[Lance7489]

Does anyone know what the life span of Pertronix ignitors are? Mine's been in my 69 Mustang convertible for well over 10 years although with only around 10K of mileage on it. Over the last year, the idle has been acting a bit funky, sort of inconsistent. Also, stalling when accelerating from a standing start. ...... I originally had the ignitor I & about 14 years ago upgraded to the Ignitor II. I still have my original Ignitor I & put that in just to see if it made a difference........& it did!! ,,,,,Smoother, more consistent idle, not sure about the stalling issue yet.

I also recently found that the "II" was only supposed to be used in more high-performance applications. At the time when I bought it, I just thought it was an improved version. My 302 is pretty much standard stock, with just an autolite 2100 carb, certainly not "HI PO".

Could it be that my ignitor II is just dying a slow death, or is it not the proper match for my engine?

 

[daves67ss]

I have the original Pertronix on my 67 for maybe 20 years. Never a problem.

 

[myfirstcar66]

Usually when an Ignitor goes bad, it goes -dead-.
I have one on my car that is 25 years old. No issues.
I do keep a points plate with points and condenser ready to drop in if it failed. It's possible that you "fixed" your problem not by switching the Ignitor, per se, but by removing the cap and rotor and knocking off some corrosion, or by changing the wire or connection to and from the ignition coil.

 

[Rufus68]

To verify, put the Ignitor II back in and see if the issue returns. There is always the possibility something else unexpected caused the improvement.

 

[W427]

If you wired the P-I and P-II correctly, the wiring is different. Also, for best performance the coils are different. The most common issues with either is incorrect wiring, poor grounds, poor heat transfer from module to plate (dirty, corroded, loose, etc), and poor condition or incorrect coil type.

Trivia - in one of my seminars with a Wells ignition representative, their info stated that ignition coils should be tested at 25k miles for spec, and replaced at 50k miles (even if in-spec) due to slow degradation. Yes, Wells makes auto parts to sell, but the concept is valid.

 

[PonyCarMan]

I've run them in multiple Fords for almost 30 years. I've suspected them as being the source of an ignition problem a few times, but they have never been the problem. Coils, connections, improper wire routing have been the source, never the Pertronix.

 

[Lance7489]

I also switched the coil back to one that's supposed to go with the ignitor I (I also have the two pertronix coils. One for the Ignitor, one for the ignitor II). Maybe it's the coil that was the problem. From what I'm hearing, that seems more likely.

 

[Lance7489]

I watched the video on CJ Pony's website. According to the so called "expert", the Ignitor I is for a "regular" ford V8 & the II is for high performance applications. Is this really true? Is it possible by using the II, it was sort of a mismatch to my more standard engine?

 

[Lance7489]

If you wired the P-I and P-II correctly, the wiring is different. Also, for best performance the coils are different. The most common issues with either is incorrect wiring, poor grounds, poor heat transfer from module to plate (dirty, corroded, loose, etc), and poor condition or incorrect coil type.

Trivia - in one of my seminars with a Wells ignition representative, their info stated that ignition coils should be tested at 25k miles for spec, and replaced at 50k miles (even if in-spec) due to slow degradation. Yes, Wells makes auto parts to sell, but the concept is valid.

How is the wiring different?....Both the I & II just have positive & negative leads, nothing else. I had both wired exactly the same.

 

[image98]

One of my cars has an Igniter I and Pertronix flame thrower canister coil installed in 1993. I currently use the car as a daily driver. A second car also has a Pertronix from 2006. The car is also running well. In my experience, if you check and maintain clean contacts, the Pertronix will last for years. I recently upgraded another car from Igniter I to II in addition to the coil. If I recall, one of the main differences between the two is that the newer model has an added protection to not burn up if a vehicle if left with the key in the RUN position when the engine is off. The II will also work fine without bypassing the pink resistance wire.

 

[Kelly_H]

The PI seems to be the most reliable of the three - PO put a PI in Jane many years before I got her, and it made it about 10 years before I burned it out by leaving the key on. I later put in a PIII distributor which died within 5 miles (and many others on this board seem to have had similar experiences, not sure if it's the ignition module itself or the Petronix dizzies that are bad). Put the PI back in and have been rocking it ever since. It's been nearly 10 years, over 65,000 miles, and nary a problem. The coil, however, died a couple of years ago at the 7-year mark, and I had to replace it on the road.

I carry a spare PI unit in the glovebox just in case, since it's small and easy to carry anyways. I also carry a spare whatever coil in the trunk now since it seems the more likely of the two to go bad...

 

[bsolo66]

I had a PI 2 distributor and coil in my 66FB. First PI 2 module lasted around 8 months, replacement PI 2 module lasted 10 days. When I talked to the pertronix technician (yes, one finally answered the phone after 40 minute wait time), he did the usual check this, check that....and during the conversation he mentioned when the PI 2 logic that shuts the module off when it senses the ignition is on but engine is not running, sometimes the module does not turn back on. And you cannot mix modules in the pertronix distributors. Pulled the pertonix distributor out and have been running the original points distributor ever since.

 

[Woodchuck]

The Ignitor I is, for all intents and purposes, a "solid-state" (transistorized) on-off switch. It is "normally-closed" and when the "module" senses the passing of the magnet in the reluctor, it opens the circuit to "fire" the ignition coil.

The Ignitor II performs not only this simple switching function, but has logic to dynamically adjust the dwell (the time span the coil primary circuit remains closed) according to engine speed to optimize spark quality.

Whenever you make an electronic control more complex you open the door to the possibility that part(s) may fail to perform as designed, resulting in inconsistent performance. When you consider that the entire "processor" is located in an inhospitable environment (heat, vibration, electro-magnetic interference) the component needs to be well-made to resist these factors.

 

[JimboJones]

When the Pertonix die, they really die. I had an ignitor II fail in the middle of an intersection as I was pulling out from the crossroad onto the main road. Hairy situation for sure. I another Pertronix II die when I came out to start the car. Both had maybe 500 miles and 6 months on them. I've been running the collar-less Pertronix III now for several years and several thousand miles without issue. Knock on wood.

 

[Blues Power]

I ran one right off the coil (+) from the late 80s for over 20 yrs. never had an issue
when Tim did my Dizzy back in 15 he came back with points and the P1 in a bag.
when i called him about it he told me to leave it be.
car runs just as good. id never know the box wasn't there

so every few years to have to put a gun on it and give it a twist. no big deal

 

[Rufus68]

I installed an Ignitor II and matching coil back in 2013. No issues to report. Probably about 12k miles. If and when I switch it, I have a Duraspark2 setup to install.

 

[69GT350H]

You did not mention and maybe you have already covered this, the Ignitor 1 might be more forgiving than the 2 and 3. Per Pertronix, the Ignitor module should have a full 12v at all times. This would require bypassing the built in resister/Pink wire under the dash.

 

[Woodchuck]

You did not mention and maybe you have already covered this, the Ignitor 1 might be more forgiving than the 2 and 3. Per Pertronix, the Ignitor module should have a full 12v at all times. This would require bypassing the built in resister/Pink wire under the dash.

Something to consider......

Many people insist on connecting the RED wire power supply for the Pertronix Ignitor by "piggybacking" on to the coil+ (coil primary circuit power feed) terminal. I STRONGLY recommend against so doing.

Why, you ask? If I bypass the under-dash resistance wire I'll get my "twelve volts", right? Well, yes..... and no. You'll have 12vDC at the coil+ when the primary circuit is OPEN. Each time the circuit closes you'll have voltage reflecting the TOTAL resistance in the circuit, the wiring and connections, the coil primary windings and the switched ground path via the Pertronix Module. Hundreds of times per second that voltage is going to not only swing back and forth, but each time the circuit opens a voltage spike will occur that will want to find the easiest path to ground or back out the way it came.

Providing a clean 12vDC switched ignition source to either the ignition switch "C" terminal or via an ignition-switched relay will isolate the Pertronix module from that abuse.

 

[Lance7489]

Something to consider......

Many people insist on connecting the RED wire power supply for the Pertronix Ignitor by "piggybacking" on to the coil+ (coil primary circuit power feed) terminal. I STRONGLY recommend against so doing.

Why, you ask? If I bypass the under-dash resistance wire I'll get my "twelve volts", right? Well, yes..... and no. You'll have 12vDC at the coil+ when the primary circuit is OPEN. Each time the circuit closes you'll have voltage reflecting the TOTAL resistance in the circuit, the wiring and connections, the coil primary windings and the switched ground path via the Pertronix Module. Hundreds of times per second that voltage is going to not only swing back and forth, but each time the circuit opens a voltage spike will occur that will want to find the easiest path to ground or back out the way it came.

Providing a clean 12vDC switched ignition source to either the ignition switch "C" terminal or via an ignition-switched relay will isolate the Pertronix module from that abuse.

If you don't attach the red wire to the coil, where do you recommend attaching it?..........On the CJ Pony video, the so called "expert" never mentions this & attaches it right to the coil. He also mentions nothing about disconnecting a pink wire under the dash.

 

[Woodchuck]

If you don't attach the red wire to the coil, where do you recommend attaching it?..........On the CJ Pony video, the so called "expert" never mentions this & attaches it right to the coil. He also mentions nothing about disconnecting a pink wire under the dash.

LOL. Mentioning CJPP and "expert" is like saying "Senate Intelligence Committee".

There are a couple options for installing any solid-state ignition trigger's power supply.

1 - New wire back through firewall to ignition switch "C" terminal. Simplest and probably cheapest. Not recommended for Ignitor I as you can still fry it by inadvertently leaving the key "ON".
2 - Relay in engine compartment switched by connection to BROWN wire from solenoid "I" terminal. A bit less invasive than going through the firewall, but you'll need a relay that will stay energized at 6vDC.

How I'd do it? New wire back to ignition switch "C" terminal. Timer relay run through oil pressure safety switch. This would provide 12vDC to the Pertronix immediately upon turning the ignition switch "ON" for, say, 30 seconds and, after that, oil pressure would need to exceed the value of the sender (7-8 psi) for the ignition to receive power. A bit more complex, still relatively cheap, no chance of damaging the components by leaving the key "ON", and the ignition will shut-down on loss of oil pressure.