[Spridgets] Electronic Ignition

Jim Johnson bmwwxman at gmail.com
Wed Mar 18 22:14:02 MST 2009


Dean,

In my case the Pertronix unit was brand new in May of last year. It lasted
20 minutes.  I hooked it up according to the instructions. I double checked
it after it failed to be sure I hadn't installed it incorrectly. I hadn't.
So if the Pertronix is so spiffy, why did mine fail after 20 minutes and why
have a number of other people had the same experience. Not saying the
Pertronix is bad because I know people who have used them for years and love
them. Just asking why some of us have had such horrible luck with them.
Sure points are dinosaur technology, but the damned things work in all my
antique vehicles! They don't leave me by the side of the road calling AAA
for a tow home!  It's easy to keep a spare set in the tool kit and they are
quick to change. Should I also carry several spare sets of Pertronix
ignitors at $90 a whack?

Cheers!!
Jim the ever curious...

On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 9:52 PM, Dean Hedin <dlh2001 at comcast.net> wrote:

> Fine,  I am all for arguing the quality of a given aftermarket electronic
> ignition system.
> If Pertronix Ignitors fail more often than points do then its a serious
> problem that should be
> talked about.  Maybe it was only the earlier versions that had a tendency
> to fail.
>
> But I do believe points belong in the museum right there next to knife
> switches, spark gap transmitters,
> and Lucas generator regulators.
>
> I can understand how someone with a concours vehicle may want to stick with
> a correct distributor and points.
> But I don't believe that type of car is driven very much on the street.
>
> And no,  electronic ignition in your car today is a result of the evolution
> over time as engineers realized they could get rid of the mechanical
> matinence of points.  Only later did they put the ignition under computer
> control for emmisions purposes.
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Billy Zoom"Subject: Re: [Spridgets]
> Electronic Ignition
>
>
>   virtually all modern cars have electronic ignition
>>>>> WITHOUT POINTS.
>>>>>
>>>> But REAL electronic ignitions...NOT Pertronix, and they have it so the
>> computer can control ignition to lower emissions. Pertronix doesn't
>> improve
>> performance, and it can fail. It's just an electronic switch that replaces
>> the points. Regular points work fine up to around 9000rpm. If you
>> frequently
>> exceed 9,000rpm, then you definitely need something more adequate than
>> either points or Pertronix.
>> BTW, it there a name for a phobic fear of contact points?
>>
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-- 
Cheers!!
Jim
"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough
to take everything you have." - Gerald Ford


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