Flamethrower PLUS Pertronix- - - - - - -Barnum must have hired W.C. Fields to write his ad copy! LOL!
Mechanical points have a current capacity of approximately 5 amps, max. By using simple Ohm's law, a coil with 1.5 Ohms of resistance will flow a current of 4 amps, well within the capacity of conventional points. However- - - - -and this is important- - - -in a "6 volt" electrical system the voltage is not a constant. During cold cranking, a "6V" system will be operating at about 4.5-5 volts due to the load of the starter current on the battery. at 4.5 volts, the current through the above coil drops to 3 amps- - - -maybe resulting in a weak spark. At normal engine speed after starting, the system voltage will be approximately 7.5 to allow for good battery charging. That divides out to 5 amps- - - -right at maximum capacity for the points.
All the above assumes that a coil primary is a static environment, which it's not, Upon initial closing of the points they see a situation approaching a dead short until the magnetic field inside the coil begins to produce a phenomenon known as "inductive reactance" which tends to limit the current flow as the magnetism continues to build up. That reactance, along with the straight resistance of the primary winding combines to limit the current flow to an acceptable maximum to minimize point burning. In a 6 cylinder engine running at 2K RPM, the above situation is happening 100 times every second. We haven't even begun to consider the induced voltage in the primary as the points open and the magnetic field collapses, which can be 50 volts or more. That's why a condenser (capacitor) is needed to shunt the voltage surge away from the points and prevent flashover and metal transfer at the points upon opening.
Most of the people who tinker with the ignition circuit that was designed to work properly by the engineers who developed it don't have a clue what's actually going on.
P.T. Barnum- - - - -"There's a sucker born every minute!"
W.C, Fields- - - - -"Never give a sucker an even break!"
Jerry
