Simple. I want to leave the resistor wire in its original place. The small relay coil will be triggered by the resistor wire and will be hidden behind the alternator. Super simple to return to stock by just returning the resistor wire to the coil. In the unlikely event that the Pertronix takes a dump, I'll go into the glove box, reinstall the points and condenser, reattach the resistor wire, and get home.
rkammer - just saw I never answered this. And I have no good answer but somehow it seems to be backfeeding through the idiot light to the resistor wire, not letting the relay disengage. When its running switch off , the gen light is on dimly. I have to assume its backfeeding from the internal alternator regulator in that split second when you shut off the key but the alternator is still spinning, because my external regulated cars dont do this.
On my '71 350 GS with MSD, if I run the electro-mechanical regulator the engine wont shut off, and the "Gen" light stays on dimly. With an electronic regulator its fine. Both regulators are external.
I use a relay on my 1968 LeSabre 350/4 to power the HEI I added. I had to add the diode to stop the feedback because the car would not shut off. I used the extra wire at the wiper motor to switch the relay.
Like "rkammer" I would like to leave the resistor wire in place to return to points dizzy and coil should the TA hei poop it's pants but mine is cooked, is the cable still available ??
Wow, I would have never thought that this much went into doing this swap. I remember doing it in the Turkey Rod Run car show and never thought about all this stuff. I must have done something right cause the car always ran great.....or maybe I just thought it ran great. Thank you for putting this info up! Scott
Actually removing and replacing the resistance wire and bypass. Then replacing it with 12 gauge wire. The wire clips into the engine harness connector on the firewall. I explain that in the 4th paragraph of the thread I linked. It's a little more work, but a cleaner install, and completely reversible. Year One has a ready made wire for the GM big cap HEI that clips right into the harness.
Thank you for that, but what I meant to ask was what is the result of simply dropping the pertronix in and not doing anything else?
Some Pertronix need full battery voltage, others use the resistor wire or ballast resistor. Gotta read the instructions.
I'll add to what Larry has said. If you don't check on the requirements of the Pertronix and just drop it in, and the wrong coil is on the motor, you could burn up the coil from overheating it with too much voltage or the wrong internal resistance of the coil. And, depending on whether the Pertronix wants full 12 volts or 6-8 volts the performance of the engine might be less than expected. And, too much voltage into the Pertronix might override the over voltage protection built into it, if it has it.
Yes, most electronic ignition conversions specify a primary voltage, and a coil resistance range. You have to pay attention to things like that. http://www.pertronix.com.au/assets/...hrower_III_Coil_Installation_Instructions.pdf http://www.pertronix.com.au/assets/pdf/Pertronix_Ignitor_3_Installation_Instructions.pdf https://persaker.se/produktfiler/1181-installation-instructions.pdf
This is exactly what I did. My FAST electronic conversion uses 12V at the coil. I just cut the HEI connector off and used a ring terminal. It was pretty easy to change out the wires in the fuse box connector, too.
It would be very easy and reversible to wire in a bosch relay and fire it with the resistor wire. That would be very simple and reliable. As mentioned it would be easy to add a wire to the plug under the booster. I believe there are more than a few open slots that are keyed 12v.
Thanks guys, the car has a pertronix in now but the rev limiter is set at 4200 and it won't change. It is breaking up a little too so I am going to put in a new one. I bought a coil from them also. This info gives me some good stuff to look for. Thank you.
