Felix Wong wrote:
>
> Dear MGers,
>
> This morning I attempted to install a new PerTronix Electronic Ignition
> unit to no avail. It seems simple enough: mount the hall effect sensor in
> the place of the contact breaker points using the old condenser screw, and
> attach the red and black leads to the positive and negative terminals of
> the coil respectively. But I am getting no spark when I turn the engine
> over!
>
> Two questions I have in particular. (1) What do I do with the old low
> tension lead that went into the plastic grommet in the side of the
> distributor that, in turn, was connected to the capacitor? I wouldn't
> need it for anything right? (I called PerTronix and the guy I talked to
> couldn't understand what I was referring to (?!)) (2) When the wires
> from the EI unit is installed on the coil, I get a voltage measurement of
> 12V at BOTH terminals of the coil. I noticed that with contact breaker
> points installed, there's only 12V at the postive terminal. Is there
> something wrong with this picture?
A coil has a steady 12v (complicated by a ballast resistor!) on one side and a
switched ground on the other to produce a spark. With the engine switched on
but at rest on a car with points you may see 12v on both sides of the coil or
you
may see 12v on one side and ground on the other, depending on where in the
rotational cycle the crankshaft is. An electronic system may be the same,
or may always be one or the other, depending on the trigger and electronics.
The wire that went into the distributor is the one that came from the coil,
this
is replaced by the two new wires you mention.
PaulH.
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