[Spridgets] Electronic Ignition

Peter Caldwell peter at nosimport.com
Thu Mar 19 06:29:04 MST 2009


Dean,
         Your points are well taken. (all puns acknowledged are 
intended)   If you were directing your statements to me, the thing 
that I made is strictly for that little niche in the market that 
wants something transistorized, something reliable (more than a 
condenser), and that looks to all the world, original. I personally 
find the black and red wires of the Pertronix, and the finned thing 
of the Piranha, Lumenition, and Crane units in poor taste. But it's a 
personal choice.
         I have never said that points are more reliable than 
electronics, though they may be more "roadside repairable". 
Absolutely, bad or "iffy" wiring is almost always the cause of 
failure.... be it ground or supply.
         Heck, some people feel that a worn distributor bearing can 
be overcome with one of these electronic bits. They don't know about 
air gap. There's no substitute for properly maintained components.

         Peter "is this horse dead enough?" C
==
At 07:53 PM 3/18/2009, you wrote:
>A "low voltage to the points" electronic ignition system is OK, but 
>once you get to the stage of a transistor firing the coil then you 
>might as well go to the next tiny step and have the magnetic or 
>optical sensor fire the transistor instead of the points.
>This is, after all, what a Pertronix is.
>
>The problem with the points is not just the arcing, it is the fact 
>that the cam wears
>and they bounce at high rpm, etc...   Those problems all go away 
>with the Pertronix and systems like the 123.
>
>When it comes to failures of these electronic ignitions, I think it 
>really comes down to is that you can't "cook" a set of points by 
>hooking up wires incorrectly like you can with a
>circuit that is encased in epoxy and cost $90.
>
>Any you know what?  It shouldn't cook.  If you spend $90 for 
>something to replace a $10 set of points then it should last a 
>mighty long time.  Even if you accidentially connect those leads up 
>the wrong way the first time around.
>
>The reason nobody on this list has gripes about the electronic 
>ignition on thier modern cars is that they did not have to install 
>it themselves.
>
>You guys can argue the quality of the aftermarket electronic 
>systems, and you can argue whether it's "vintage correct" to have 
>points vs. electronic ignition.  But you can't argue that points are 
>better or are more reliable than electronic ignition systems because 
>that is disproven  by the fact that virtually all modern cars have 
>electronic ignition WITHOUT POINTS.


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