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Bad Pertronix?

Discussion in 'Early CJ5 and CJ6 Tech' started by matthew johnson, Jun 25, 2009.

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  1. matthew johnson

    matthew johnson Major League Infidel

    I recently switched to Pertronix an my 225ci and cant get it to run as well as the points system. I have part # 1165 and the higher voltage coil, bypassed th ballast, proper moduel/ magnet ring gap. It starts easy, idels nice but dosent have the same power and misses after about 3,200rpm. It sounds like it is loading up/ not enough spark. Ive move the rotor back, forward, tried 0, 5, 10, and 15 degrees with no real change. Any ideas?
     
    matthew johnson, Jun 25, 2009
    #1
  2. Wmi68CJ5

    Wmi68CJ5 Let the Sun Shine!

    I may be wrong here but I thought with mine the directions said to leave the ballast resistor in place if I was using the points coil if I read the diagrams right? The link shows the instructions for it. Mine works great but I am using an OEM style coil. Did you try it with the ballast and or original coil?

    http://www.pertronix.com/support/manuals/pdf/ignitor12vneg.pdf

    There are others here with a lot more knowledge. Hope someone can help.
     
    Wmi68CJ5, Jun 25, 2009
    #2
  3. matthew johnson

    matthew johnson Major League Infidel

    Yes, I tried with the O.E coil through the ballast and around it to no avail. It now has the Pertronix coil and bypass the ballast.
     
    matthew johnson, Jun 25, 2009
    #3
  4. lynn

    lynn Time machine / Early CJ5 HR Rep Staff Member

    Probably not the Pertronix itself. If it works at idle, it works at 3200.

    Did you measure distributor climb? I had to put shims between my distributor drive gear and the shaft housing, because I exceeded the max climb. Your dist gear/shaft may be climbing at higher rpms causing too much gap between the hall effect sensor and the magnet ring, resulting in missing and loss of power.
    If you do shim the gear/shaft, be sure to install a new roll pin. DAMHIK :rofl: :D
     
    lynn, Jun 25, 2009
    #4
  5. matthew johnson

    matthew johnson Major League Infidel

    The way I read the instructions the gap was right. I did have to use both shim rings though.
     
    matthew johnson, Jun 25, 2009
    #5
  6. lynn

    lynn Time machine / Early CJ5 HR Rep Staff Member

    OK, so it's probably some other issue.
    Plugs good, gapped right?
    Check your plug wires while running the engine in the dark, look for any arcing from the wires when trying to run at the higher rpms.
    Float too low in the carb?
    Have you put a vacuum gage on it?
    Check these sites:

    http://www.tracyvette.com/enginevacuum.html

    and

    http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/Summer2003/VacuumLeaks.htm

    There's no reason that the Pertronix shouldn't be equally as strong in all rpms. Maybe even stronger at high rpms since the sensor can't "float" like a points spring can.
    Gotta be something else.
    Perhaps others can chime in here with other ideas...
     
    lynn, Jun 25, 2009
    #6
  7. matthew johnson

    matthew johnson Major League Infidel

    The plugs are good, wires are good I think(I will check) carb is good, fresh rebild. I will need to get a vac gauge to check. Thank you.
     
    matthew johnson, Jun 25, 2009
    #7
  8. flyingyogi

    flyingyogi New Member

    The original old plug wires can not handle the high voltage coil. You have to get some quality spark plug wires.
    When I upgraded to the pertronix I replaced the coil, wires and plugs. My plugs are gaped at 0.56or so. The plug wires are 8mm high voltage silicone. I wired mine using the original ballast resistor.
    I can see an issue with the distributor lift, makes sense to me.
     
    flyingyogi, Jun 26, 2009
    #8
  9. matthew johnson

    matthew johnson Major League Infidel

    The plug wires 2 year old 7mm, I didnt know you could gap that big, mine are only 0.35. And I will check the distributor lift again. Thank you
     
    matthew johnson, Jun 26, 2009
    #9
  10. lynn

    lynn Time machine / Early CJ5 HR Rep Staff Member

    Keep us posted Matt.
     
    lynn, Jun 26, 2009
    #10
  11. w3srl

    w3srl All-around swell dude Staff Member

    Just a thought, are you SURE the Pertronix kit you have is for an odd-fire? Just like the trigger in an OEM HEI distributor, the hall-effect wheel has a different spacing than one for an even fire.
     
    w3srl, Jun 26, 2009
    #11
  12. EricM

    EricM Active Member

    Here's an excerpt from the pertronix catalog

    1970-74 6 All Models ............... Delco 1162A 91162A
    1967-69 6 All Models ....*43 1110376 Delco 1165
    1966-69 6 All Models ........1110444 Delco 1162A
    1963-65 6 All Models ........IAT-4416 Auto/Prestolite 2561
    1960-64 6 All Models ........IAT-4404 Auto/Prestolite 2561

    *43 Odd fire engine

    1165 should be for an oddfire. Can you confirm you have a Delco distributor? It looks like a different part number if you have an Auto/Prestolite distributor.
     
    EricM, Jun 26, 2009
    #12
  13. lynn

    lynn Time machine / Early CJ5 HR Rep Staff Member

    Agreeing with above, #1165 is the right number for the 225 OddFire with Delco distributor.

    I have heard of some 1165 kits having the wrong magnet ring in them... but that was quite a few years ago...
     
    lynn, Jun 26, 2009
    #13
  14. w3srl

    w3srl All-around swell dude Staff Member

    Is one exhaust manifold noticeably cooler than the other?

    (Yes, I'm going somewhere with this.)
     
    w3srl, Jun 26, 2009
    #14
  15. matthew johnson

    matthew johnson Major League Infidel

    It does seem that the passenger side runs cooler. Plus #3 is black, ONLY when pertronix is installed. Went back to points before and it cleard up.
     
    matthew johnson, Jun 26, 2009
    #15
  16. Patrick

    Patrick Super Moderator Staff Member

    There was a bad batch of odd fire Pertronix units that came out several years ago. The magnet rings were marked wrong, 180*.
    My Dad got one of them. Try turning the magnet ring around 180*.
     
    Patrick, Jun 26, 2009
    #16
  17. matthew johnson

    matthew johnson Major League Infidel

    I will try the 180 switch when I get home. Hope its that easy! Thank you to everyone, I really appreciate all the advice.
     
    matthew johnson, Jun 26, 2009
    #17
  18. Patrick

    Patrick Super Moderator Staff Member

    ;)
     
    Patrick, Jun 26, 2009
    #18
  19. unclebill

    unclebill Banned

    the suspense is killin me!
     
    unclebill, Jun 26, 2009
    #19
  20. Patrick

    Patrick Super Moderator Staff Member

    Patrick, Jun 26, 2009
    #20
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