Has anyone had a petronix igniton go out

[mabbore]

Hey guys, I put a petronix igntion in my 87 sunsport 351 2 years back. I have loved it ever since, until this week. For whatever reason I am not getting spark, and sometimes intermittent spark. I have one season on spark plugs, wire, cap, rotor and coil?

Has anyone had the actual petronix igntion go out? I am almost out of ignition parts to replace.

[leetudor]

I hope not I just installed one on my boat on Saturday. I had one on my old Jeep for 7 years before I sold it and no problems.

[mabbore]

Check that, its actually a mallory E spark kit.

[cadunkle]

Hmm. I have had a Pertronix fail on me in a Ford distributor just within the warranty period. Bought a set of points to get me home (back when parts stores stocked points). Called Pertronix and they said their computers were broke and could not process the RMA but to call back in a few days and they would do it. I told them warranty was up in the next few days, guy said no problem he notes my call and said to just explain what happened and when I first called. Called back in a few days as instructed and they would not replace, saying I called after the warranty period. Pertronix is a lousy company that does not honor or stand behind their products, they will never get another penny of my money.

Cannot comment on Mallory espark. I have since used many Accel points eliminator kits in old Fords and had great results with no failures. For my Saltare I went with a new Mallory Unilite distributor and am very pleased with it. No issues in maybe two years now. I do have the circuit protection/voltage regulator box on it that Mallory recommends. All the Mallory products I've used have seemed to be quite high quality.

Test when you are not getting spark and see if you have proper voltage the the pickup unit and to the coil. What coil are you running and are you using a ballast resistor? Try swapping coils when it makes no spark. I've had issues with coils overheating and not making spark after running for a while. If there is a pattern of no spark after some amount of time of use or particularly higher RPM that may be your problem. Also try calling Mallory and see if they have a way you can test the pickup when you're getting no spark.

[CornRickey]

Run a continuous 12 volts to it and see if it sparks

[mabbore]

So, help me out here. I took the ballast resistor out of the loop, and she fired right up. I am seeing 11.5v acorss the ballast resisitor instead of the 12.5 like I should.

Can I run with no ballast resistor?

[CornRickey]

Get rid of the ballist resistor and get a resisted coil that the electronic ignition specs. Not knowing the specs, if you run the system with higher volts that are required will fry the system. You are currently experiencing a lower voltage than is speced when the starter is cranking and the system isn't triggering. Sometimes you can hear the engine fire right when you let off the key. This is due to the starter no longer drawing amps and the energy is now going to the ignition and it fires but usually doesn't start. Usually seen heard as a small "pop"

Another option is to leave the ballast resister in place, run a jumper wire from the empty, small stud on the starter solenoid to the ignition side of the original coil. This will bypass the resistor, giving the ignition a full 12 volts on cranking then transition to the resistor while not cranking. This can get you through till you get the right coil and works well to troubleshoot building resistance in a old system.

I dealt with this on my 86' SN. I believe resistance built up in the wiring harness causing my issues. New coil matched with the ignition was the fix.

[CornRickey]

So, help me out here. I took the ballast resistor out of the loop, and she fired right up. I am seeing 11.5v acorss the ballast resisitor instead of the 12.5 like I should.

Can I run with no ballast resistor?

Your ballist resistor is doing what it is suppose to (as long as it is spec'ed at 11.5vlts) If it showed 12.5 volts then I would guess it wasn't workinging properly.

[cadunkle]

Check instructions and ensure your wiring is as per the instructions. Make sure coil you are using requires a ballast resistor, appears the espark will work with less than 12v as through a resistor. Manuals mentions a few PN for coils recommended.

http://www.carid.com/images/mallory/ignition-systems/pdf/61003m-installation-instructions.pdf

[mabbore]

Ok, so in liue of trying something different I have elected to go back to a new factory coil and a new factory ballast resistor.

I talked with our buddies at SKIDIM and they said that the electronic ignition systems are very finicky with aftermarket coils, and that I am better off going with a new factory unit than a performance version. I will let you guys know this weekend.