Pointless ignitions

someone not happy then ?! i often wondered if one was better than the other. Is there any real noticeable difference between pertronix and a 009 dissy points and conderser ?

I had thought about doing by own electroinc ignition by fitting a toothed wheel to the crank pully and do my own ignition ecu carnt be that hard .... I could start by doing it wasted spark and go from there , then do Fuel injection as well ..,.,.,. oh i'm starting to ramble...

John

What were your reasons for trying Compufire? It sounds like you were happy with the Pertronix.

No shit. The camel's back is now broken.

Never adjust the thing again. Never worry about oxidized contacts not giving spark. Never think about the innards of your distributor again.

Saves fuel? Gains horsepower? Runs smoother? Starts better? ALL BULLSHIT, when compared to a properly tuned points system in great shape, in a reasonably normal stock or street engine. So if that's what you are after, then go talk to santa claus.

Or save yourself the hassle and mistakes and setbacks and pure bad luck that would force you to quit the hobby, and buy a ready made kit from a parts store. Bolt it on and enjoy it.

Jan

I have put a couple of each through HEAVY use, to find out for myself which is better. I fell in love with the Pertronix years ago already, and immediately noticed the design "flaws" of the Compufire (OR Accufire, same part, different package) and poorer general material quality when compared to the Pertronix. But I gave it a fair chance to prove it's worth. Now it has. :)

WHEN they work, both work ok. So no complaints there.

This particular Compufire is now maybe 3 years old and has seen several different engines.

It blew at approximately 5000rpm. (I had another 2k to go before gear change, in this particular engine)

Jan

wow....im shocked...LOL...actually i am...shocked that you don't carry a backup...i run a pertronix(do/did whatever...no engine at the moment) but i always keep a fully prepped distributor for a quick swap, just "in case"....before that i would never be caught without a spare set of point/condensor and usually a spare rotor button....these items belong in your car with the spare throttle cable, extra quart of oil, etc....

------------------- Chris Perdue

"Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug!"

Remove "PANTS" to e-mail

I do, but this engine was fitted in this car only temporarily, for tuning purposes. 20 miles on it... And since it's a convertible with no top whatsoever, I can't really keep any parts or tools in it.

The cars that normally run a pointless ignition, have a points&condensor set ready in the glove box :)

Jan

Strangely enough I had a pertronix magnet assembly around the distributor self destruct. The magnets in the plastic or bakelite center piece came out. I replaced it with a Compufire and had no problems for three years before I sold the bug. I guess everyone has a bad QA day from time to time. I would be leery about buying another Pertronix myself. Tim Klopfenstein

I do carry a full set in the glove box on cars equipped with pert/compufire, normally. This time the engine was only temporarily installed in this car. And I can't keep anything in the glove box, because it's a convertible bug with no roof whatsoever.

Jan

I have had 2 Pertronix fail on me and one left me in Manhattan during the Rush hour on the West Side Highway. That experiance freaked me so bad I only used points for years. I finally went for the Mallory Unilite on the advice of big block drag racer friend and I am extremely happy. This dizzy is light years beyond the rest. Dual timing, for idle and top end. BUT -----I Still keep the 009 with points in the trunk. JOe

Just as a point of comparison..I've installed several of these things over the years and I've never had one fail. Couple weeks ago, a guy at my work bought himself a Manx. He drove it in to show it off, hit a bump in the parking lot or something and the engine just flat shut off. The guys in the warehouse where he works knew I was something of a bug-nut, so they called me to come take a look at it. I pulled the coil wire while he cranked, and no spark. Pulling the distributor cap I see a pertronix..dead. I gave him a set of points I had collecting dust at the house and it fired right back to life.

That was the only time I've ever seen a pertronix fail. The case didn't show any signs of distress so all I can guess is that the semiconductors were marginal when the thing was built and it finally crapped out.

I always carry a spare set of points in the glove box just in case, but so far(knock on wood) I've never had to install em.

Chris

...and , of course, we all know that most would be thieves would be delighted to pilfer an old greasy set of points and condensor and a rusty bent handled screwdriver..

...Gareth

Yup.

If for no other reason, then at least to piss me off.

Jan

Sounds like the thieves here in Mobile. It doesn''t matter if it is anything they need or want or even know what it is, it is the aggravation factor that gives them saatisfaction. Tim

of course, we all know that most would be thieves would be

I'd have to disagree with the runs smoother part, I changed good points/condenser out for a pertronix, and it was way better - of course it was also masking the fact that the flywheel was going to fall off within 1k miles....

Personally I'm impressed with the pertronix, the build quality is ace, but it did take me a LOT of force to fit the collar - i ended up using a spare rotor and a hammer to force it down (broke the rotor in the process). It ain't gonna be easy to remove now...

I reckon that the unit is mechanically strong, but could be easy to kill electrically. I still carry the points that I pulled to fit it, even in average condition I should be able to go.

Just my 2 cents... A.

Unfortunately they fail in two ways, one mechanical and the usual dead electronics. The former often seem related to the amount of force applied to fit the collar.... As in, it will split sooner or later when the interference fit is to tight...

J.

Dude your pulling 7000 rpm's on a 20 mile motor?

Well......

if it didn't survive, I made a mistake somewhere, and it deserved to die. (=be rebuilt, properly this time)

I gave it more than 20 miles before taking it to the max.

The Tach I have in there now read 7k when it stopped climbing, but I know for a fact that it's a "slow" tach, reads at least 500rpms too little.

Jan

Well, 7500 ain't so bad. LOL Dan