is plugged into the end of the green/red wire that comes out of ignition switch. so I figured I would just cut that green/red wire and splice regular wire onto it and run it to the coil. However, I find a green wire with a red stripe AND a red wire with a green stripe coming from back of ignition switch.
Which one is the beginning of the pink resistor wire?
And where is the easiest place to put my new wire thru the firewall?
thanks
1965 Special Landau
tbird
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Post by tbird »

The resistor wire should have a bullet style connecter at each end the one is somewhere by the ignition switch the other may be on the passenger side under the dash. Check your Osborne manual.
Jim Mills
VTCI # 8071
VTCI 1964-66 Technical Editor
2002 Thunderbird
1965 Convertible
1962 Convertible (in progress)
1959 Ford Retractable HT
Many parts cars
Zkroland
Posts: 52
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 5:12 pm
Location: Sarasota, FL

Post by Zkroland »

yes I agree. but I can't pull the ignition switch out far enough to see which wire the pink is connected to (I can only see a loop of pink disappearing into a taped up harness where the green with red stripe and red with green stripe run into as well.) Of course I have no osborn manual.
Mainly I just need to know if the ignition wire is red with a green stripe or vise-versa.
1965 Special Landau
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JETBRD66
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Re: installiing pertronix ignitor

Post by JETBRD66 »

Thought I'd bring this thread back up, would like to Thank the folks involved for the info contained in it, I've chasing a plug fouling issue since I got my 66, while I was fooling around I came across a ballast resistor ( hidden behind the washer bag) , not know what it was for I left it and continued to search for an issue of why I was getting ( I thought too much fuel) re built carb installed new wires, several sets of plugs ( different heat ranges etc) and always the same issue , after a few weeks she would load up the plugs, after a search I came to this thread and it is what made me look at the coil, wiring ,etc and then the ignitor ignition 1281 & blaster coil, installed in my car, a few minutes with my multi meter, I discovered that I was only feeding 5.9 V thru that ballast resistor to the blaster coil , removed the ballast resistor , the coil takes 12V just fine and off I went, starts perfect , no more issues , put a couple of hundred miles on her and it just purrs, I went thru all the cars receipts and they have been chasing this problem for a long time , well over 10 years, as far as I can see or even longer, it was in for tune ups every 3 months, of course , clean plugs , wires and she would run on the 6V until the plugs started to carbon up !
It was this form that help me out and am grateful for the help , YOU GUYS ROCK ! :smile:
Happy Birding and hope to meet some of you at the 60th reunion in Dearborne .
G>
THE OLE TURD IN THE BIGBIRD

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bobioknight
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Re: installiing pertronix ignitor

Post by bobioknight »

Jetbrd66... I have the exact same story, so much so initially I had to back to make sure I did not write the post. At this point I am going to stop focusing on carb and timing adjustments and begin looking at my petronix setup, I have a feeling this is going to be what's plagued me for the last 9 months and not my fueling system.
1957 Ford Thunderbird | Black | 312 Y Block | 28,000 miles
2007 Jaguar XK | Green | 18,000 miles
2002 Ford F-350 SD Lariat | Green/Tan | 7.3 Turbo Diesel | 190,000 miles
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