Electronic ign. failure

[BP in Mich]

Well I'm back after a year and a half break. You guys helped me get my 1948 N front dist. 12 volt up and running and haven't had a problem since up till now.
I had put a Pertonix electronic ign. in it and it ran great. Plowing snow yesterday and she just died. No spark. By passed the ign key switch with a toggle no different.checked the dist., all dry inside.
Just got it home from camp and in the garage to work out the problem where it's warmer.
I guess my question is, has anyone had an electronic ign. system take a dump on them?? If so what did it do or didn't do.
Going to set down with the manual tonight and go over some old posts and see what I can find out.
Any ideas are appreciated
Thanks!!

BP

 

[Bob Harvey]

You will likely have to deal with the mfg. HTH

 

[souNdguy]

were you using the correct coil and resistor for the unit as specified by the manufacturer?

any weird electrical problems? jumps, stalls? have battery out?


soundguy

 

[36 Coupe]

My chevy Truck started fine, backed up 10 feet and died/Module failed.Friend lost a module on the road, cost 300 bucks to fix.The modules fail often and cost plenty to fix.Get rid of it.My points are 25 years old.I check the gap every spring.

 

[HCooke]

Front mount and snow -- did you get water in the dist? Happens often in snow. Maybe you will be lucky and drying it out will solve the problem. None of my tractors are converted to EI, but if I ever do, I would keep the old points around just for this scenario. Put the points back in and see if it works. If so then you will know the module is bad.

 

[BP in Mich]

No, nothing weird electricly or otherwise. Battery hasn't been out, coil and resistor were proper for unit. Worked it pretty good this summer and plowed snow with it last winter not even the thought of a problem.
There is no way I'm spending 300 bucks for a new module, if that is the case it is back to points and condensor for this kid.

 

[souNdguy]

that's the big issue with ei.. when it works.. it works.. when it don't.. it's non recoverable money down the drain that would have paid for points for 2-3 lifetimes of the tractor...

soundguy

 

[Jerry/MT]

I have. The first went 5 years and the replacemnt module in about 3 months.
I was a big proponent of Pertronix but in my experience the newer units are not reliable and I have not reinstalled the failed module that Pertronix supplied free after my last failure.

 

[OK8N]

The Pertronix 12 volt unit I purchased through this site 14 months ago for my 48N came with a 30 month warranty. And it was less than $90.

 

[8N1949]

(quoted from post at 18:16:38 01/28/12) I had put a Pertonix electronic ign. in it and it ran great. Plowing snow yesterday and she just died. No spark. By passed the ign key switch with a toggle no different.checked the dist., all dry inside.
Just got it home from camp and in the garage to work out the problem where it's warmer.
I guess my question is, has anyone had an electronic ign. system take a dump on them?? If so what did it do or didn't do.
Going to set down with the manual tonight and go over some old posts and see what I can find out.
Any ideas are appreciated
Thanks!!
BP

Plowing snow with a front mount with the EI module and a poor sealing gasket that may be not doing it's job will cause the ignition to fail/stop. I found this out after I installed the Genesse Products EI system. The gasket and plate that replaced the old box coil on the distributor wasn't sealing good, causing water/moisture to hit the EI module and cease operating. Found that out when washing my 8N and now that problem is cured.
I would suggest to all that have the Electronic Ignition with the little black module in the distributor do as I have done....Rewire the system with a "fuse block" and a fuse to all voltage circuits. I have a fuse in-line to the EI module-distributor, to the 12 volt canister coil, to the starter solenoid, ignition switch, and fuse each to the front and rear lights as the picture here that I adapted to the 8N. Now, if a fuse blows I can pinpoint within seconds where the problem is...should I ever have one.

 

[8N1949]

[/quote]

Since this picture was taken back in 2006, I've added a fuse to the 12 volt generator that I switched from the 12 volt alternator back to the generator filling up the Buss 6 circuit fuse block. All my voltage circuits now have a fuse just about like all fuse circuits in automobiles.

 

[Hobo,NC]

Yer EI is nuttin more than a switch,,, is it switch'n... Remove the coil and check for switch'n at the brass screw were the springy thingy contacts to...

You can remove the dist. from the tractor and wire it up on the table... Make a few nice test leads with alligator clips ,,, yer need them for points are a EI for testing anyways.... I use a lab scope are a $20 logic probe from radio shack either works on points also... Are I spec a test light will work,,, even a DVOM with a min/max setting will work.... Open the EI will show battery voltage,,, closed it will pull down to 1/2 a volt... Remember EI suffers from the same issues a points (nuttin but a switch) set up has so even if it will not switch you need to make sure every thing else is up to snuff... If it does switch its notcher EI....

 

[Bruce (VA)]

Ahhhh yes, 8N1949, the EI expert. The link below is all I needed to know about your EI expertise.
EI w/o a rotor & no timing

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 23:21:57 01/28/12)
Yer EI is nuttin more than a switch,,, is it switch'n... Remove the coil and check for switch'n at the brass screw were the springy thingy contacts to...

You can remove the dist. from the tractor and wire it up on the table... Make a few nice test leads with alligator clips ,,, yer need them for points are a EI for testing anyways.... I use a lab scope are a $20 logic probe from radio shack either works on points also... Are I spec a test light will work,,, even a DVOM with a min/max setting will work.... Open the EI will show battery voltage,,, closed it will pull down to 1/2 a volt... Remember EI suffers from the same issues a points (nuttin but a switch) set up has so even if it will not switch you need to make sure every thing else is up to snuff... If it does switch its notcher EI....

Now ya done gone and took all the mystery out of it :roll:

TOH

 

[Tom N MS]

Wish I had a set of those points..can"t buy good ones like that anymore..

 

[36 Coupe]

marked Motocraft

 

[Polish Mike]

Mine stopped working this summer. Called the dealer I bought it from, & he told me to check to see if there was enough clearance between the magnetic module that replaced the points, and the top of the dust cover. I checked it & found that the magnet module had welded itself to the dust cover and broke in half. They sent me the new magnet & instructed me to drill out the hole in the middle of the dust cover to provide more clearance. Reamed out the hole with a Dremel tool, dropped in the new magnet & fired right up. Hope this helps....