I must'a connected the dang thang up backwards the first time & din't notice. Prolly fried it

Got up the gumption to thoroughly check it out today (was getting tired of failure).

Checked to see if there was 12V to the coil & sure'nuff, thar it be! So I ripped out the Pertronics and stuck in the points. First turn of the key & off Punkin went.

Made me so happy I splurged, flung myself off

my diet & had a Pizzza!

Sure sounded smoother after installing the new intake runner gaskets & hoses.

Guess there's sumpin to new shit after all

........b

Weaseldicks on the 356 board swear by them...herzog got some shit when he said they were shit... no one said dick when I supported him.....they should ALL be given the float test....


BTW...picked up a set of ADAPTERS,,,,,gonna give them another chance with some late offset wheels.....YES, they will be torqued down like a MOFO.....

I fried points a couple of years ago on a 914 4cyl. SO I thought okay lets get the Petronix in there and go great guns. After three different Petronix ignition chnages, none of them ever worked. Put a new set of points and condenser in . VOILA, never went back.
CCLINPOINTANDSHOUT

wierd. i have NEVER had a problem with my pertronix..... but it was an 050 dizzy.....

hello mallory optical

Too bad the car never ran...

Sure did burn gud.....

QUOTE (boxstr @ Mar 20 2005, 10:48 PM)

I fried points a couple of years ago on a 914 4cyl. SO I thought okay lets get the Petronix in there and go great guns. After three different Petronix ignition chnages, none of them ever worked. Put a new set of points and condenser in . VOILA, never went back. CCLINPOINTANDSHOUT

two times never worked. went with points. they are POS

Damnit, I sure wish mine would self destruct so's I can start dicking around with points again.....I ain't got enuff to do.

I won't say they're complete crap, but their QA leaves a lot to be desired. Once installed correctly, if they work right away, they usually work for a long time. From purely anecdotal data, 50% of problems are installation errors, but the other 50% are DOA modules. Crane units seem to have a much lower failure rate out of the box, but my big beef with them is their stock installation adapter bits are crap. Once you finally get them installed properly, they seem to work great. My own experience (in a Marelli distributor) was negative enough that I won't use one again, though. Took all day of futzing, filing, adjusting, and modifying their installation "adapter" to get the sensor to sit securely and not hit the rotor. If they fixed this one thing, I'd recommend Crane stuff unreservedly.

Anyone used Compufire?

I don't know of any other points replacement devices (not including DIS and DIS-like systems) other than these three, and I've only seen Compufire available for some VW distributors.

QUOTE (mikez @ Mar 20 2005, 10:50 PM)

Too bad the car never ran... Sure did burn gud.....

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Mar 21 2005, 03:41 AM)

My own experience (in a Marelli distributor) was negative enough that I won't use one again,

Please tell me it was a /12, or at least half of a dual rig ..



M

QUOTE (mikez @ Mar 21 2005, 01:42 AM)

Weaseldicks on the 356 board swear by them...herzog got some shit when he said they were shit......

nah, it was the 911 list.

there were a few supporting posts on the list, and i got several offlist replies from people who thought my response, quoting the Pertronix site on the issue, was well done.

the one guy decided to 'go off' because i said something about which i had no immediate, direct, first-hand knowledge. yeah, i might have mentioned that, but some things are known if you've been paying attention for a while.

anyway i DIDN'T say they were shit - i said i suggested he get a P-II to avoid the key-left-on issue. just like i know there are reports of failures, i know that there are lots of people who have had nothing but good results (so far...).

for a variety of reasons i PREFER the Crane but if someone wants to use a Pertronix, i'm not gonna get bent outta shape - i don't own stock in any ignition company... and there are people who NEVER leave the key on. that doesn't work for me, tho - i tinker with the car too much ...

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Mar 21 2005, 02:41 AM)

My own experience (in a Marelli distributor) was negative enough that I won't use one again, though.

ya know, they never made a production version for the Marelli. you should consider it a great accomplishment that you got it to work at all. i tried to make a breakerless system work on my Marelli car and it was just hopeless at the time.

i was able to fit it into a Bosch eventually tho.

i agree about the silly spindly bracketry bits, and if i had to keep tinkering with them i'm sure that'd frustrate me. but i don't think i've even had the cap off in a year ...

How long is the generally accepted time that a set of points will last with the key in run? 1 minute?


M

QUOTE (redshift @ Mar 21 2005, 06:35 AM)

How long is the generally accepted time that a set of points will last with the key in run? 1 minute?

it's been so long since i've had a Kettering ignition car that i don't recall...

depends, of course, if they're opened or closed (which i think is also a factor in the Pertronix, but it's just a guess...) but i've never had an issue with points failure due to extended key-on time. i understand it's theoretically possible, but in all my time with Bosch points in 6V VW's and the 12V 356 (Bosch Blue coil in that one...) it hasn't been an issue.

maybe if i'da been able to afford decent batteries it mighta been an issue :-)

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Mar 21 2005, 12:41 AM)

Once installed correctly, if they work right away, they usually work for a long time.

These Pertronics units were my first and lasted about 3 years. They prolly failed due to my failure to connect them properly (and maybe not!) but at least they worked good while they worked

My coil was always so dirty I never really knew which side was positive. Since cleaning the engine & painting the tin I have reinstalled the coils positive pole to match the battery's.

........b

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Mar 20 2005, 11:41 PM)

I won't say they're complete crap, but their QA leaves a lot to be desired. Once installed correctly, if they work right away, they usually work for a long time. From purely anecdotal data, 50% of problems are installation errors, but the other 50% are DOA modules. Crane units seem to have a much lower failure rate out of the box, but my big beef with them is their stock installation adapter bits are crap. Once you finally get them installed properly, they seem to work great. My own experience (in a Marelli distributor) was negative enough that I won't use one again, though. Took all day of futzing, filing, adjusting, and modifying their installation "adapter" to get the sensor to sit securely and not hit the rotor. If they fixed this one thing, I'd recommend Crane stuff unreservedly. Anyone used Compufire? I don't know of any other points replacement devices (not including DIS and DIS-like systems) other than these three, and I've only seen Compufire available for some VW distributors.

I've used Compufire units, which fit 914s and other cars with similar Bosch electrics. They're great, though they cost a bit more than the Pertronix units. You get what you pay for ....... The Cap'n

I have a Compufire unit sitting in my glovebox but I'm too scared to hook it up because if I do I might fry it and be out a nice $50 part I wonder if it's more valuable as a key fob...

Just be sure to keep points and condenser in your glove box...

I have had many pertronix die all of a sudden.

and a feeler gage. small flashlight helps too.

k

so far, the pertronix is running fine. and i got a spare set in the glove box ...

Andy

QUOTE (rhodyguy @ Mar 21 2005, 02:30 PM)

and a feeler gage. small flashlight helps too.

i tend to run toward 'survivalist' so i always have at least 1 flashlight with me, and one in each car, and ...

the cover of a book of paper matches is close enough to 0.016" to get you home ...

you should probably have a book of matches in the car at all times too :-) ...

stick matches in a water proof case. ever seen a book of matches that have been in the glove box of a 914 for a while?

k

QUOTE

Made me so happy I splurged, flung myself off

Doh, need a wet nap?

QUOTE (rhodyguy @ Mar 21 2005, 02:47 PM)

stick matches in a water proof case.

those are handy, but they're not 0.016" ...

actually, i usually keep my book matches in the map pockets. the side seals leak enough that fire isn't really a serious danger... ;-)

QUOTE (ArtechnikA @ Mar 21 2005, 03:28 AM)

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Mar 21 2005, 02:41 AM) My own experience (in a Marelli distributor) was negative enough that I won't use one again, though. ya know, they never made a production version for the Marelli. you should consider it a great accomplishment that you got it to work at all. i tried to make a breakerless system work on my Marelli car and it was just hopeless at the time. i was able to fit it into a Bosch eventually tho. i agree about the silly spindly bracketry bits, and if i had to keep tinkering with them i'm sure that'd frustrate me. but i don't think i've even had the cap off in a year ...

It was a Marelli in an Alfa, and it was purchased through an Alfa parts shop catalog as fitting this particular distributor.

As far as I can tell, Crane doesn't make distributor specific kits at all. The kit I got came with several different shutter wheels for 4/6/8 cylinder engines, along with that cheesy adapter mess. The Marelli was, admittedly, a harder job than many, as the advance weight plate is ABOVE the points, and the normal distributor rotor is the huge thing that fits over that plate. You had to pull the shaft out of the dizzy to slide the shutter wheel UP the shaft to the points cam.

That said, the hard part was still getting the universal adapter to line up and stay secure. The photosensor just barely cleared the advance plate, even when resting on the points plate. I nearly threw out the Crane adapter to make up my own mount for the sensor to the points plate. I've since seen a couple of installations where people did just that, and wish I had followed through with that.

I guess the galling bit is the Crane costs more than the Pertronix, yet Pertronix at least bothers to come up with distributor-specific parts. If they charged less, perhaps I wouldn't be so ticked off at the half-finished nature of the kit.

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Mar 21 2005, 05:11 PM)

It was a Marelli in an Alfa... The Marelli was, admittedly, a harder job than many, as the advance weight plate is ABOVE the points...

sorry, i ASSumed it was a Porsche 6-cylinder Marelli distributor; i have no first-hand experience with any other kind of Marelli ...

but the description sounds about the same.

QUOTE (ArtechnikA @ Mar 21 2005, 03:23 AM)

QUOTE (mikez @ Mar 21 2005, 01:42 AM) Weaseldicks on the 356 board swear by them...herzog got some shit when he said they were shit...... nah, it was the 911 list. there were a few supporting posts on the list, and i got several offlist replies from people who thought my response, quoting the Pertronix site on the issue, was well done. the one guy decided to 'go off' because i said something about which i had no immediate, direct, first-hand knowledge. yeah, i might have mentioned that, but some things are known if you've been paying attention for a while. anyway i DIDN'T say they were shit - i said i suggested he get a P-II to avoid the key-left-on issue. just like i know there are reports of failures, i know that there are lots of people who have had nothing but good results (so far...). for a variety of reasons i PREFER the Crane but if someone wants to use a Pertronix, i'm not gonna get bent outta shape - i don't own stock in any ignition company... and there are people who NEVER leave the key on. that doesn't work for me, tho - i tinker with the car too much ...

Oh well...one of the "two" anal lists...as to my "shit" comment, I was paraphrasing....