Call PerTronix direct 909 599-5955 and ask for Marvin, this dude really knows his stuff and can walk you through the problems. Make sure you get a hold of Marvin as he knows his shit! There is a ton of things that can cause a failure, from voltage spikes, to bad grounds etc. I'm sure he'll sort you out.
I am thinking about an Ignitor II and II Coil for my Galaxie. It has been said this needs no ballast, and it has a key on safety thing that keeps it from burning up if you leave the key on. Like I'll forget, I have a Holley Blue fuel pump. Anyway on a Ford, it has a pink resistor wire. I am thinking of running a new wire from the ignition switch from that terminal to the coil without a ballast, and connecting the ignitor II over it on the + terminal of the coil. Also I think I will leave the brown "boost" wire off of the solenoid. I wouldn't think its needed because they join at the firewall bulkhead. Does this sound like a good plan? I have a set of dead points and condensor right now with a coil I am not really happy with. I am thinking its time to step it up.
With the Ignitor II running a hot lead direct from the ignition switch to the coil without a resistor is the best set up. You won't need the brown starting by pass wire.
I've had a similar problem with running a pertronix unit on my 56 Nailhead. They used to make a Nailhead-specific unit with "lobe sensing cam" (?) that I previously installed and never had a problem with for a couple of years. But, after burning that up after leaving the ignition on (stupid), I went to buy another only to find they don't make it anymore. Now they sell a generic-50s-something-GM unit that's compatible with a dozen different motors. When I installed that unit, the ballast resistor burned up on the first crank. Since then it's been a electrical system guessing game (coil?, ballast?, pertronix?, that new one wire alternator I installed?). The thing that puzzles me is that the stock specs call for a coil with only 1.2-1.4 ohms resistance, and a pertronix flamethrower coil is 1.5 (should be good), but both you and I have had similar problems with that set-up. Anybody else out there burning up ballast resistors or coils with pertronix?
ran dozens of them on 55'-57' chevy's and it makes one less headache when you drive them all the time. really nice when they have been sitting for a extended amount of time. thumbs up in my book.
I hate to bring this thread back to the front.... BUTTTTT ive been a satisfied pertronix customer for 6 years now, when i put the unit on my 58 cad, i couldn't have been happier, just recently i installed it on my 48 buick too.Again, couldn't be happier. however, a few days ago i had to swerve fast to miss one of our furry woodland creatures and when i got to the light just a few seconds later, there was definitely something wrong. it was missing very badly. i barely made it home and let it sit for a few days. i just got in from messing with it, and i came to the conclusion that my car is only firing on 3 or 4 cyls. i checked the plugs, cap, rotor and all are a bit dirty, but ive seen cars running on worse. i checked the wires and even re-arranged them to see if it was faulty wires. ive tentatively ruled out everything except for my little black box. my curious nature forced me to take everything apart to get to the bottom of it. as it turns out, all i got to the bottom of was my beer. to make a long story short.. a fast jolt causes missing? is it 6 years a good lifespan? i plan on putting a call in tomorrow, but as usual, of course i had to get to it right before a friday. any ideas?
my '41 get quitting on me after driving normally. kept breaking-burning wire in dist. put in a pertronix and the idle is much smoother and fires right up.
I've had a Pertronix unit in my 39 Chevy for almost 10 years! It worked great the frist time and everytime time since. I have never touched it since I installed it in a new Excel Drist. and got rid of the points after only a few months of getting the car on the road, like I said almost 10 years ago. Well worth the price and the effort. Mel
Generally our units (Yes I work at PerTronix, mainly in the exhaust division) Either work or don't if there is a failure. Highly unlikely that it would drop two cylinders. Call our tech line and ask for Marvin, he should be able to dial you in. Don
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