Last year on the way to the ferry the coil on my camper failed which cost dearly as we had to rebook for the next days sailing,soon fixed with a £20 Lucas one,luckily I carry a points distributor to swap out as I didn’t know if the replacement is compatible with the Pertronix electronic ignition,which was only 2 years old! I’m reluctant to replace it with another Pertronix,with 2 years service and only a 90 day warranty! My question is,will any non ballast coil be compatible,I measured the voltage across , with ignition on but not cranking and got 11.4v.
- Thread starter nickk
- Start date
jsf55
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My mate sent me this years ago, hope it helps
Set your voltmeter to a 15 or 20-volt scale. Attach an 18 or 20 AWG jumper
wire from the negative coil terminal to an engine ground. Attach positive
(red) lead of your voltmeter to the positive side of the coil, and the
negative (black) lead to an engine ground. Turn the ignition switch to the
run position. Now read the voltage at the positive coil terminal. Turn the
ignition switch off. If the voltage measured is approximately 12 volts, no
resistance wire is present. A typical resistance wire will provide 9 - 6
volts.
The next step is to determine the resistance in the primary ignition. Label
the wires attached to the coil terminals and note their appropriate
location. Make sure that the ignition switch is off and disconnect all wires
from the coil. Adjust your meter to the lowest ? ohm scale. If you are using
an analog style meter make sure to zero the needle. Measure from the
negative terminal to the positive terminal. Write your measurement down.
Now the maximum system amperage can be determined, divide your voltage
measurement by your coil resistance measurement. This will give you the
system current or amperage.
Four cylinder engines should not exceed 4 amps. Six and eight cylinder
engines should not exceed 8.5 amps. If the total amperage in your system is
higher than the amount recommended for your application, you should install
a ballast resistor.
Example Voltage 12
Resistance 1.5
12 / 1.5 = 8
Total amperage 8
Set your voltmeter to a 15 or 20-volt scale. Attach an 18 or 20 AWG jumper
wire from the negative coil terminal to an engine ground. Attach positive
(red) lead of your voltmeter to the positive side of the coil, and the
negative (black) lead to an engine ground. Turn the ignition switch to the
run position. Now read the voltage at the positive coil terminal. Turn the
ignition switch off. If the voltage measured is approximately 12 volts, no
resistance wire is present. A typical resistance wire will provide 9 - 6
volts.
The next step is to determine the resistance in the primary ignition. Label
the wires attached to the coil terminals and note their appropriate
location. Make sure that the ignition switch is off and disconnect all wires
from the coil. Adjust your meter to the lowest ? ohm scale. If you are using
an analog style meter make sure to zero the needle. Measure from the
negative terminal to the positive terminal. Write your measurement down.
Now the maximum system amperage can be determined, divide your voltage
measurement by your coil resistance measurement. This will give you the
system current or amperage.
Four cylinder engines should not exceed 4 amps. Six and eight cylinder
engines should not exceed 8.5 amps. If the total amperage in your system is
higher than the amount recommended for your application, you should install
a ballast resistor.
Example Voltage 12
Resistance 1.5
12 / 1.5 = 8
Total amperage 8
Nomad
Member
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I was told ballast coils are interchangeable with other ballast coils, non-ballast are interchangeable with other non-ballast.
I had problems last year when a coil died on my 70s Morris. An idea from rally cars is to fit 2 coils under the bonnet, 1 to use and another next to it that you can just swap the ignition wires and pluglead in an emergency - if you have an older van I'd expect you have plenty of spare space...
I had problems last year when a coil died on my 70s Morris. An idea from rally cars is to fit 2 coils under the bonnet, 1 to use and another next to it that you can just swap the ignition wires and pluglead in an emergency - if you have an older van I'd expect you have plenty of spare space...
To determine that,is it the same process as described by jsf?
i'd be surprised if you have any problems with the pertronix. i did well over 150,000 miles in my cortina with the aldon badged version. it only died when i connected it back up incorrectly in a hurry and fried it
so i bought a (much cheaper admittedly) accuspark and to be fair it lasted an impressive 5 miles before taking early retirement
so now back on pertronix bought from a vw specialist (bosch 009 dizzy, same kit number) as it was over £30 cheaper than burton power and no problems in the last two years
so i bought a (much cheaper admittedly) accuspark and to be fair it lasted an impressive 5 miles before taking early retirementso now back on pertronix bought from a vw specialist (bosch 009 dizzy, same kit number) as it was over £30 cheaper than burton power and no problems in the last two yearsGood,what coil do you have,although the flamethrower doesn’t have any id.i'd be surprised if you have any problems with the pertronix. i did well over 150,000 miles in my cortina with the aldon badged version. it only died when i connected it back up incorrectly in a hurry and fried it
Smallfry
HE's Spartacus.
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Flamethrowers are low impedance ISTR ? 0.6 ? Knowing F all about electronics I don't know if this would affect the ignition module though.
I had Pertronix and Flamethrower on a Triumph for several years, no problems at all.
I also know of a few people who have had Accuspark and it not lasting very long. Also had Lumenition in the dim and distant past with no problems, although a mate had it on a Pinto engined Crapi with a Bosch distributor that failed.
I had Pertronix and Flamethrower on a Triumph for several years, no problems at all.
I also know of a few people who have had Accuspark and it not lasting very long. Also had Lumenition in the dim and distant past with no problems, although a mate had it on a Pinto engined Crapi with a Bosch distributor that failed.
Not on mine,anyway after performing your useful test,I find Pertronix recommends a 3 ohm coil.
colnerov
Member
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The voltage stamped on the bottom of the coil, if it has one, indicates the voltage system of the car. You need to measure the coil to know whether it's for ballast or not.
I’m now getting 1.9v,this is measured with ignition on(not cranking),1.5mm jumper lead from negative coil terminal to a crankcase bolt,positive lead of meter to positive terminal of coil,negative lead of meter to crankcase bolt with jumper clip,all the regular cables are connected to the coil during the test. The meter is set to 20v. When I measure across the two coil terminals,I get 3.6ohm.
