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Old 09-03-2017, 05:42 PM
1969 Ram Air 1969 Ram Air is offline
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Default '73 Firebird - No Spark When Hot

I have a '73 Firebird 400 and I installed a Pertronix kit three years ago and it has worked great. Lately the engine dies after driving it for 20 minutes or so. If I let it cool down, it will start again and exhibit the same problems after 10 minutes or so. Maybe the coil?

Any ideas would be appreciated, thank you.

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Old 09-03-2017, 07:04 PM
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If you have a spare coil, definitely try swapping it over. Have you verified you are getting full voltage at the coil? If the Pertronix doesn't get a minimal amount it will turn off too as you described. If you are only running the factory resistance wire to the coil that could explain it, but you would have seen it since you installed it. If all else fails, you could call Pertronix for some free troubleshooting. They helped me in the past and verified my Pertronix II had died and gave me a fantastic price on an upgrade to ver. 3.

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Old 09-04-2017, 11:52 AM
1969 Ram Air 1969 Ram Air is offline
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SD73 - thanks for the help. I swapped coils and it still had the problem. I re-installed the points and the problem appears to be solved.

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Old 09-04-2017, 01:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1969 Ram Air View Post
SD73 - thanks for the help. I swapped coils and it still had the problem. I re-installed the points and the problem appears to be solved.
I still run points in all of my older cars from pre electronic ign. It's really no problem at all. They run great.

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Old 09-04-2017, 01:51 PM
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77 Canamman 77 Canamman is offline
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A friend of mine had a Petronix unit that did the same thing. Apparently, the quality, or lack thereof, of the electronics is the issue. They are not resistant to heat soak. I would retain the points, switch to Unitized, or even an HEI. Anything will be more reliable that the POS Petronix.

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Old 09-04-2017, 02:25 PM
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Have had a pertronix in my car for 10+ trouble free years

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Old 09-04-2017, 02:56 PM
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I know of several people that have had the Pertronix units fail on their cars with little warning. Points have worked fine for 100 years.

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Old 09-04-2017, 03:39 PM
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All Electronic distributors either work or they don't. HEIs and Unitized don't warn you they just stop.

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Old 09-04-2017, 03:56 PM
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Yes, but GM HEI run for decades. Pertronix run for months or several years.

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Old 09-04-2017, 04:38 PM
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Well Den you really can't say that as my 8 year old El Camino lost a module and left me stranded. My ten year old Pertronix is still working. I'm not saying that the Pertronix is the same quality as GM HEI but none of them give you an indication of not working, when they go they go. That being said I carry a compleate extra distributer in the trunk.

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Old 09-04-2017, 06:14 PM
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You can buy an temporary ign system. It works with points Ign or HEI. It has it's own coil. I used to use mine to get the cars into the shop from the parking lot with dead Ign systems back in the day. It's works without issue on any distributor to get you home if you needed it.

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Old 09-05-2017, 11:59 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dens71TA View Post
Yes, but GM HEI run for decades. Pertronix run for months or several years.
X1000. They key is using a quality module, such as the original Delco unit, and placing the electrical grease on the bottom of the module to aid in heat transfer.

Like most electronic parts made in China, they are the cheapest crap, and do not last. I would imagine the early Petronix releases are better, but I have seen so many fail, I would classify them as a total POS.

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Old 09-05-2017, 01:03 PM
1969 Ram Air 1969 Ram Air is offline
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I went back to points. I have too many cars and not enough time to drive them. It doesn't make sense for me to switch to HEI. I will not use Pertronix again.

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Old 09-05-2017, 05:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1969 Ram Air View Post
I went back to points. I have too many cars and not enough time to drive them. It doesn't make sense for me to switch to HEI. I will not use Pertronix again.
That was the right move. I figure points used to get replaced every 12k miles. One car I've owned for 13 or 14 years and I don't have 12k on that one yet. The more cars you have, the less each gets driven. The points will last at least 10-15 years at that rate. I'm fine with that!

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Old 09-11-2017, 01:42 PM
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I had a similar problem when the car was getting hot. At first it would not start unless I jumped the batter pos to the coil. Then it would not stay running without the jumper. I swapped out the coil and the Pertronix module and none made any difference. I had been running the Pertronix for around 10 years flawlessly. It turned out the resistor wire had failed (From connector block, through engine harness, to Coil+ - I measured almost 10 ohms) which kept the ignition from working properly in all cases.

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