Pertronix

[hspeck]

I am looking to replace my distributor due to some issues, and have read good reviews for Pertronix for other cars, including the older Esprits.

Has anyone with Stevens used the Pertronix? And what was the result? What exactly did you use? The entire distributor or only the ignitor?

Any other recommended electronic distributor?

Thanks.

[ekwan]

25 minutes ago, hspeck said:

I am looking to replace my distributor due to some issues, and have read good reviews for Pertronix for other cars, including the older Esprits.

Has anyone with Stevens used the Pertronix? And what was the result? What exactly did you use? The entire distributor or only the ignitor?

Any other recommended electronic distributor?

Thanks.

What issues?

Care to elaborate.

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by ekwan

[hspeck]

Just now, ekwan said:

What issues?

Care to elaborate.

 

the engine dying suddenly issue la ... hahahhah  ... in the other thread

[ekwan]

14 minutes ago, hspeck said:

the engine dying suddenly issue la ... hahahhah  ... in the other thread

The fact that you got sparks, weak as they may be, is usually nothing to do with your distributor. I say "usually" because it seems to be doing what it's suppose to do i.e. triggering sparks. Spark intensity entirely on the coil supply, coil, HT cables, distributor cap, rotor arm etc etc. Extremely rare that the electronic unit screws up the coil dwell time, for they usually "pass away" suddenly without warning.

P.S. If you still have your old coil lying around, swap back in and see if that starts.

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by ekwan

[hspeck]

1 hour ago, ekwan said:

The fact that you got sparks, weak as they may be, is usually nothing to do with your distributor. I say "usually" because it seems to be doing what it's suppose to do i.e. triggering sparks. Spark intensity entirely on the coil supply, coil, HT cables, distributor cap, rotor arm etc etc. Extremely rare that the electronic unit screws up the coil dwell time, for they usually "pass away" suddenly without warning.

P.S. If you still have your old coil lying around, swap back in and see if that starts.

 

the old coil was leaking and I have dumped it

I have a new Lucas coil in the car. Although that does not mean it is working perfectly fine. I do have a spark checker. I will try to hook it up and see how strong is the spark from the coil and work from there checking the other items.

Thanks 

[ekwan]

1 hour ago, hspeck said:

the old coil was leaking and I have dumped it

I have a new Lucas coil in the car. Although that does not mean it is working perfectly fine. I do have a spark checker. I will try to hook it up and see how strong is the spark from the coil and work from there checking the other items.

Thanks 

Remove the HT cable to the coil. Take one of the spark cables off the distributor cap and connect to the coil. With an earthed spark plug, you should be able to see sparks, or not.

 

[hspeck]

2 hours ago, ekwan said:

Remove the HT cable to the coil. Take one of the spark cables off the distributor cap and connect to the coil. With an earthed spark plug, you should be able to see sparks, or not.

 

Right.. Will do that.. Thanks

[ekwan]

I will be a little quiet for a while as I am up in Kranji/Sg Buloh shooting wildlife and birds. Photography shooting i.e.

I believe you could use a 12V generic Bosch coil for testing purposes. You could easily pick one up from one of the spare parts shops in Selegie or even Paya Lebar I suspect, IIRC less than $50.  But make sure the primary resistnce is between 1.3-1.6 ohms. For testing purposes, it would save a lot of time over having to purchase a Lucas ignition coil all the way from the UK. But ask the other forumers first to see if anyone else has tried this before. I have a generic blue coloured Bosch coil that I had successfully used  for testing with no issues whatsoever when I had ignition issues. I had misfiring issues but eventually turned out to be a bad HT lead. 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by ekwan

[hspeck]

10 hours ago, ekwan said:

I will be a little quiet for a while as I am up in Kranji/Sg Buloh shooting wildlife and birds. Photography shooting i.e.

I believe you could use a 12V generic Bosch coil for testing purposes. You could easily pick one up from one of the spare parts shops in Selegie or even Paya Lebar I suspect, IIRC less than $50.  But make sure the primary resistnce is between 1.3-1.6 ohms. For testing purposes, it would save a lot of time over having to purchase a Lucas ignition coil all the way from the UK. But ask the other forumers first to see if anyone else has tried this before. I have a generic blue coloured Bosch coil that I had successfully used  for testing with no issues whatsoever when I had ignition issues. I had misfiring issues but eventually turned out to be a bad HT lead. 

 

 

Thanks. I have another spare Viper coil. Will try it first.

[hspeck]

So I send an email to lotusmarques regarding the Pertronix, and according to Steve, it is in fact a step backwards as the Lucas's constant energy inductive pickup is superior compared to other types of pickup.

he send me a file of someone testing the GM's HEI, which is equivalent to Lucas's  CEI. It is too technical for me, but for the more technically inclined like ekwan might be interested to take a look ...

CUSTOMISING_A_RELUCTOR_STYLE_DISTRIBUTOR.pdf

[ekwan]

4 hours ago, hspeck said:

So I send an email to lotusmarques regarding the Pertronix, and according to Steve, it is in fact a step backwards as the Lucas's constant energy inductive pickup is superior compared to other types of pickup.

he send me a file of someone testing the GM's HEI, which is equivalent to Lucas's  CEI. It is too technical for me, but for the more technically inclined like ekwan might be interested to take a look ...

CUSTOMISING_A_RELUCTOR_STYLE_DISTRIBUTOR.pdf 2.75 MB · 5 downloads

What distributor model you have?

Lucas 43D?

At this point of time, looks unlikely to be the Lucas CEI system.....unless for some unknown reason it's sending mega currents into the coil.

But if you would measure the primary & secondary resistances of the "failed" Lucas ignition coil, we'll move on from there. Something for you to do in front of the TV tonight. 😂

 

Edited May 22, 2019 by ekwan

[hspeck]

14 hours ago, ekwan said:

What distributor model you have?

Lucas 43D?

At this point of time, looks unlikely to be the Lucas CEI system.....unless for some unknown reason it's sending mega currents into the coil.

But if you would measure the primary & secondary resistances of the "failed" Lucas ignition coil, we'll move on from there. Something for you to do in front of the TV tonight. 😂

 

yes, the Lucas 45D.

I will need to measure the coil then, although I did check the parameters according to the service manual when I first fitted it

hmm ... 1.1Ω and 9.2kΩ

 

[ekwan]

Since, it's a small enough job, could you swap this in again and see if your car starts. The primary and secondary resistances seem to check out okay.

[hspeck]

37 minutes ago, ekwan said:

Since, it's a small enough job, could you swap this in again and see if your car starts. The primary and secondary resistances seem to check out okay.

Yes, I was thinking the same. Will try it later. Tks