I used to be a big fan of Pertronix in my 235. The engine ran great, just like one does with a brand new set of points set at the exact point gap.
Then one morning I go out to start it up. No go. I opened the hood and saw that the top of the coil had melted and all of the oil drained out.
I checked to see if I had left the key on. Nope the key wasn't in the ignition. Problem is, the foreign made ignition switch I recently installed did not reach the off position completely before the key could be removed, allowing it to be on without the key in.
I bought a new coil and tried to start it. No go. Pertronix fried from the ignition being left on, but not before it melted the coil.
Moral of the story is that I consider myself to be very fortunate that my truck did not burn to the ground for something as simple as leaving the ignition on. Can the same thing happen with points? I don't know. It does not happen with HEI.
Would you mind explaining how a bad ignition switch is the fault of the Pertronics?
I’m sure HEI was great, in the 80’s......we’ve mored past that and 3D timing control based on rpm, tps and load make spark tuning so much more accurate.
