The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay pertronix install

hi all

i started putting a pertronix ignitor this weekend, but ran out of light for the trouble shooting part:

everything seems to be installed correctly but i get no spark. the directions state that for applications where there is no balast resistor or resisitance wire the coil should have at least 1 ohm resistance. mine reads 0 (zero) on the multimeter.

this is for a '52 3/4 ton, running 12v and the original 216 and it's ignition.

thanks

-b

you probably need a more accurate digital meter to measure below 1 ohm..

I believe you will find that the resistance you are supposed to measure is across the coil between the + and -, not the wire.

baldredhead,

I measured a new 12v, non internal resistor coil with a quality meter..it read 1.1 ohms between posts. I think your meter may not be zeroed. The coil has windings, it has to have resistance.

Stuart

i did measure across the coil terminals to get zero.

the meter is a craftsman digital, so who knows how accurate it is i'll presume it is the cuplrit for now whilst looking for a more accurate one.

any suggestions where i should look for the pertronix? i'm thining the thingymabob isn't triggering because the magnet isn't close enough

i have a pertronix and i had problems related to the coil and my instructions said at least 1.5 ohms and mine was only putting out 1.2. i was able to get a new one at auto zone and they tested it at 2.0 before i bought it. ron

Are you measuring the resistance with the LT wires installed or not installed? Unless the coil is shorted internally, the only other way to get zero Ohms is if the + and - wires are at the same potential.

The resistance across the coil can't be zero.

Usually if there is a problem with a pertronix electronic ignition, it either has insufficient power/ground or the sensor isn't close enough to the magnets.

hummmmm, i'll measure it again with the wires disconnected.... i hate electricity

ron, did the new coil solve your problems?

is there a way to check if the magnet ring is close enough to the sensor?


edit: went home and checked without wires attached, it's rock steady at 0 ohms. the coil says "use with external resistor" on the side too

baldredhead,

I will preface this by saying I don't know Pertronix from a sack of hammers. The difference between a dead short, 0 ohms, and what Pertronix wants, 1 ohm, is exactly, well, 1 ohm. This isn't much, even electronically speaking. The windings are wire, they WILL have resistance.

My meter is auto ranging, so the readings I got
on the coil I tested were right at the bottom of the scale. Had I not been involved in this thread and done some searching for coil info, I would have said they had zero resistance.

In my limited experience with solid state ignitions, the only adjustable parameter was the pickup to rotor gap. What do the directions say?

Stuart

YES it solved it, after putting the new one it started. ron

for anyone that is following along....

i got a balast resistor, new and now i get 1.6 ish ohms across the coil-resistor series. it seems the meter is OK and i should be good in that arena.

still no spark when the coil wire is held near the block or other grounded piece of metal.

i'm not sure what to do next, i'll sleep on it for a few days most likely.

Your Pertronix module might be bad. If you have followed the directions and done everything right and still get no spark, send it back for a a replacement. These modules can be delicate. Run too much current through them and they can blow. I run two of them and haven't had any trouble, but I keep a spare module with me in the glove compartment just in case. I have heard of enough of them failing that I don't trust them.

there is a post a long while ago about this, it was started by me and the answer i got was to run a wire from the hot side of the starter to the plus side of the coil I THINK, it has been a long time. the person said he had the same problem with his packard. it worked. ron btw no guarantees with advice, senior moment.

if you got the lobe sensor version, you have to keep the iginition switch on "on" for about 5 seconds to be able to get a spark

that would bypass the ignition switch, which is already on my suspicious persons list. worth a shot i'll search to be sure


complexvariable:

what is the lobe type vs ????? the one i have has a magnet ring that fits over the breaker cam

if yours has a magnet ring, then what I said doesn't apply.

bump,,,for Ed Miller

joker;
What does that mean-bump? I've seen it a few times here,and still don't have a clue...
Speed

means you are starting the post up again with out typing any message in it so to speak-hence,,bumping it up to the top/restart