TheSamba.com :: View topic - pertronix failed- anybody else???

Tue Jan 01, 2008 10:22 am

hey ya'll, I have had two bad experiences with pertronix ignitor and would like to know if I am the only one, or is this a common thing. I have one mallory and one 009 (both had pertronix in them)and they both just quit firing after a little run time. put a 009 in with points and she fired right back up and run good. Please let me know if you have had this type of experience with the pertronix, thanks! 8)

Tue Jan 01, 2008 10:36 am

most the time i hear of failures are because people left the ignition switch/key on without the motor running.

i seem to remember hearing that the reason they fail when this happens is that if your dist drive lands on a lobe when you stop the motor the juice still keeps pumpings thourgh the electronic points and they are not tolerant of constant power. only intermittant as if the engine were running.

do you have a radio in your car and have you ever shut the car off then turned the key right back on to listen to some tunes, or just hanging in the garage listening to the radio w/ key on.. it doesnt take long from what i understand.

i havent had mine ( compufire ) fail on me, however i dont have a radio, and am very anal about making sure my key is always off if the motor isnt running, because of the stories i have heard/seen/read

Tue Jan 01, 2008 10:56 am

I have seen many of these die when you hook them up backwards. are you sure it was installed correctly?

Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:13 am

been running pertronix for years...have one that is probably ten years old...(back when they were "new" on the scene)... if you are not running a coil with internal resistance it can burn out the pertronix....i've never had one fail...

Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:27 am

I dont understand the "need" for electronic ignitions for old air cooled VW's. Unless you build a 6000 rpm high compression engine, there is no advantage. Four cylinders firing at low rpms allow plenty of dwell time for maximum coil voltage output. Points are not that much work to service, are very reliable and will fire an engine off the battery for a long time with a dead generator. Aftermarket electronics, along with early generation (1970's) GM and Ford units die suddenly and too frequently. Heat and low voltages kill them. How hot do you think the inside of a VW distributor gets? GM HEI internal modules died because of heat. At least Ford and Mopar units were external and had heat sinks.

Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:39 am

i would bet you think EFI is a waste too aswell right?

Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:54 am

nikita wrote: I dont understand the "need" for electronic ignitions for old air cooled VW's. Unless you build a 6000 rpm high compression engine, there is no advantage. Four cylinders firing at low rpms allow plenty of dwell time for maximum coil voltage output. Points are not that much work to service, are very reliable and will fire an engine off the battery for a long time with a dead generator.

depends on your definition of "need".... i need my car to start when i turn the key. My bug with a pertronix does, my ghia sometimes does not...neither are driven often and they both sit outside for long periods...the points in the ghia will corrode and i have to clean them before it will start... i have a pertronix for it, but have yet to install it. Which is leading to my second point. My cars are "hobby" cars not daily transportation, so i don't want to spend too much time playing with them. including the few minutes to adjust points/etc...seems lazy, maybe, but more due to time constraints... i also like that in my pertronix cars i can watch the timing light when the engine is revved up and it is rock solid, while the points "bounce" a bit....
to me, the pertronix is similar to the disk brakes i like, a good idea... other's opinions vary...
I've said it before, points have left me on the side of the road doing replacments, a pertronix never has...

Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:55 am

I had one that ran like poo poo. It didn't up and quit, just a real weak spark. It still ran but I put points back in and it ran like it was supposed to. Still ended up getting another.

Tue Jan 01, 2008 12:17 pm

I like the compufire units a lot better. The signal resolution for triggering spark events is better, due to the nature of the more isolated trigger event. The pertronix has the magnets pretty close together, and the fields probably overlap a lot more. But the units are likely to burn out from overheating, which is a function of full on current through the ignition coil when the key is turned on. The coil is just a big inductor and when it is left full on, it passes a lot of current, like 3-4 amps. The coil gets HOT and so does the ignition module.

Tue Jan 01, 2008 12:27 pm

efi67vw wrote: I have seen many of these die when you hook them up backwards. are you sure it was installed correctly?

Quote: just quit firing after a little run time

:roll:

Max

Tue Jan 01, 2008 12:32 pm

nikita wrote: I dont understand the "need" for electronic ignitions for old air cooled VW's. Unless you build a 6000 rpm high compression engine, there is no advantage. Four cylinders firing at low rpms allow plenty of dwell time for maximum coil voltage output. Points are not that much work to service, are very reliable and will fire an engine off the battery for a long time with a dead generator. Aftermarket electronics, along with early generation (1970's) GM and Ford units die suddenly and too frequently. Heat and low voltages kill them. How hot do you think the inside of a VW distributor gets? GM HEI internal modules died because of heat. At least Ford and Mopar units were external and had heat sinks.

Easier start. Smoother idle. Less maintenence. Better.

Tue Jan 01, 2008 1:47 pm

I have used Pertronix in several - no issues and I have done the "bad thing" (leaking ignition on) more than I should have without failures.

Tue Jan 01, 2008 3:36 pm

My compufire only lasted about 6 months. It was hooked up correctly, I guess there are good ones, and not so good ones. I didn't notice any advantage over points. I went back to points and have not had a problem since.

Tue Jan 01, 2008 3:57 pm

using pertronix since 15 years in three of my cars. no problem at all. Using also a red german bosch coil without any problem. Heat should not be an isue. My T4 gets so hot that you burn your finger if you touch the engine after a 5 mile full blast ! Check the little ground wire inside your dissy and make sure the little rivets on the module to the base plate are tight. They had isues in some cases with it but that was 10 years ago. It´s a bullet prove design as long as you handle it right. Works also in the higher RPM range 10000 and more without problems. :lol:

Tue Jan 01, 2008 4:12 pm

I had the distributor hooked up correctly, red to positive black to negative. It is running a brand new bosch blue coil, brand new spark plug wires also.I do not remember leaving the key on without the motor running. I just thought it was funny that two of them quit sparking in two totally different distributors. I do have a pertronix in my karmann ghia convertable and have had no problems with it. thanks for all the response on this. this was the first engine I have built, 1776 and now it is running good.

Tue Jan 01, 2008 4:57 pm

ragtop man wrote: I had the distributor hooked up correctly, red to positive black to negative. It is running a brand new bosch blue coil, brand new spark plug wires also.I do not remember leaving the key on without the motor running. I just thought it was funny that two of them quit sparking in two totally different distributors. I do have a pertronix in my karmann ghia convertable and have had no problems with it. thanks for all the response on this. this was the first engine I have built, 1776 and now it is running good.

do you the real deal or one of the china repops?

Tue Jan 01, 2008 5:05 pm

also there are different "blue coils" made by bosch may want to check your coils internal resistance, and add a ballast resistor if needbe

Tue Jan 01, 2008 5:42 pm

You'll need a ballast resistor if you get less than 3 ohms across terminals 1 and 15 on your coil.

Tue Jan 01, 2008 6:17 pm

ragtop man wrote: hey ya'll, I have had two bad experiences with pertronix ignitor and would like to know if I am the only one, or is this a common thing. I have one mallory and one 009 (both had pertronix in them)and they both just quit firing after a little run time. put a 009 in with points and she fired right back up and run good. Please let me know if you have had this type of experience with the pertronix, thanks! 8)

I had the same problem, two modules both in a mallory. first left me stranded, 2nd time i was carying some points.

Gone back to points now, was too much at £60 a pop !

Tue Jan 01, 2008 6:25 pm

Bobster-CYW wrote: ragtop man wrote: hey ya'll, I have had two bad experiences with pertronix ignitor and would like to know if I am the only one, or is this a common thing. I have one mallory and one 009 (both had pertronix in them)and they both just quit firing after a little run time. put a 009 in with points and she fired right back up and run good. Please let me know if you have had this type of experience with the pertronix, thanks! 8)

I had the same problem, two modules both in a mallory. first left me stranded, 2nd time i was carying some points.

Gone back to points now, was too much at £60 a pop !

Pertronix has a very good warranty on it. Just write them a e-mail or return it to the store you bought it at. They will check it out a and give you a new one if it was there fault, but if it fried inside and there is outside damage to it thats a diffent story.