I did an engine swap for a customer, and after shopping for a reasonable ignition upgrade, I went with a new Pertronix 2 SVDA distributor (which is fitted with an Ignitor II), and the Pertronix Flamethrower II coil.

Car ran great, pulled strong, and made good power. Except for a RMS leak (but that's another story) Then when my customer (an hour away) decided to take his wife to dinner and the car died in route. No spark after less than a week and less than 200 miles. Put the old distributor back in, and we got spark.

After I had to take out the Pertronix and put the points and condenser in my 914 at 2:30am in the parking lot of a nightclub (after a 4 hour gig), I said I wouldn't use one again, but that was 30 years ago.

Several guys over the years have commented that the new Ignitors are better and more reliable.

What say you?

I've been running a Pertronix in my Bosch distributor for probably ten or 12 years now. I guess I got lucky and got a bulletproof unit. I carry a replacement in my glove box for insurance but have never needed to use it.

I have found them to be more reliable

I have had them in 3 cars now....
carry a spare even for the race car
but zero failures so far with 10 years of use on the street and race cars
weird

I'm not posting to bash Pertronix. I just want to get my customer's car up and running, and reliable.

I've always liked the concept of an electronic ignition module, that could be used with a variety of distributors.

Pertronix 1 has issues and a major self destruct sequence when you leave the key "on" with the car not running. Pertronix 2 and 3 solved this problem as it will turn off when it senses the engine not running. I have heard rumor that the Pertronix 2 and 3 won't fit our dizzy's, is this still true?

You may want to ohm out the primary windings of this new ignition coil. If the resistance is too low, it will cause the module to let the smoke out. You may want to apply some dielectric between the module and base plate to help dissipate the heat better? Chances are it was just a bad module from the get go.

More stout than the 1, but I too have seen one fail.

Per my original post, this is a brand new Pertronix distributor, but it looks like the Ignitor would fit into any of the VW Bosch distributors, I will confirm that later. The new distributor looks a lot like the 1.8 with the vacuum pot

I've used Pertronix on 3 engines for 10 years w/o failure. All had the typical blue coil.

I bought and ran one on my 914 motor, was troublesome.
my dad put one in his 019 distributor with his beetle and it made the tach indicate all over the place and ran poorly.
I have a unilite now and he went back to points. No problems going forward.

I've been running the same setup as described in the original post for 4 years and approximately 15k miles with no issues.

Spoke, I forgot to say that due to your avatar, and my being a Preds fan, you are not allowed to respond to any of my threads. Not really, just kidding.

That is encouraging!

I had 2 Pertronics fail on me. AND the late Cap'n Krusty had one word for Pertronics: CRAP.

For the last 6 months, I have been running a unit from Hot Spark Performance Products, http://www.Hot-Spark.com in my VW Beetle. So far, so good.

RenoRoger

I also used the Hot Spark. It has been running many years. I am careful to not leave the ignition on and I am using a stock coil. I am just one so this is not a real test if Hot Spark is better. There are a lot of pertronics working without issues I am sure.

I'm with you. It's crazy to carry points & condenser as a back up. Who is going to have a timing light and dwell meter with them if the occasion should arise. I ran Petronix for 10+ years in a Ghia and 7+ years in my 76. No problems.
EDIT:Wanted to mention that Petronix has a very good support department that will discuss any issues your having.

I've had no issues with these units,I wonder if some of the failures are related to the use of incorrectly rated coils or leads.....don't know.
The Pertronix II unit I purchased was a good fit in my Marrelli but the unit I purchased for my Bosch replacement wasn't,also when reading the instructions you find with the II unit can't be used with solid core leads ,something the sellers do not tell you.
I have had fitment issues with Pertronix I where the magnetic pickup wouldn't fit the shaft properly,I had to relieve the inside with a round file,it was simply too tight otherwise.
I have a genuine Bosch 034 with the Hotspark module fitted but untested as yet,I see they are making a range for most 911 distributors also,haven't read of any failures of these,I guess time will tell ?.
Do Pertronix offer a replacement on faulty units as in Perrys situation ?

The 'BB' has had a Pertronix unit since 2012.

On the 912 BBS, Glenn Ring pointed out (no pun intended) that he's experienced the magnets not being precisely 90° apart, causing irregular ignition timing, but not too much about complete failures.

That was my thought on the -6 when I decided to go optical. I didn't measure, but I
seriously doubt the magnets can be as accurate as slots. On the -6 we have the CDI so all that is inside the distributor is an LED and a detector. Outside the distributor is a transistor and 2 resistors (my build). Very limited amount of bad things can happen.

BTW I am not fool enough to carry spare points, but rather I just carry a whole
(basically valueless) Marelli with points in it. You don't need a timing light, just get
it running decent and get home. Not that I've needed it yet.

My pal Keith914 has had one or two fail on his previous 4.

Now, I believe, he is running one on his 2.7 conversion and it runs great.

Pertronix customer support has been excellent.

For the CDI system I think the bias toward points may be favorable, in a system where they are more than just a trigger, I really like the idea of a electronic module. I'm not cool with the unexpected quick death though