Pertronix ignitor

[Hendog 10]

Just installed a pertronix ignitor but not one of there coils on a 351, the engine starts but misses badly. So I did there test with a jumper wire and according to there instructions I have a low voltage problem. There solution to this says without a ballast resister you must connect the red ignitor wire to a 12 volt source that is controlled by the ignition switch. Thats all it says about fixing the problem. Does'nt say whats causing the problem, just goes on talking about your coils resistance. Will installing one of there flame thrower coils solve the low voltage problem? And does installing this unit change your timing to the point of needing to retime the engine?

[jerry69 10]

Some coils have internal resistors which will cause problems with the Pertronix Ignitor. The Pertronix uses a points type coil, some coils can cause problems.... Best bet is to buy the flame thrower coil... using your old coil is a crap shoot and could be causing your problem.... Also there were 2 types of Ignitor kits depending on the vacuum advance or not.... Also make sure your not grounding to anything that would cause a short... sometimes that's a common problem and is over looked. I've installed a few but not on Fords and I've always reset the timing... you'll notice a big difference when you get it done and running.

[jkskinsfan 19]

I installed the IGNITOR II and their FLAME - THROWER COIL, and it works great. It runs so well that I haven't even checked the Timing yet, so I can't say for sure if the Timing will need to be reset or not.

[Pakrat 1,043]

Whenever you make a change like this you should always check the timing. I am a big believer in timing by ear and not so much numbers, every car is different, even two identical setups may run best with a different setting, you should give YOUR car as much timing as it likes. You may also want to increase your spark plug gap a little while you are at it.

[bo69 10]

I installed a Flame Thrower II coil along with the Pertronox conversion on my 74 Bronco. It works great. I did redo the timing only by ear but it starts and runs great. One issue I did have (not understanding how it all worked) was when I installed a new wiring harness I did not put a new ballast resistor in. It burned up the Pertronix coil and I had to replace it.

 

I believe they do make a couple of versions with the Flame Throwe II coild being the hotter of the two.

[bo69 10]

Pak, what do you think we could get away with as far as the plug gap.

What do you think about the E3 plugs?

[Pakrat 1,043]

I think I just saw the new E3 plugs on an episode of Gearz if it's the one I am thinking of. Looks cool, who knows if it really works any better or not though. I remember everyone getting all jazzed about the splitfire when it first came out and seems it did not do much good.

 

I think stock gap is like .032-.036 or something so if so then I would think .042-.045 or so would be good. I seem to remember gapping mine around there when I went pertronix but not sure.

[ForceFed70 14]

If the problem is fixed by removing the ballast resistor (this is what you are doing in that test). Why not just bypass the ballast resistor? Run a wire from the ignition switch directly to the red pertronix wire (do not connect to coil).

 

Have you swapped to a performance coil? It is actually a lower resistance coil (like the performance coils usually are) that can cause a low voltage problem... the performance coil draws more current resulting in a greater voltage drop across the ballast resistor AKA resistor wire.

[Hendog 10]

Just came home with a flame thrower coil. Going to go put it on right now.

[69RavenConv 286]

The coils on 69 Mustangs are 6V coils. The pink wire running from the ignition switch to the coil is actually resistive and designed to drop 6 volts before it connects to the coil. It's a ballast wire, if you will, there's no actual resistor. If the Pertronix is connected to the coil, it's only getting 6 volts, which is not optimal.

 

Although the Pertronix is designed to run on 12V, the manufacturer has stated that it may operate with as little as 4.5 volts. This is why many users never have problems, even though they don't supply a full 12 volts.

 

The best way to wire the Pertronix on a 1969 Mustang is to splice into either the pink or green-with-red tracer wire at the ignition switch. (Electric chokes, too, for that matter) An inline fuse is always a good idea in case the wire ever shorts to ground -- don't want any fires.

[Hendog 10]

That good to know 69Raven. The coil was the prob, a little more timing adjustment and I should be dialed.