What Pertonix setup should I use

Well, I'm a Heretic. I like the Ford EDIS system. It's pretty much bulletproof and not that hard to adapt to just about any engine. The most complicating factor is that it needs a controller to tell it to advance the spark. For that I've used MegaJolt and MegaSquirt and both work well.

It's a crank trigger system with one VR sensor. I like to take a pulley and drill a row of 36 holes around it, slot two of them together, and mount the pickup off the fuel pump bolts. The rest of it is pretty simple and all the parts are in stock everywhere.

Then whack off the head of the distributor and cap it.

Jim

 

I read up on the Lectric Limited unit JW wrote about. They say their unit WILL NOT work with any MSD Blaster coils. I wonder if that is what gave me trouble with the Pertronix, as I have the Blaster 2 coil. I couldn't find any info for Pertronix about using this coil. They do recommend using their Flame Thrower coil. I just figured high performance coils were pretty much the same and bought the MSD unit since it was in stock at our O'Reilly's. o No:

 

I would steer you away from the pertronix setup for the 350. I just returned mine both the kit and the distributor neither worked I tried both and had nothing but issues my car had been down the last two months because of this. Just garbage. I would go with the TA distributor with the built in coil for $169. performs flawlessly. All I had to do was remove the resistor wire from the panel and replace it with a wire that can carry 12v at all times. Well worth all the trouble. My car works perfect now

 

I put the electric limited unit in over a year ago and works perfectly. Looks stock and never ran better.

 

I used the crane xr1 kit. Have about 8000 miles on it. I swapped gear on my distributor when I installed my 455. Still going great w 4000 more miles. I rewired my ignition w a new Packard connector from GM parts dept.
It's in tray 1 bin 2.
Same for all dealerships w all their connector boxes.
That is 12 volts switch on 12 gauge wire
I ran new wife from starter to distributor for 12 volts crank. 14 gauge wire
And started right up.

 

I am not to the point yet of actually purchasing but when I do, I agree with those who recommend the Lectric limited conversion setup. The one wire setup, stock appearance, and durability are selling points for me. I also did some research and there are hotter performance coils that meet the resistance requirements that the system needs.

 

i put a unilite in my sbc 15 yrs ago . never a prob. but never could get info. on tack hook up . from mallory or the gauge manufacture. both said to check with the other!!! no tack fifteen yrs later . worked perfect with points

 

This is somewhat related:

I installed a Pertronix unit on my old tractor. It failed in 3 months or less. After speaking to their tech guys about replacing it, I was told that their units don't like solid (copper) core spark plug wires. It causes their modules to fail from the RFI produced. They sent a new unit but advised me to change plug wires to a carbon core type. I haven't installed the new replacement unit on the tractor yet.

I installed the Crane XRi unit on my Buick about 10 years ago and haven't touched it since then.

 

Has anyone noticed if there is a higher failure rate with a specific model of pertronix? Even searching the net i notice a lot of info is somewhat vague when explaining their pertronix unit failed. Or could never get it to work right. Being that there are multiple versions, the 2, the 3, the magnetic ring style, the lobe sensing one etc. Just wondering If any one is better than the other as far as reliability goes. Or if a lot of it has to do with installation woes.

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Any Pertronix which has the magnet wheel mounted under the rotor is prone to failure, especially on a worn distributor. It is difficult to properly shim the wheel to the correct distance, because a worn distributor gear can make the rotor ride up & down depending on the RPMs of the engine. Shimming the distributor or replacing the gear is the remedy, and that is extra work to do.

If the gap between wheel & pickup is too large, the pickup won't sense the magnets & the system won't fire properly.

If the gap is too small, the wheel rubs on the pickup, the lamination wears off & the magnets fall out, etc.

The system I and II Pertronix uses the wheel. I use the system III with the reluctor sensor. No magnet wheel. Works great.

 

Here's the one I have. Looks like it just mounts in place of the points and senses the dizzy cam. This is all it came with. Not sure how it works but seems fairly simple.

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This one looks similar to the 1181ls model. A friend of mine uses this type in his '66 GTO with a 400 Pontiac engine. He is very happy with it. We tried his unit in my 350, and it didn't work any better than the magnetic wheel 1181 type presumably because of the low voltage. It is definitely easier to install.

 

Yep this is the 1181LS. Had it on the shelf and wasnt sure if I should try it out. Then this thread popped up

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I put a pertronix igniter on the pony motor for a D-3 Caterpillar dozer once. Made a movable mounting plate for manual advance and drilled a hole in the crank pulley and pressed in a magnet out of a screwdriver. Had to have a ballast resistor with the coil. It fired on every rotation but who cared?

Jim

 

Thanks, Larry!

 

I have used the Pertronix III with the matching coil. No problems. I am a fan of the GM HEI though. I have never had one fail.

 

i only used the unilite because i had clearance issues in my 50 f-1 .has a sbc very close to the firewall! the unilite ts same size as point dist. should have put the mtr an inch further forward for the hei im a fan of them as well . might be kind of ugly up frnt though

 

I installed the Lectric Limited because I wanted to keep the all stock appearance (one wire) and heard all of the Corvette guys were running these. Over a year now and no problems whatsoever. Simple change back to points on the side of the road if I needed to.

 

What is the part number for your crane XRi thanks