Which Flamethrower for Mercruiser 470

[dennisopie]

I going to order the 91146A Ignitor II DELCO 4 for my Mercruiser 470 and thought from what I read that it might be a good idea to upgrade the coil??? Which Flamethrower should I get? Ohms? model? Also any suggestions on spark plug wires?

One of the reasons that I'm doing this is that while in the water under load that motor will start to stall at about 2 - 2.5k rpms. I'm not good with points and want to take that out of the equation.

Thanks you guys are great.

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: Which Flamethrower for Mercruiser 470

I going to order the 91146A Ignitor II DELCO 4 for my Mercruiser 470 and thought from what I read that it might be a good idea to upgrade the coil??? Which Flamethrower should I get? Ohms? model? Also any suggestions on spark plug wires?

One of the reasons that I'm doing this is that while in the water under load that motor will start to stall at about 2 - 2.5k rpms. I'm not good with points and want to take that out of the equation.

Thanks you guys are great.

Why not contact Pertronix, and ask them what you need?
Contract PerTronix Product Support

The literature on the ignitor II say it's compatible with low resistance coils.
If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, you could just get one of their low resistance coils. Or.... you could pick up a generic off the shelf coil that matches their low resistance coils, and save some dough.

Keep in mind the ignition points are just one part of the distributor you would be replacing. If the mechanical advance springs and weights are junk, or the distributor shaft bushings are worn out, they will also mess with your timing. May want to consider bringing the distributor by a distributor shop for a check-up.

 

[Don S]

Re: Which Flamethrower for Mercruiser 470

The 470 (generic term for the Merc 4 cyl. 3.7L engine) came with two different distributors, Delco and Prestolite. Which one do you have?
That is one thing you must know before ordering

View attachment 3.7 Distributors & Specs.pdf

 

[dennisopie]

Re: Which Flamethrower for Mercruiser 470

That's a good question. I'm not sure.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Which Flamethrower for Mercruiser 470

Which Flamethrower should I get? Ohms? model? Also any suggestions on spark plug wires?

Flamethrower II 0.6 ohm. Either 45111 (epoxy recommended) or 45011 (oil) will do. Also you need to provide a full 12V to both the coil and Ignitor II. A good way to do this is remove the purple resistance wire (that goes from the choke to the coil +) and splice in a stranded wire near the choke connector (solder is best) and run that to the coil +, then just hook the petronix red wire up to the the same coil + terminal. The delco distributor plate should match this image Google Image Result for http://www.carshopinc.com/product_thumb.php%3Fimg%3Dimages/PRX/91146A.jpg%26w%3D255%26h%3D204 . OEM Mercrusier plug wires are the best, and they fit perfectly right out of the box, what I use. Good luck
P.S. I have the same Petronix on my 470 and really like it.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Which Flamethrower for Mercruiser 470

Keep in mind the ignition points are just one part of the distributor you would be replacing. If the mechanical advance springs and weights are junk, or the distributor shaft bushings are worn out, they will also mess with your timing. May want to consider bringing the distributor by a distributor shop for a check-up.

Agree 100%, that is exactly what I did, had the bushings replaced and they ran an advance curve profile to make sure the springs and weights were working correctly.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Which Flamethrower for Mercruiser 470

Why not contact Pertronix, and ask them what you need?
Contract PerTronix Product Support

The literature on the ignitor II say it's compatible with low resistance coils.
If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, you could just get one of their low resistance coils. Or.... you could pick up a generic off the shelf coil that matches their low resistance coils, and save some dough.

Keep in mind the ignition points are just one part of the distributor you would be replacing. If the mechanical advance springs and weights are junk, or the distributor shaft bushings are worn out, they will also mess with your timing. May want to consider bringing the distributor by a distributor shop for a check-up.

Ayuh,.... If ya Really wanta save some ca$h,....

Hang out at 'bout any boat launch, 'n paw through the trashcans, 'n dumpsters,...

Boaters throw away BaZillions of perfectly good coils, whenever their barge don't start, every weekend...

Because it's "Easy".... though rarely the problem....

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: Which Flamethrower for Mercruiser 470

Ayuh,.... If ya Really wanta save some ca$h,....

Hang out at 'bout any boat launch, 'n paw through the trashcans, 'n dumpsters,...

Boaters throw away BaZillions of perfectly good coils, whenever their barge don't start, every weekend...

Because it's "Easy".... though rarely the problem....

True!!!

Or he could PM the next 1 post recruit to show up saying he has an idle problem, and replaced the coil among a sea of other parts in his shot gun "repair" attempt.

 

[dennisopie]

Re: Which Flamethrower for Mercruiser 470

Hey Rogers thanks for being rude and unhelpful. Don't you have anything better to do besides being a troll on a boat forum? People are here to get help and advice and they sometimes have limited mechanical experience.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Which Flamethrower for Mercruiser 470

One of the reasons that I'm doing this is that while in the water under load that motor will start to stall at about 2 - 2.5k rpms. I'm not good with points and want to take that out of the equation.

Dennis, I suspect that you have some other stuff going on here. The ignition upgrade may not solve all of your problems (still a good idea). If you are starting OK and running reasonably well at up to about 2k rpm you may have a fuel or compression problem. The 470 has a few weak points, in particular a tendency to have head gasket problems. I would do a few things: first do a compression check, and a cooling system pressure check. You can borrow the tools from autozone. Start a new thread in the repair section stating your problem and the results of the tests and you should be able to get the help to get you running right. BTW what year and serial number for your engine? Good luck.

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: Which Flamethrower for Mercruiser 470

Hey Rogers thanks for being rude and unhelpful. Don't you have anything better to do besides being a troll on a boat forum? People are here to get help and advice and they sometimes have limited mechanical experience.

OK....

I thought my first post was fairly helpful. My second post was joking around with Bond-o.

Fact is that we have allot of people coming to this forum who state that they replaced their ignition coil, when 99% of the time it wasn't necessary (you're not one of them).

We were joking to YOUR benefit. You don't need to spend lot's of money on a Pertronix branded coil, when a generic label coil with similar specifications would work just the same. People discard generic labeled coils for no good reason all the time... Get it?

I haven't stuck around Iboats for 2 years, whilst posting over 2000 responses, all while being a "troll". The moderators would have seen to it that I was banned pretty quickly...

Regardless of what you think of me, and my posts, I wish you luck with your conversion. As long as your distributor is sound (as I mentioned in my first post) the Pertronix kits usually work fairly well.

 

[dennisopie]

Re: Which Flamethrower for Mercruiser 470

Thank you.