R.I.P Pertronix

Daves55Sedan

Daves55Sedan

Well-known member
Many of you may have read my installation post: http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=116377

The Pertronix ignitor was installed on 9-3-13 and died on 10-24-13.
So I got less than two months out of it. That's $100 not very well spent.
Luckily I was at home so I had access to all my tools. I simply re-installed the original points and condenser back in the distributor. I elected to remove the dizzy from the engine because it is better for me to put the dizzy in a vice on the workbench so that I can more accurately set the point gap with a feeler gage.
45 minutes work and she's running just fine again with the old points.
I hope my new "low-pressure" brake light switch lasts longer!
 
What were the indications of the bad module? I have one that I think went bad but haven't checked it out yet. Just wondering if yours just stopped working or did it do something else before it went out?
 
Sorry to hear that you burned up the module. I did read your installation post and also read that you had 7 or 8 sets of burnt up point with worn and many times refiled. I would belive you may have a spike in your resistor and not sure if you are using a wire or coil to drop voltage.
 
I ran a Pertronix in my 5.0 for many years, one night it just backfired and stopped. I had my points in the trunk and re-installed them.

I bought another Pertronix and it lasted about 30 minutes. I called the tech guy, he asked me if the label on the side was burned, it was. My coil had gone bad. He sent me a new unit and I bought his coil. That has been many years and no hic-ups since.

I like them because of the fast start and great idle. If you get your coil and voltage right they will normally last many, many years. They haven't sold million of them for nothing.
 
My original Pertronix lasted many years and only 'burned out' because I mistakenly left my ignition switch on while fiddling with something, don't remember exactly what I was doing.

Anyway I believe it was my fault.

The Pertronix II and the Pertronix III have built in protection to prevent what happened to me.

I have a new Per III and couldn't be happier. With the multi-spark I did away with my MSD 6A. Haven't played with the Rev limiter yet...

Dave, If I remember correctly you had a 6v unit??
 
I have many years and thousands of miles on my Pertronix conversion. Im sure Pertronix would check the dead part and tell you what caused the failure chances are its something related to the car.
 
I visit quite a few forums and in the last year there seems to be an increase in the number of failures of Pertronix products here are more examples:https://www.google.com/#q=pertronix+ignition+failures&start=10 Would I buy one? No! The HEI uses readily available GM parts and is going strong after 4 years.
 

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I converted my Yblock dist. to Duraspark II. Had most of the parts laying around. What I didn't have I picked up cheaply at the junk yard. Only real expense was machining the point cam off so the armature would fit. Replacement parts are available at part stores. Everything fits inside the original dist. cap & you can keep it all Ford.
 
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I run the points eliminator kit from ACCEL (part number 2020) and I have never had any issues through 3 or 4 Y blocks... wondering if anyone else has had the same success or are there failures for ACCEL as well?

to the o.p. - try the ACCEL 2020, nowhere near the expense of Pertronix and super reliable for me.
 
Hi Dave '55,

Oddly I was just planning to buy a Pertronix unit based on your post about your installation. I've just bought a '55 Sunliner that I'm bringing over to Europe, and figured this would be a good thing to avoid hassle of shipping points over seas.

Let us know when you find what has gone wrong.

Glad to know you got it running though.
 
Wow sounds like a great setup do you have a few pictures of the inside of the dizzy
LOWRIDER said:
I converted my Yblock dist. to Duraspark II. Had most of the parts laying around. What I didn't have I picked up cheaply at the junk yard. Only real expense was machining the point cam off so the armature would fit. Replacement parts are available at part stores. Everything fits inside the original dist. cap & you can keep it all Ford.
Click to expand...
 
34pickup said:
What were the indications of the bad module? I have one that I think went bad but haven't checked it out yet. Just wondering if yours just stopped working or did it do something else before it went out?
Click to expand...

I went out one morning to start the car as usual to go to work. The car would not start for a long time. I kept cranking, used the choke and held the pedal to the floor. It acted like it was trying to start but would not fire off.
At first I thought I had a fuel problem. I got out and checked. It was getting plenty of gas, in fact now I had the carb flooded. So I left it. When I got back home from work, I replaced the carb with a standby carb (I keep one extra carb rebuilt at all times).
Tried to start it again. No dice. Same as before. I came to the conclusion that I had an ignition problem.
After swapping the Pertronix ignitor for my old points and condenser, she started right up. Problem solved.
 
vulture said:
I would belive you may have a spike in your resistor and not sure if you are using a wire or coil to drop voltage.
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The '55 Ford has a six volt positive ground system. There is no external resistor. Pertronix does not require a resistor be added to install their unit either. This Pertronix ignitor is a # 1282 P6, specifically manufactured for the original '55 Ford Load-O-Matic distributor and with the original 6 volt positive ground system.
 
Y-Blockhead said:
My original Pertronix lasted many years and only 'burned out' because I mistakenly left my ignition switch on while fiddling with something. Dave, If I remember correctly you had a 6v unit??
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I remember you mentioned it. I can't for the life of me think of a reason to turn the key to the coil position.
I use the "accessory" position to check my blinkers and then immediately turn the key off.
I do have a working radio in the car witch I do play everyday at lunch time but I don't need to use my car key. I rewired the radio "hot" off the batt terminal of the ignition switch so I can listen to the radio without the key.
Yes, my car is still 6volt positive ground, but the correct part was procured, and fit like a glove as it should.
 
40cpe said:
I called the tech guy, he asked me if the label on the side was burned, it was. My coil had gone bad. He sent me a new unit and I bought his coil. That has been many years and no hic-ups since.

If you get your coil and voltage right they will normally last many, many years.
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No the label is not burned off nor even blistered. The only thing I can see that puzzles me is that there appears to be a white powdery substance emenating from the base of the module and the mounting plate and I don't recall that being there when I first received it.
Nevertheless, I don't have a problem with the coil. The coil was working before I switched to Pertronix and that same coil is still doing just fine with the old points back in again.
 
vulture said:
Sorry to hear that you burned up the module. I did read your installation post and also read that you had 7 or 8 sets of burnt up point with worn and many times refiled.
Click to expand...

Yes I have several sets of old points that I have used over the years. I will use a set of points for many years of hard driving. This thing goes minimum 60 miles a day, five days a week and at 65-70mph mostly.
I go in and file a set of points after about six months of operation and re-grease the distributor cam so the rubbing block on the point set does wear down so fast.
When I go to file my points, there is often some burning and a little pitting. I try to polish em up with crocus cloth.
Ibelieve I am getting good service out of my point sets. Its just that they take a lot of punishment. And with all these old points here in a box, its not like I'm spending a ton of $$$. I am actually not spending anything.
These points I have in here now were first installed nine years ago. They are a good quality set of OEM points.
Ive got some cheaper ones here from K-Mart and such places I hope I never need to re-install again.
The set I had in before these I ran until the points were COMPLETELY gone off the point set.
 
34pickup said:
What were the indications of the bad module? I have one that I think went bad but haven't checked it out yet. Just wondering if yours just stopped working or did it do something else before it went out?
Click to expand...
See my other responses for more information, but I also want to point out that all my electrical connections were clean and tight when I removed the Pertronix unit so that was not the fault.
I had wondered if one of the wires in the dizzy might have rubbed the insulation off and went to ground.
After pulling the Pertronix unit wires back out of the distributor I carefully inspected them for damage.
There was no damage to the wiring insulation whatsoever.
 
As far as converting to duraspark or accell or anything requiring modifications or changeover to 12 volts is entirely out of the question.
The only reason for doing this is because I hate having to remove the dizzy to set a new set of points and I can't do that properly with the dizzy in the engine. It is too hard for me to get the dwell angle set right unless I can get the thing right in front of my face with a feeler gage and screwdriver. Even then, your lucky to get the dwell angle right. My old Sears dwellmeter went bad a few years ago, so now, I'm just winging it with the feeler gage alone.
Converting to Pertronix was supposed to eliminate that altogether.
I've been driving this same car for 40 years, but I only need it for two more years when I retire and then I'm going to push it off a cliff. Till then, It will get the minimum it needs to keep it running in an acceptable fashion. Its just a work car.
 
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