Petronix Install / Coil Question 59A '48 Sedan

C

Chappy

Member
I'm trying to install a Petronix ignition, and getting confused with the wiring. The car is still 6V positive ground, 59A engine. The wiring diagram is referencing positive and negative terminals on the coil, but the coil terminals say "BAT" and "Dist". Then off of the ignitor the black wire goes to the ignition switch wire, which would be switched ground?
Please help a dumb guy out.
 

Attachments

  • mump-1107-13-o+PerTronix-ignitor-II+wiring-diagram.jpg
    mump-1107-13-o+PerTronix-ignitor-II+wiring-diagram.jpg
    32.1 KB · Views: 43
BAT would normally be (+) and DIST would normally be (-) on a negative ground car (which looks like what the diagram is for). In your case they would be reversed, BAT would be (-) and DIST would be (+). You want to leave it as is, the DIST side goes to the distributer and the BAT side goes to the power source.

Edit: Well, looking at the diagram now I'm confused! The (+) side says BAT (+) or Chassis, if they said ground it would have been clearer!! Are there any other instructions with it?
 
Last edited:
See if this diagram helps any, the overdrive part can be ignored.
 

Attachments

  • attachment.jpg
    attachment.jpg
    40.5 KB · Views: 38
I just looked them up LOL. Ok, this is fairly simple. The black wire goes to the ignition switch, the black/white wire goes to the coil (-) side. Now the issue is which side is (-), how was the coil wired before you started? Where did the DIST wire go and where did the BAT wire go? That will straighten this out (I hope). Then the 20ga wire goes to ground.​
What ever the ignition switch side of the coil was originally connected to gets the black/white wire and what ever went to the distributer goes to ground. I'm assuming that the coil that is on there is a coil originally designed for a flathead positive ground system. If so, the BAT side would be (-) and the DIST side would be (+).​
12. Remove the ignition switch wire from the negative coil terminal. Connect​
the black Ignitor wire directly to the ignition switch wire.​
13. Connect the Ignitor black/white wire to negative (-) side of the ignition coil.​
14. Connect an insulated, AWG 20 copper stranded wire from the positive coil​
terminal to the positive battery or chassis.​
15. The black/white Ignitor wire and the AWG 20 copper wire should be the​
only wires connected to the coil.
 
Last edited:
So the car fired up, but once I got it back together, it seems like it's only running on 6 cylinders. In a fit of frustration I'm half tempted to put the points back in. I put new cap, rotor, ignition wires, and plugs. I obviously used the original coil, which I tested at .6ohm resistance. I also advanced the timing as far as it would go to see if it changed, it did get a little better, but still far from good. I guess tomorrow I'll pull the cap back off to see if any wires pulled out when I put the new wires on. Anything else I might be missing other than patients?
 
I was going to comment on that, from what I read Petronix suggest wiring around the resistor and using a higher ohm coil. On the 12v systems they were saying replace the 1.5 ohm coil with a 3.0 ohm coil. Not sure what they recommend on a 6v. Best bet might be to call their help line Monday.
 
Yep, had to replace my coil when I went to a "Petronix's" years ago. Eventually went 12vt and am now back to points with one of Bubba's distributors.
 
I figured it out, I took the cap back off, and apparently during the struggle of getting the "V" cap over the lower cap a few of the wires had backed out. I also bought a Petronix coil at our local Pepboys as I read that the oem coils tend to burn the modules out. Thanks again for the input.
 
Pertronix has a web site. They address this coil question there. here is a copy of that page:

What type of coil can I use with the Ignitor™? How do I check my coils resistance? (12V negative ground only)

To determine if your systems coil is compatible with the Ignitor, some measurements should be taken prior to installation of the Ignitor. Caution… While performing this test, never leave the ignition switch on for more than 30 seconds at a time.
Set your voltmeter to a 15 or 20-volt scale. Attach an 18 or 20 AWG jumper wire from the negative coil terminal to an engine ground. Attach positive (red) lead of your voltmeter to the positive side of the coil, and the negative (black) lead to an engine ground. Turn the ignition switch to the run position. Now read the voltage at the positive coil terminal. Turn the ignition switch off. If the voltage measured is approximately 12 volts, no resistance wire is present. A typical resistance wire will provide 9 - 6 volts.
The next step is to determine the resistance in the primary ignition. Label the wires attached to the coil terminals and note their appropriate location. Make sure that the ignition switch is off and disconnect all wires from the coil. Adjust your meter to the lowest ohm scale. If you are using an analog style meter make sure to zero the needle.
Measure from the negative terminal to the positive terminal. Write your measurement down.
Now the maximum system amperage can be determined, divide your voltage measurement by your coil resistance measurement. This will give you the system current or amperage.
Four and six cylinder engines should not exceed 4 amps. Eight cylinder engines should not exceed 8 amps. If the total amperage in your system is higher than the amount recommended for your application, you should install a ballast resistor.
Example

Voltage 12
Resistance 1.5
12 / 1.5 = 8
Total amperage 8
 
I have this same system on my car. 6 Volt Positive ground. You will want to make sure you are using some type of radio suppression spark plug wires. Solid core wires will cause an electromagnetic disturbance around the pick-up module that will kill the engine. I believe that information is in the instructions somewhere but, I had to learn the hard way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top