A point of clarification. Pertronix supplied a replacement for the original
electronic 45E and 45M distributors for many years. This unit was extremely
reliable and was a godsend for those owners of 1976 and newer cars with
failing original Lucas ignition units.
After many years of prompting, Pertronix designed units to fit the 22 and
25D4/6 distributor and it was assumed that the units would also have good
reliability. Unfortunately this was not true, the smaller cap design caused
air gap problems and this combined with magnetic quality control issues
produced extremely unacceptable levels of failures.
The air gap issues were solved by repackaging the trigger in a smaller
assembly, and better control of magnet assembly has cured that problem. The
problems Kai encountered were teething troubles that thankfully appear to be
in the past. That said, his recomendation of always keeping the point plate
with you is sage advice as it is no-cost insurance.
I also agree with his point about lazy people who can't be bothered to
maintain their ignition system. For what it's worth, I do fit into that
category. The less things I have to meddle with under the hood the better,
that leaves more time for beer.
Kelvin.
Now if you want to put a plastic piece of crap, like the
> Pertronix, on a
> 45D4 distributor and spend $75 in the process for something
> you will see
> little benefit from, fine. When my employer sold Pertronix
> units over a 6
> month period, before withdrawing them from the product line,
> we had a 30%
> return rate. Additionally, during that same period,
> Pertronix reduced their
> product guarantee from 36 months to 30 months. My TR6 was a
> test bed for a
> unit, and it offered no real world benefit and reliability
> was poor as I had
> to have the magnetic collar replaced because two of the
> magnets were of the
> wrong polarity. My distributor was freshly a rebuilt unit
> with new bushes,
> as I had altered the mechanical advance curve to suit my needs.
>
> Let me make this as clear as possible, the only real benefit of the
> Pertronix is for lazy people who do not want to be bothered
> with maintaining
> their ignition systems. If you want to play Russian Roulette
> and take a
> chance on these things, be my guest, but I would advise you
> to carry good
> old points and condenser in your glove box.
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