Michael:
I am guessing the welding nailed the Pertronix. It is a risk on
any modern electronics in an automobile. My understanding is that
special grounding techniques are needed (or use gas) when welding
on any modern car to insure that nothing untoward happens.
"Ballasted" means that the coil is a 6 volt coil. When cranking
the car, the battery voltage drops, weakening the spark. To correct
this,
the coil is designed to operate at 6 volts, so the low cranking voltage
is more nearly correct for the coil.
When the key is released to the "run" position, a ballast
resistor is
switched in series with the coil, to keep the voltage at or near 6 volts
when running. In our cars, the resistor is a special piece of wire in
the wiring harness that has higher resistance.
The sport coil is a 12 volt only coil, so to get the correct
cranking voltage to the coil it is necessary to bypass the ballast
resistor. I am guessing that when you installed the Pertronix, you
did just that whether you realized it or not (Did the instructions
have you run a separate 12v lead to the Pertronix?).
If you did not bypass the ballast resistor, then your sport coil
is running at 6 volts, and the sport coil's higher output voltage is
diminished or non-existent.
Cheers,
Vance
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-6pack@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-6pack@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Campsmith, Michael
Sent: July 10, 2005 6:30 PM
To: Six Pack
Subject: TR6 lives again!!!! And a few questions
Greetings fellow listers--
<snip>
Now a question. Could the Pertronix have failed due to my techniques to
resurrect the car? <snip> It just seemed weird for the Pertronix to
fail like
that. Is it possible the unit is that fragile? It has been on the car
for over 5 years without a single problem.
<snip>
Also, I'm running a Lucas Sport coil--which the Moss ad says works
with
non-ballasted ignition systems only. What does that mean? The coil was
put on when the Pertronix was installed. Will this coil work with
points and condenser? My engine is a 1974.
<snip>
Michael Campsmith
1974 TR6--now British Racing Green and ready to roll!
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