Chuck Nicodemus wrote:
> Oh YES, also fellows, my sons are both (up to date) mechanics. They
> both emphasized that I carry my old points in a box with extra dist
> cap... My eldest says that getting caught with out ,,,out there you
> may not find a car parts store . Also from another source of info, I
> was advised NOT to get a hotter coil for my pertronics. No questions
> asked on my part,, was going to though.
> enjoy
> chuck
Hello Chuck:
I installed a Pertronix Ignitor II in my Tiger about four years ago. The
first unit failed after about 3 months (confirmed by Pertronix...they
were very good and replaced it with no hassle. They said an internal
solder had failed.). The 2nd Ignitor II has worked flawlessly ever since
(other than having a wiring problem which was from my own mistake, not
the Pertronix). I did previously carry my points setup in the car (after
that first failure) but ended up just buying a back up Ignitor II that I
keep in my tool kit in the car. That way, if it ever fails, it takes
about 10 minutes to swap them out, no more. Your son is right about
getting a replacement on the road. You'd have to be very lucky to find a
store that carries it on the spot.
If you have to change back to points from the Pertronix on the road,
it's a hassle. The resistor has to go back on, the points plate
re-installed and re-adjusted, the wiring slightly re-configured and, in
my case, and the biggest hassle, the points would have to be re-gapped.
I widened the gap considerably when I went with the Pertronix, and when
I changed back to points after that original failure, the car would
barely start and ran very poorly due to the gap. I'd imagine the same
thing would be true for an Alpine too, although it is a lot easier to
pull the plugs on the Alpine than on a Tiger.
I did go with the hotter Pertronix coil, as recommended by Pertronix
(that matches the Ignitor II) and that has also worked with no problem.
My recommendation is to look at the Pertronix Ignitor II, and the
specific Pertronix coil for it, their newer version for both. As
opposed to the just plain Ignitor, if you forget to turn the ignition
key off, it has an "auto off" feature so it won't fry. It also
automatically adjusts the dwell.
Steve Sage
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