help pertronix ignition

[tim coltman]

hi i have an 8n sidemount dont remeber the year installed 12 neg ground alt and pertronix ignitor kit along with 12 volt coil no ballast resistor and wiring harness tht came with the alt kit i modified it a bit becuase i put a three wire alt on instead of the one wire that the kit came with did that this spring. no problems till yester day i tried to start it no spark so i pulled the dist cap of the pertronix thin had a black burnt spot on it so i took it back and got a replacment still under warranty put the new one on wired it correctly i double and triple checked turned on the key and had a bunch of smoke out of the dist cap new one did the same thing. any ideas? thanks tim (i definatley like the pertronix noticeable power difference and had always started right up till yesterday)

 

[Bob]

Is there a little MORE to the story... could the key have been left in the "ON" position with the engine NOT running, even for 15 minutes or so?

Some thoughts...

1.) Dead short in the coil. Contary to popular belief, these original-style Pertronix units WILL NOT handle low primary resistance "HOT" coils. They will only handle about the same 3 to 4 Amps of current that would be seen in a breaker points system. More current than that and the smoke will be let out of the module, and then the coil will "fry", if the switch gets left on. (For certain applications, I am not sure of this one, Pertronix makes the "Ignitor II" than can handle HOT coils. More $$$, though. Also, the Ignitor II is smart enough to "shut down" the coil current, if the key gets left on, saving the coil and module form heating up, while the original-style will sit there and COOK itself, ESPECIALLY with a low primary resistance coil.

I have found it works best to use an externally-ballasted coil. Then, connect the RED wire from the Pertronix unit to the IGNITION SWITCH SIDE of the ballast resistor. That way, the module's electronics get full voltage, and the power transistor that switches the coil current gets some protection from the ballast resistor.

This is explained in the instruction sheet.

2.) Battery ground polarity wrong? (UNLIKELY, since you have an alternator, which will be "toasted", too, if the polarity is wrong.)

3.) Distributor AND breaker plate must have a good ground to the engine block.

 

[Dell (WA)]

Tim........surprizingly enuff, when you let the "smoke" out of enny electrical thingy, it quits working. Its the LAW!!! (grin)

That is why you pay BIG BUCKS to Pertronix for their "free" telephone consulation.

12-volt roundcan ignition coils are generally "bullet-proof".

3-wire 12-volt alternators can be checked "free" at most autoparts stores.

Surprizingly enuff, it doesn't matter what year yer sidemount 8N is, sidemounts are sidemounts.

Me? I'd guess that yer thru-the-hole insulator is shorting out somehow.........Dell, who flunked mindreading

 

[Bob]

Dell, I was all set to agree with you, and feeling kind of DUMB for leaving the possibilty of a shorted feed-through insulator out of my post.

Then, I stopped to think about it for a few seconds.... The insulated stud gets "tossed" when you do the Pertronix conversion, to be replaced by a molded rubber "grommet" over the 2 wires from the Pertronix unit. This would have been replaced when he installed the new unit, yet that one also "smoked".

Back to the "shorted coil" theory!

 

[Ramrod]

All there is here is a module, 2 wires, and the coil. The coil is the load and the wires connect the module to it, if the module is smoking, either the load is excessive, the wires are shorted or grounded, or the module is bad. My bet is the coil, since it was running fine up to now. I hope they will replace them both for you under warranty, let us know.

I run the same system on OW, and love it.

____________________

Ramrod
James 1:19

 

[souNdguy]

Wow.. I'll bet a smoking pertronix must really improve the power and performance.. hmm..

My guess after reading thru is:

1, shorted coil

2, reversed polarity

3, bad module

If ya got a couple jumper wires and an old condensor.. you can check your coil.

Hook coil primary to power, jumper other side of coil primary to ground, put condensor across that coil primary to ground wire. Put secondary wire in coil, attach to spark plug. Ground case of plug to common ground, then pull the ground to the coil while leaving the condensor hooked up... spark plug should fire if coil is ok..

Soundguy

 

[Ramrod]

Well, I AM a dufus.

____________________

Ramrod
James 1:19

 

[tim coltman]

i found the culprit it was the coil i tested it and the 15 or 20 seconds it had power to it it got really hot so im pretty sure that was the problem. not sure if they are gonna replace the second one or not took the first one back to the dealer i got it from. not sure if they will ake another willingly but we do alot of buisness with them for the farm so maybe i will get lucky.
thanks tim

 

[HanksterV]

sounds like keepin the old points in there is a lot less hassle!!!!

 

[gahorN]

My original points/condenser have been workiN' in there for 5 years with not a single tune-up. The previous ones may have been original for all I know.
Lot's cheaper'N more reliable than Perchancix.