Here we go agin but I couldn't help but but my 2 cents worth in even though it
may not be worth that. I had a Petronix in my early 6 for about 3 years and it
worked fine. Finally, after a trip of about 300 miles it started to break up
at about 3000 rpms. I briefly put the points back in and that cured the
problem. Later I replaced it with a Crane optical setup but could never get
rid of an erratic miss when warm taking off from a stop. During the course of
my education in the school of hard knocks on this subject the Crane people told
a friend of mine that to use their product and for the Petronix ignition they
recommended that the installation of a ballast resistor to reduce overheating.
My friend also had a petronix ignition that he traded me for the Crane and I
installed it several weeks ago along with a ballast resistor. In order to get
it to work right with the ballast resistor I also had to install a wire from
the starter engagement lug on the ignition switch to the +
side of the coil. I also had to install a diode (2 for $1.99 at Radio Shack)
to eliminate the grounding effect (engine shut down) when the starter was not
engaged. As I understand it (a little knowledge is a terrible thing) I now get
12 volts to the coil when the starter is cranking and 8 or so volts after the
starter is released. This supposedly reduces the voltage to the Petronix (or
Crane for that matter) and keeps it from overheating in the same fashon that
the old ignition with a ballast resistor or resistor wire did for the points.
It remains to be seen if the Petronix is as durable as the old points with the
ballast resistor but at this point it starts and runs better with the Petronix
than it did with points. Of course I still keep a set of points in the glove
box.
Mike Lunsford, 1970 TR6
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online
|