R.I.P Pertronix

smtichy said:
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.
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A good OEM set of points will last for many years even in a car thats constantly driven, like mine. If worst comes to worse, take a couple of good sets with you and you could be good to go for a couple of decades as long as you are willing to take em out and file em smooth every so often.
 
Y-Blockhead said:
hey Rev, I don't believe Accel makes a 6v ignition, do they?
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No ACCEL does not make a 6V, only for 12 volts. Sorry about that... did not know that Dave's was still a 6 volt. All of my 55's I converted to 12 volts at one time or another over the years.

back to the drawing board
 
I'm guessing that you are still running a generator since your car is still 6 V. It's possible the generator took out the Pertronix unit. Take a look into the generator while running at a fast idle. How much fire is flying around in there?! Generators produce a lot of voltage spikes and surges, especially when the brushes are worn and the commutator is rough. While a points system doesn't much care, this "hash" can kill electronic components.
As a side point, did you know that electronic devices run on smoke? This is proven by the fact that when you let the smoke out of the box, it doesn't work anymore.
 
Hot Rod Reverend said:
No ACCEL does not make a 6V, only for 12 volts. Sorry about that... did not know that Dave's was still a 6 volt. All of my 55's I converted to 12 volts at one time or another over the years.

back to the drawing board
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Daniel reading back I see Dave didn't mention 6v in this thread. It was in another thread that he mentioned it. "Since this is a 6-volt positive ground system... " He referred to the other thread in this first post of this thread.

http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=116377
 
I've lost track of the number of Pertronix that became toast, but it is 3 or four, which also included an Accel unit. One or two were apparently due to a distributor which wouldnt let the rotor fully seat. Two or so were due to hamb-fisted electrical fumblings. The last one has been successful for about 5 years.
 
40 Deluxe said:
I'm guessing that you are still running a generator since your car is still 6 V. It's possible the generator took out the Pertronix unit. Take a look into the generator while running at a fast idle. How much fire is flying around in there?.
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I had the generator rebuilt by a pro a couple years ago, and I keep an eye on it.
The generator that I have on my '55 Ford Courier sedan delivery wagon did fly sparks at fast idle at one time and I do have a pertronix ignitor in it also. That car starts on a dime, but I don't doubt your concern about surges.
I rebuilt the generator in the Courier myself and it probably didn't have the brushes well seated at first, but after a while, I checked and it had stopped sparking at fast idle.
 
40 Deluxe said:
I'm guessing that you are still running a generator since your car is still 6 V. It's possible the generator took out the Pertronix unit. Take a look into the generator while running at a fast idle. How much fire is flying around in there?! Generators produce a lot of voltage spikes and surges, especially when the brushes are worn and the commutator is rough. While a points system doesn't much care, this "hash" can kill electronic components.
As a side point, did you know that electronic devices run on smoke? This is proven by the fact that when you let the smoke out of the box, it doesn't work anymore.
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But isnt this what the voltage regulator is for? Conditioning the voltage? Correct me if i am wrong.
 
vulture said:
Wow sounds like a great setup do you have a few pictures of the inside of the dizzy
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Don't have any pictures of the inside. You just need a later Yblock dist. w/the curved vacuum advance diaphragm arm. The only "problem" I had was having to machine the points cam off so the armature would fit. Final product just looks like a regular Duraspark dist.
 
The finished product - grafting the Duraspark to the Autolite distributor - looks just about exactly like the 1976 302 distributor.

The upper rotor shaft of the old distributor is machined down to accept the armature/reluctor of the Duraspark - and the pivoting stator replaces the point plate - screws right into the old tapped holes. To ease the machining, we usually grind off the point cam - it was hardened for durability and puts up a fight.

Main advantage of the two piece Duraspark set-up is that the triggers are extremely reliable - and the controller unit isn't inside the hot distributor body. While the unfortunate Pertronix owners are cussing and burning their hands - you pull out your (cheap) spare controller, plug it in and drive home. Also - several different controllers will operate the system off the Ford trigger - not just the Ford unit.
 
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This print is on a 8-1/2 x 11 PDF if you can send me a PM with an address to send it. We cut an index groove in there - close to the same angular offset (between the rotor and the reluctor) as the factory parts and used a roll pin to lock them together. But a press might work as well.

I know this is going to turn out too small - but the PDF offer is good for others that may want to try it as well.
Ford also refers to the reluctor as an armature - and as it spins in the field of a permanent magnet it puts about a 1.0 volt AC sine wave onto the Orange and Violet wires of the wiring harness - a diode in the controller chops that into a one per blade pulse. The chip in the controller uses that pulse to turn the grounding transistor (for the coil) on and off - and that is what replaces the points. The Ford controller fixes the dwell at the exact same "angle"(duration) as the single point distributors.


 
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I ended up just taking the dist. rotor shaft from the donor dist. to the machine shop & they just cut a groove on the shaft being machined to match the one from the donor.
 
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