Hot Rods Pertonix Distributor issue- no spark

Yeah I did take the cap off, it's spinning. Good thought though!

 

It is probably a different setup. I think the Accel kit has three wires (one extra for ground), the Pertronix distributor only has two- one for the pre-ballast ignition wire and one to go the the negative coil post.

 

So, here I am on a cold morning. Been checking things- battery is a bit low at 11.8 V- checked at the battery itself- with the cold temp so I now have it on the charger. Reads the same on the pre-ballast ignition wire. With key on, no cranking, reads 5.2V at positive post of coil, same at the ballast resistor. Voltage drop with cranking at positive coil post is 9.2 V with the battery in current state. With cranking and voltmeter on negative post, I get a steady 1V ready, doesn't seem to fluctuate. Distributor to engine block ground is 0.2 ohms so I don't think that's the issue.

I think the Pertronix unit is bad.

 

I had the same problem with Pertonix distributer and their coil. . When I disconnected the tach wire it started right up.

 

I wonder what that was doing? I don’t have a tach though...yet.

 

Why don’t you just get rid of ballast, red wire to coil +,black wire to coil -


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^^^^^
He has a Pertronix Flame Thrower I, it takes a different coil setup and different wiring than the II or III do. I ran a I with the ballast resistor. Follow their directions, use their coil and they work great. Start messing with coils or redesigning the wiring and you will have problems.

Every Pertronix I have put in (both I and II so far) I've used their coil and wires. Removes a lot of questions. I will continue to use their "system" and keep the variables to a minimum.

SPark

 

If you end up working with a set of points here's some solid, basic information that should help you work through things.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/hot-rod-technical-library-basic-ignition-systems.983424/

 

Thanks all for the information, people. It was indeed a bad distributor. Summit exchanged it for a new one right away. I bench tested the new ignitor this time before putting it in, everything was good. So I dropped it in on #1 plug wire, set the crank at 8 degrees advance, and she fired right up

 

i wonder if ya can help me,,ive got petronix ignition on my chevy, been on for over 8 years, i fitted new starter yesterday,and ide knocke a wire off the coil, i put it back on,, on the minus side instead of plus,, by mistake, and tried to start up, ive now put it on correct side, i have no spark now. have i burnt the ignition in dizzy? or coil? how can i determine? without use of a meter,,,,, THANX

 

Return the Pert distributor and get another points distributor on e Bay. There's a guy on here that sells rebuilt distributors also, Buba..
The stock distributor is light years better made than the Pertronix. Just look at how many threads there are of people having issues with the Pertronix..
Look for the iron single points distributor. Or you could get the dual point with the tach connector and have a mechanical tach! How cool is that.. Just use one set of points. That stock distributor is a very well made unit..
Use the points distributor to trigger a CD box like the Vertex Z-6. That would give you one of the best ignitions going..

 

Solid state transistors and ICs &c., don't like that, most likely roasted.