The "I'm Stalling" thread reminded me of a recent experience I had and
have been meaning to post. A few months ago, I purchased a Pertronix
Ignitor, the magnetic ignition system described in the Alpines East
newsletter. As advertised, it dropped in easy as pie and worked great.
I didn't even bother to check the timing, because everything seemed
fine. I drove around for several weeks, including several 30+ mile
trips to work. Then I took it on a drive a 250 mile business trip.
Everything was fine until I stopped to pay a toll about 150 miles from
my house. Upon leaving the toll booth, the car seemed to lose most of
its power. Idle revs dropped to about 1/3 of normal and top speed was
about 40 miles per hour. I pulled into a rest stop and checked all the
connections, etc. Everything seemed fine, but when I started the car --
same problem. I drove on another 100 miles in that condition, making it
to my hotel and meeting just in time. Luckily, I had brought the points
with me. When I took out the center piece of the Ignitor System -- the
piece with the magnets that goes on the cam -- the plastic top came
right off and the magnets all jumped together. Installing the points
solved the problem, I drove the car home and it was fine until I got
rear ended a few weeks ago. The parts outlet that sold me the
system replaced the magnetic piece that came apart and when the car
returns from the body shop I plan to try the system again. Any ideas
about what happened? The manufacturer blamed me for not checking the
timing, though to their credit they agreed to replace it anyway. Could
improper timing cause the problem? And how bad could the timing have
been if everything was running fine? I suspect that when the plastic
piece holding the magnets lossened up, the magnets may have shifted.
Could that cause the problem? Has anyone else tried the system? Thanks
in advance for any thoughts.
Steve Semeraro
Series V Alpine
1968 Marcos GT
PS -- Without the Alpine, the Marcos has been placed in service despite
its many restoration needs. The attendant at my parking garage at work
has gotten a big kick out of it.
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