Pertronix ignition problem

[38special]

After 2 trips around the lake today at idle my mercruiser 140 would die and not want to start. I checked the carb first and it was getting good squirts of gas but no fire.

I pulled a plug and grounded it while my wife cranked the engine and no spark. After sitting about 10 minutes it would start again. This happend a number of times until i switched my points and condenser back in to the distrubutor. No more problem after that.

There were no wires going to a ballest resistor before the change to the pertronix ignition and i bought the pertronix coil with built in 3 Ohm's of rezistance so i wired it in the same way as my points. The black wire to negitive side of coil and red to positive side.

Any ideas why it's getting warm and losing spark?

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: Pertronix ignition problem

It might require more resistance than the resistor wire in the harness and coil can provide. Not a Pertronix fan at all, great idea in theory, but......

 

[supercab78]

Re: Pertronix ignition problem

You may want to check for a voltage drop to the coil. Check when first started and then later after running for a while. Since it had no resistor it may have a resistor built into the wire itself. That being said I have heard of Pertronix units sometimes having a problem with heat, but that was years ago. I've had one in my car for years with no problem. You may have doubled up on resistence with the 3 ohm coil and resistor wire, if it has one.

 

[38special]

Re: Pertronix ignition problem

You may want to check for a voltage drop to the coil. Check when first started and then later after running for a while. Since it had no resistor it may have a resistor built into the wire itself. That being said I have heard of Pertronix units sometimes having a problem with heat, but that was years ago. I've had one in my car for years with no problem. You may have doubled up on resistence with the 3 ohm coil and resistor wire, if it has one.

Thanks, i will check it out in the morning. This is the 4th pertronix i have installed in the last 7 years and the only one i have had problem with. The engine ran well today, good rpm's until the problem started.

 

[smarks]

Re: Pertronix ignition problem

Thanks, i will check it out in the morning. This is the 4th pertronix i have installed in the last 7 years and the only one i have had problem with. The engine ran well today, good rpm's until the problem started.

I hope not all of them whent in the same boat??
Steve

 

[38special]

Re: Pertronix ignition problem

I hope not all of them whent in the same boat??
Steve

What if the boat had 4 engines? Lol