Who runs a Mallory Unilite distributor?

My car had a unilte when I got it, the car runs well with it and I'm happy with it for the most part. But lately it's been giving me problems. I had the module go bad on me last september, so I changed it and added a power filter to prevent it from going bad again. Here I am 4 months later, with another bad module. Summit replaced it without an issue, but now I'm worried about when this one is gonna go bad. I ohmed out the coil and it's in spec. Is there anything else I should look for? I'm really considering putting points in the car and calling it a day.

 

I had one on a 283 that was in a '36 Ford Sedan. Never had a problem but I heeded the advice that it was very susceptible to failure if you had too much voltage to it. I think I had not one but two resistors on it. Sorry, it has been a while since I owned that car and I've slept since then.

 

Generally they are trouble free,,it sounds like too much voltage.

Just for added piece of mind a extra module in the glove box might be a good idea until you find the problem.

Look for loose or poorly connected wires. HRP

 

I've been running a unilite for 10+ yrs. ..trouble-free..."century performance'" website used to have a good "DO'S & DON"TS section regarding mallory stuff... it's worth the read IMHO..

dave

 

I'm running a Unilite on my 31 coupe. Initially, when wiring the car, I was continually hooking and unhooking the battery. I blew 2 modules, and realized that the module is very sensitive to power surges or spikes. I added the power filter and always unhook the module before fooling with the battery. Since then I've had no issues at all with the Mallory. I would have changed the distributor because of the issues I was having but running a MT crossram intake required the distributor housing to be machined specifically to fit the intake manifold, so changing the distributor was more more of a problem as I would have had to get an MSD housing machined too. I do have a spare module I carry in the car and if I had it to do over again, I suppose I would have started with the MSD, but now the car runs great and I see no reason to change. In your case changing the distributor just involves the cash outlay for a new distributor.
Mallorys do have a bad reputation I suppose, but now mine is performing flawlessly.
You need to feel comfortable with your car with respect to its reliability.

BOutlaw

 

I cleaned all the connections, made sure everything's tight, I guess it wouldn't hurt to change the ballast resistor

 

I have one in my 56, and have used it for years with zero trouble. You must use the proper ballast resistor, or the module will burn out very quickly.

 

I have run them for years, a lot of things can knock a module. Welding on the car while the distributer is hooked up is a big one, also a power surge which you will not get if your charging system is up to par and you are not properly wired.

I donot use a filter, but I do use a fast acting fuse. The unilite uses 1 amp per 1000 RPM. So a 7 amp fuse will suffice if you have a 7,000 RPM motor. it does not take much of a surge to knock a 7 amp fuse.

Something else that may be a problem is if the unit is not properly grounded. A bad ground will cause your module to heat up.

One last thing is to not be using the proper plug wires, they are real touchy about plug wires. They want a spiral wound wire, not a solid core wire. I have tried several brands and have had my best luck with Taylor Spiro Pros wires.

OK, I have only had one blown module to date, on a car that I have owned or built. I got my wires crossed and hooked my switched hot to the coil and my coil wire to the switched hot. My own fault.

 

I put one in my Pontiac back in late 80s and didn't touch it once over the next 20 years.

 

I've been running a second hand one for about three years, with no problems. I do have the matching Mallory ballast resister & spike attenuator, however.

 

I left the ballast resistor out, the mallory resistor is a must.

 

Mallory resistor, and good/stable ground. Nothing kills a Unilite quicker than bad grounds.....

 

Listen to "porknbeaner" and spend the $ for a good set of Taylor spirals. I have been running Mallorys for years with very few problems.

 

I had one that lasted me 15 years or more. Then the damdest thing happened. It burnt away the little contact on the cap that touches the rotor, all the plastic around it and the rotor. I went to get one off my back up i got at the swap meet and it was all chewed up from the cap being crooked and the engine run. I mustuve done it and cant remember changing the cap and rotor but i mustve. Wierd thing is that other burnt one had the same marks. Maybe it was a bad bushing in the mallory. But a bubba points dizzy i had laying around in it along with new everything else. Man its never run better.

 

22 years ago i put a used one in my 5window. module had a date of 1983 on it then.


in all those years no one single problem. saying all that i do carry a extra one in the trunk just in case.

 

I've had a unilite in both my '35 Ford sedan and the '36 Chev delivery for years with no trouble at all.

 

I've been running them for years, even in a daily driver I had one time, and they never gave me any problems. We are running 3 of them in our cars right now and the only problem I have is that the one on my 331 sbf is wearing out distributor caps about one a year. The little carbon button in the middle gets eaten away and it will start to misfire.

I called Unilite and found out I ordered a race version by mistake and on that one they do not use the normal spring loaded center button but a fatter fixed button for better contact. He said the distributor I have was made to go a 1/4 mile at a time, not be used on the street. So every year I order a new $50 cap and rotor and am back in business, but down the road I may put a street Unilite in it.

Don

 

We ran one in a FE 406 in a class 8 rockbeater truck with no problems. We did send it out to have the advance curve reset as the Mallory supplied plastic "tools" for setting the curve were pure junk. This unit operated in a dusty, gritty, vibration filled enviro. and never missed a beat.

 

It doesn't necessarily indicate a defect, but some cars produce voltage spikes that can kill a Unilite. There are two different protection modules, and a third that combines both. If you are having problems you want both. Another thing that kills them is poor grounding.

 

Make sure the brown wire is hooked up to a good ground

 

My landlord has 2 of them, one is over 15yrs old and other going on 5. He had one module go out in all those years. You can check the ballast, with it running should be around 9 volts on the + side of the coil. Also be sure the bottom of the module has the heat sink grease. Mallory tech assist should be able to give you help.

 

my buddy worked at Vic Hubbards speed and Marine when they came out. said there was a lot of trouble with them.

I had a unilite conversion in a Mallory dual point in a car I was working on. only hit 6 of 8 cylinders. not sure what that was all about, tried online troubleshooting to no avail, the owner said fuck it, put points in back in it, so that's what I did.

 

I have seen reports before like that and I'm not sure why that happens. As I mentioned, we have probably had 7 or 8 of them in various cars over the years and none have ever missed a beat. In fact, the one in my 27 was driven and parked in the rain almost every day for 7 years and it just kept ticking.

Don

 

Running one in my wagon since 2000 never missed a beat did have there pos box fry at the track at the 1000 foot mark unhooked box rewired to just distrb drove home thinking of there mallory charger 6 box for this year ..and never run a resistor in it since new ...maybe i should get a module and leave it in glove box

 

I have one that I got used from Paul, put 80K on it and it is on a shelf now waiting for its next ride. I have one in my Willys that I bought new about 4 years ago, I haven't kept track of the miles, but I can give you this, I dropped it in an engie that had not been fired since '82 and 3 years ago on a 15 degree day I hit the key it went rump rump rump brrrrrm. The engine had lit on the first rump every since then and I don't fire it everyday.

It is a crap shoot like with anything that you buy any more you can get a good one or a bad one, if you get one and it is good, or it is bad and you get it sorted out hang onto it.

 

Ok I have solid core wires, and I don't think it's a Mallory ballast in it. I'll check my ground and wiring that seems like what kills them the most

 

Oh and that's a sweet wagon woodywagon1965r

 

Thanks GJ done a best of 11.7 118 and drive it everywhere

 

does anyone know what the difference is between the Mallory Unilite module & the E-spark module?

 

What I was told about Mallory is that they make a decent dizzy but a shit coil. Not sure how true that is. I was running a Mallory coil with a stock style dizzy, then when I switched over to the Unilite, was advised to swap out the Mallory coil w/ an MSD. Could be something to look into. I'll let you know how mine works out. Cranks fine, but I won't really get a chance to run 'er till next week.