Pertronix and Factory Tach

[RC92234]

Completed this project today.  Car starts and runs good.  Still needs a road test.  But, for those using a P1 with factory tach and aftermarket carburetor, I thought I’d share what worked for me. I believe the brown wire may have originally connected to the solenoid on the factory carb. I repurposed it to feed the Pertronix relay. On my car, the voltage on this wire varies from 10-12 volts, but the relay works fine. The red wire I connected to the battery post on the starter solenoid. Thanks again for all the input.

I'm in the process of wiring up my car with the Pertronix distributor to the 2001 and my flamethrower coil to the Red/green wire.  Just thought I'd check in and see if your car is still running good set up this way.  Pertronix says not to do it this way, and people I've mentioned it to have never heard of it working.  So, again, just checking in.

Thanks

Thanks for checking... I am so far from this point.  I've been waiting since July, yes, seriously, to get my rebuilt power steering pump back.  It did come back in December, but it was not my pump and did not fit.  Basically, I'm down to just the block with an alternator.

Now considering it a goner and maybe for all the time I've wasted waiting I could have long ago purchased a new one.  But those fitting issues - argh.

 

[SteveO_71]

Just curious but where did you send your power steering pump? Seems like really bad customer service.

I recently had my power steering box rebuilt from powersteering.com. They seemed decent to deal with and returned my original steering box within the promised 2 weeks.

I plan on sending my powersteering pump to them next.

 

[73pony]

Just curious but where did you send your power steering pump? Seems like really bad customer service.

I recently had my power steering box rebuilt from powersteering.com. They seemed decent to deal with and returned my original steering box within the promised 2 weeks.

I plan on sending my powersteering pump to them next.

+1

 

[RC92234]

I'm reluctant to say much publicly about "who" until I get my pump back. It's a small, single-guy shop and he's been having some problems. For awhile. We did speak by phone late last week and he promised to send it "soon". Argh.

Thanks for the tips on what to do -- if I ever see my original pump again.

 

[RC92234]

Well, hallelujah! After updating about the "situation" yesterday, today I get a UPS notice the p/s pump is arriving tomorrow. Stay tuned.

I hope it's the right one this time.

 

[cheezsnake]

All, sorry this is so delayed. Didn’t have the topic set up to notify. Yes, this setup is still working fine. Granted, I haven’t put a lot of miles on yet. But it’s never failed to start, and I’ve taken a few 50 mile round trips with no ignition issues. 

 

[dfayette]

Pertronix, stock look distributor, which is the same as P1, and a flamethrower distributor.  I wired it up like your diagram with the relay (I still had the factory tach) and the car started and ran.  I had it on a dyno last week and guess what?  On the resistor wire with ?? 7-9 volts the spark was not enough to drive the engine beyond 4k without breaking down.  Since I have now changed my tach to a 3 wire I don't need the resistor wire.  I added my flamethrower coil to the relay so both coil and distributor got a full 12 volts and the engine runs great.  I'm going to put it on the dyno again when I get some carburetor tuning done.  With the low voltage to the coil and a lower spark it wasn't burning efficiently and the engine smelled really rich.  With the full 12 volts now, the rich smell is pretty well diminished.  Hoping to have the carb work done in a week or so, so I can get it back on the dyno.  The AFR was about 14 at cruise and need to get that a tad lower.

 

[Don C]

You likely had the wrong coil. There is one that is designed for full 12 volts and the other for the reduced voltage. Using the one designed for 12 volts on a reduced voltage (ballast resistor) circuit will result in a weak spark.

 

[dfayette]

I could not find a Pertronix that is designed for reduced voltage, except using a stock coil.  I also could not find anyone, except on this board, that has had success with Pertronix using a coil on the resistor wire.  All of them removed or bypassed the resistor wire.

Just passing along info.

 

[7173Vert]

Most people on our forum that use it have had good luck with P1, most that have tried P3 have returned them or thrown them in the trash, bad design on the adapter base.

With the P1 all you have to do is remove the points and replace them with the module, no wiring changes or changes to the tachometer. If you want to use the Flamethrower coil with it get the one for reduced voltage (resistor wire/ballast systems) that has 1.5 ohms internal resistance. You can also run the P1 on full battery voltage, using Cheezsnake's wiring diagram, just make sure you use the 1.5 ohm coil.

Just checked my parts bin... I have a new Ignitor II and the Flame thrower 0,6 ohm coil... Will this work as a direct bolt in or do I have to address the resistor wire? What should I do to ensure the engine runs good? BTW, I don't have a tach... Thanks

 

[Don C]

The 0.6 ohm coil is for full 12 volts, the 1.5 ohm coil is for use with a ballast (or wire) resistor.

 

[dfayette]

According to Pertronix the 0.6 ohm is for 6 volt systems, so that might work OK with the resistor.   1.5 ohm is for 12 volt 8 cyl and 12 volt 6 cyl.  3.0 ohm is 4 & 6 cylinder 12 volt.

You might have to do some convincing to not just use the 1.5 ohm and get rid of the resistor wire.  If you are using a relay to get the 12 volts  for the distributor you can just wire in both the coil and distributor to the relay.  Then you have a good solid ignition.

 

[kcmash]

So based on this discussion I am considering going with a P1. I bought a new 12v Blue Streak Coil last year to go with my points system. Is the the correct coil to use with a P1 and a factory tach?

Thanks,

kcmash

 

[351c1971]

I am have the Pertronix1, 1.5 ohm coil, stock resistor wire & stock tach. Runs just fine for the past 10 years.

 

[Anderslober]

I too have been using a P1 on my 71/429cj for 5 years now. I just wired it in…no changes/bypassing or anything. Tach works fine. No funny voltages anywhere. The P1 is a really simple KISS device, which is a good thing in my book.
My car had a Mallory system in before th P1. It was awful! Engine cut outs/stutters/etc.

 

[kcmash]

What about the PII. Is it worth the changes? Does that one give the tach problems? Or should I Just go P1 and drive it?

 

[351c1971]

My understanding is that the variable dwell feature in the PII creates problems with the stock tach.