After working on my BJ8 today I left the key on for several hours by mistake
and returned to smell the distinct odor of burning Lucas wiring. The coil got
very hot and I melted the wire from the coil to the points. So it seemed like
a good idea to finally install the Petronix unit that had been sitting on my
shelf since I had melted everything anyway..........
Installed the Petronix and another coil and the car started up just fine.
Shut it off after a minute to clean up and put away my tools. Wondered if the
first coil (the one that overheated) was still good so reinstalled it. Car
would
not start. Reinstalled a good coil. Car would not start, no spark. Checked all
connections etc, no problem found. Tried a third coil, no improvement.
Following the instructions with the Petronix unit I hooked up a multimeter
and have 12 volts at the coil. Upon cranking the voltage should pulsate from
1.5
to 12, mine stays steady at 12. This indicates an open circuit per the
instructions. A bad module would read only 1.5 volts.
Any suggestions? Disconnected that annoying wire from the coil to the battery
cutoff switch and it makes no difference. I am using a vintage Lucas rotor
and Petronix units have been known to burn rotors, would that give me the same
voltage readings? Could I have fried a rotor in less than a minute?
I'll try another rotor tomorrow but any suggestions appreciated.
Thanks,
Jim Werner
Louisville, KY
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