Carlos, I can't personally say what the symptoms of a unit failing are but I
have heard from rough running to total failure. The only real way that I
could see of finding out would be to go back to your old points. When you do
that static time the car again and then check to see if that was the
problem. Actually put the points back in and see if that fixed the problem
and then re-time it. The reason I say that is, when I put my Petronix in I
static timed it first and then put the unit in. I then checked it with an
advance timing light and it was right on....15BTDC @ 600rpm. I check it from
time to time and it's always been ok. I have heard many horror stories
(whether true or false) about them failing so what I did was set up my
points on a spare backing plate and I keep that in my carry along tool bag,
just in case. Of interest, I found in the dry heat of the summer 15 BTDC
rattles a bit so I change it to 12BTDC and that seems to be a good
compromise (15 winter, 12 summer). I guess that could be debated but for my
car and where I live, sea level wet coast I mean west coast of Canada those
setting work well. You could also check your wiring connectons and the small
lead under the cap. Perhaps throw on an old rotor if you have one, they have
been known to crack. How about your old coil do you still have that, put the
old one back.You didn't say if the unit worked fine after you put it in
(pertronix) and did it just start doing this? Bla bla bla that should keep
you busy for a while ;) ....Neil
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carlos Cruz" <healey3000bn7@yahoo.com>
To: "Healey List" <healeys@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2004 11:24 AM
Subject: Petronix Troubleshooting
> Hi fellow listers,
>
> I've been having problems with stabilizing the Healey at start, idle and
during acceleration. It runs rough in all situations. I thought at first
it was the rear carb, giving the coughing, sputtering coming from that one
carb. The front one seems to run just fine. I've taken the carbs apart
twice now and everything seems to be in working order. The problem
persists.
>
> Now I'm thinking it may be the Petronix ignition in the Dist. cap. This
is the first Petronix system I've had and don't know how to trouble shoot
it. I pulled the cap and the unit looked OK. Can someone explain the
symptoms one would experience with this ignition system when it starts to go
faulty? BTW, I did replace the coil recently.
>
> Also, any suggestions on how to go about troubleshooting a petronix system
would be helpful.
>
> Cheers,
> Carlos Cruz
|