Pertronix

[Tom Butler]

Has anyone seen WITH YOUR OWN EYES (not a friend of a friend or seeing threads here) multiple pertronix SVDA distributors fail?

Has anyone here ever tried to return or exchange a pertronix module or entire distributor due to it being faulty?

I hear alot of talk about how they are POS and so on and so forth but does anyone have any REAL proof?

I personally think that user error during install is the cause of most if not all of these problems.


So I ask again. Anyone here who actually knew what they were doing install a pertronix and have it fail where you could actually say it was FOR SURE the distributor being a "POS" ?

I am just wondering cause EVERY single thread where someone mentions the dirty word "Pertronix" inevitably there chimes in someone who says they are "JUNK" and then coincedentally someone who is selling "restored GERMAN distributors" lets them know they have one for sale.

Is this just cause you guys want to make money on restoring those distributors or is this a real problem?

I have a pertronix in my SB and have had ZERO problems with it but I did ALOT of research on how to install the dist before I did it.
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1971 Super Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=674120

Proud Member Pata De Perro Vw Club

[Knusprige Flicken]

I purchased mine with the corresponding Pertronix coil, installed it correctly,
Car fired right up, but as I was setting the timing, I noticed that at idle the timing was not steady, like it was with the 009 I was replacing it with. This caused it to idle like crap, timing varied 4 degrees at idle, with vacuum line plugged. When timing it at 2500-3000 rpm for max advance, the pertronix would advance but it was jerky, almost like the weights were sticky. The advance wasnt smooth at all. I thought I'd use it like it was because it beat the hell out of the 009 and 34-3 combo that was on the car when I got it.
Used it for a couple months, advance never did get any smoother, I had thought maybe it would loosen up after use. Idled like crap, surging, drifting.
Then while in my garage, gettibg it ready for my son to take to Pigeon forge rod run, it died, no spark, nada zip zilch
I had purchased a 205an from Tasb in the meanwhile, so we swapped it in and guess what?
The car idled smoothly, the timing wasnt drifting at idle, it advanced smoothly as it should
That was a year ago and still no problems, other than a little points adjusting and some grease
Im glad you've had good luck with your pertronix, I wish you many miles of happy contented motoring with it. I didnt have such luck with mine, but I'm sure that someone will say I didn't install it correctly or I wired it backwards, or I should have installed it during a full moon or whatever.
I used it for a couple months, it didnt perform to my liking when it worked, and then the damn thing had the unmitigated gall to take a shit on me, luckily while parked in my garage
No thank you, you can keep that Chinese garbage, Ive learned my lesson
I'll continue to purchase NOS or rebuilt german from the people who rebuild them, or as a toolmaker , I have considered reverse engineering what I need and building it from scratch, Billet style

[Tom Butler]

[Knusprige Flicken]

Oh , I almost forgot the best part😃 The distributor from Tasb wasnt that much more expensive than the Chinese pertronix
Well worth it in my opinion

[Knusprige Flicken]

[andk5591]

No failures out of the box...Have have issues with vac advance being limited by the grommet interfering...Not hard to fix.

Have seen plenty of older ones with the rotor being too high....Last one was about a year ago, but I dont know how old the stock was. But knew the rotor issue from installing the modules on stock distributors. Always check that before installing....

The thing is that the quality is not as good as OE....If you compare the parts quality of the Pertronix with German or Mex Bosch units, it's quite a bit of a difference. And I prefer using good used or for special cases (or my own cars) I do still have a couple Mex Bosch SVDAs in my stash.

I also have rebuilts from TASB, Glenn and I think someone else on here in some of my own cars.

So - bottom line from a shop owner - there is a difference. The Pertronix is decent relative to other new ones being sold. But give me a choice between an Pertronix 009 and Glenn's 019? Or an SVDA from TASB and a Pertronix? Nothing to even ponder.
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There's more, but not keeping them...

[Tom Butler]

[cbeck]

Had a module fail while motor was rblt. Flaps took it back and said pertronix would credit him after recieving module back and verification of date of manufacture. Pertronix has been around forever. Seen one in a long neglected dodge 60's truck a couple weeks ago.

[Knusprige Flicken]

I did read somewhere that a possible cause of module failure was a generator with a mechanical voltage regulator setup sometimes would supply varying voltage to the module, causing it to burn out. Also have read that it is susceptible to picking up stray voltage from nearby wires, kinda hard to shield a distributor from induced voltage.

[Glenn]

I've seen, first hand, a handful that had the vacuum canister fail. I've tested a few and found the curve varies from unit to unit.

The distributor is made in China, but the actual Pertronix module is made in the USA.

From my understanding, Pertronix will replace failed units. But that don't fix the curve.
_________________
Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

Member #1009

#BlueSquare

[Tom Butler]

[bluebus86]

Cranking the engine with all the spark plugs removed will kill a Pertronix module. This could happen when performing a compression test. Disconnecting the ignition wire at coil solves this problem. So watch them compression tests! happened to me, happened to a friend a decade later. Pertronix confirmed that this can happen. otherwise many decades of trouble free use on several cars, its a good device.
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[Meiang]

I wouldnt recommend cranking the engine over with spark plugs removed and ignition live with or without an electronic switching module - you can damage ignition electronics or the igintion coil and more importantly the HT side of the coils is still live and can give you quite a shock. There are many articles out there that indicate that removing a HT lead in car with electronic ignition can damage the ignition system by a power surge.
This means if you a have a points replacement electronic switching unit you should not:
1) pull a plug lead off while running the engine.
2) run the engine with a spark plug removed.

[Tom Butler]

[VW_Jimbo]

[Tom Butler]

[bluebus86]

[Meiang]

Given the distributor ignition module is a user fit item (not talking about the whole distributor here) it is very likely that item is subject to a lot of improper handling and fitment by the persons fitting them and subsequently in operation by exposing the unit to conditions it is not designed to withstand, so there is a high chance that there will be unit failures.

I suspect that Pertonix have sold a lot of the points replacement units over the years (many thousands I expect). For the product to be of a substandard quality you would expect a huge number of complaints. I am not aware of that being the case in the forum posts (unless others can correct me).

[andk5591]

[beetlenut]