Why do points fail?, and how to prevent it? Options

[dion9146]

I posted this story on another thread earlier, but I wanted to ask the broader question - why do points fail and how does one prevent that failure?

I have a 2.0 6 cylinder with MSD ignition, MSD Blaster2 coil and stock points. She has been running great since my engine rebuild, but over the weekend I had a problem. Driving along ripping corners in the country on a nice pre-fall day, and all of a sudden she starts running rough. So, I pointed it toward home and put the pedal down. About a mile out, she gave up and died.

After I got my Father to flat tow me home, I started on the MSD diagnostic procedure. I check everything including replacing the coil, and nothing works. I get to the point where MSD recommends pulling the system out and sending it to them for further analysis....that's when I decided to check the points. A couple of passes with the emory cloth, and she cranked right up.

The points are about 5 years old. They have 3 track events, two autocrosses and about 1000 road miles on them, both pre and post rebuild with about 3 years of sitting idle.

So, does my current system contribute to a shorter life span? Hard driving? Sitting for any period of time? Condensor bad?

I just don't want to get in the habit of replacing points every year just because. Any preventive maintenance I can do will be good.

Dion

[BMXerror]

Points fail because they run on such low voltage. You probably got some little piece of something in there and that was enough. Hard running is no problem for the points as long as they're adjusted right to where they don't arch. Where I would be most worried about them is when they sit as yours did for three years. They tend to crud up that way.
Any electrical unit like that will wear some, and considering the age of yours, you may consider replacing them as well as the condensor. Still, I think that every year is overkill, especially if the thing stays on the road. My three cents.
Mark D>