Hello,

My 60 f250 quit on me the other day. So I did the normal checks i.e. fuel delivery/ spark? fuel is OK. I wasn't getting any spark from the coil. I figured it was a good excuse to convert over to the pertronix electronic ignition and a new 40,000v coil. The cap and rotor are fairly new(both are clean and crack free). After installing the new parts she still isn't firing. I pulled the coil to cap wire and had my son crank the engine while I held the end about 3/16" from the a head bolt. I only got a minor spark at the end of the cranking. the paper work says to disconnect the red wire from the positive side of coil and run a jumper to the positive side of battery. Still nothing. When I checked the resistor wire it showed 5.9 volts. I ran a jumper wire  from the ignition to the coil positive side and still nothing. I even ran a jumper from the positive batery to the positive side of coil. and you quess it NOTHING. Please help. I am not the best when it comes to the electronics side of mechanics. I am sure it is something simple that you guys probably are thinking DUH!!! But my head is about to explode and my eyes are crossed from trying to get a better look at the dist. thanks for any advise.

James

One thing to check is to be sure that the ground wire that runs from the point/condenser mounting plate (and now is the mounting plate for your Pertronix module) is in place and connected.  If the ground wire is not present or is not attached, the Pertronix will not function.

Regards.

Dave

James,

Check the ground as Dave suggested. If you have a multimeter check that you have a fully charged battery. then if you are running the jumper directly to the coil check that you are indeed getting full voltage.  Check your resistance to ground. 

If all is good but still won't run stick your points back in and see if it will run with them. It could be a damaged or faulty Pertronix unit. If it's a igniter I they don't like being left on without the engine running.

You should have 8.5v with the resistor wire.

 Try to keep it to one change at a time. problems compound and it's harder to trouble shoot if you have multiple problems. The Pertronix unit should have gone into a good running engine.

Cheers

Warren 

Grizzly (Aussie Mainline)

I don't think you mentioned it but did you change the coil too? That may be the whole problem. Chuck

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Thanks  for the suggestions. I will recheck the ground wire inside the dist.  I have already replaced the coil with pertronix's epoxy filled 40,000v.

I will also recheck the resistor wire to see what voltage I am getting. I picked up a new wire after lunch today, so if need be I can replace. This truck has had a lot of grounding issues. I have run multiple grounding cables at various locations. Battery is  recently new,but I will check as well.

You mention it has grounding issues, maybe fit heavy earth lead from bock to frame, simple test is to put a jumper lead from block to frame and check for better spark or contacts etc.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

One thing I neglected to mention earlier.  If you have purchased the new Pertronix coil, you will no longer need a resistor in the circuit (some older cars like my 57 had a block resistor and yours apparently has a resistor wire).  The Pertronix coil can function fine without a resistor.  The original coil would burn out if powered without a resistor.  The reason I mention the resistor is that you must not have the resistor in the circuit to power the Pertronix module in the distributor because it must have the full 12 volts in order to function.  You did mention that you ran a jumper wire from the battery to the Pertronix, but I just wanted to mention that you need to have 12 volts to the module and that you no longer need a resistor if you have the Pertronix coil.

Regards,

Dave

Thats what I was thinking Dave...full 12 v with a performance coil.

James Potter
`57 Fords International



`57 Custom Tudor

`57 Fords International National Director

Pass Christian, MS (near Gulfport/Biloxi)

Thanks guys,

Thats what I was thinking too. So, should I run a new wire from the ignition to the coil? There by eliminating the resistor wire.

The paper work from pertronix is a little confusing. the igniter paper says to leave the resistor in place. the coil paper work says to remove the resistor.

I am putting a charge on the battery. It was showing 12.48v on a fairly new battery. I am also going to pull the igniter out and clean the mounting area again. especially where the ground connects.

Thanks again for the advice

James

If you change to their coil it has correct resistance that you can discard the resistor.Run a new wire from ignition switch if you have a resistor wire instead of an external one which can be bypassed.If you want to be sure you have good ground for the distributor clamp a booster cable on the body and to the negative post on battery.i agree you should re-install points condensor and get it running first and than install the Pertronix.If you have the original Pertronix(1) you cant leave the ignition turned on without the motor running.You will fry it in short order.The Pertronix(2) which I have eliminated that problem.Thats the main difference between the 2.