Those of you with Pertronix

dolfan87 · Apr 22, 2004

I just ordered the ignitor for this 70 Mach I picked up, and I am wondering if it's ok to leave the resistor wire in place, or do I have to bypass it?

Thanks.

87

Hack · Apr 22, 2004

Umm, I have a pertronix, but I'm not sure what you're talking about. I just followed the directions that were with the unit. I really had no knowledge about what I was doing.

Do you have directions? Or are you asking this in advance of receiving the parts?

85MustGT · Apr 22, 2004

Its been a long time but I had a 69 Mustand once and I think I left the resistor intact. By The way the Pertronix unit is pretty cool. You should like it.

crushnut · Apr 22, 2004

Im pretty sure it will still work with the resistor wire left in (depending on how much the wire reduces the voltage), but ive been told that Pertronix recommends you use full 12 volts and i think it works better that way

pedalmasher · Apr 22, 2004

look here

http://www.geocities.com/rustobucket/Mustang_Pertronix-1.html

I've been meaning to add a Pertronix unit to my 69 Mach1, found this link a while back at another site.

Page 2 indicates that pink resistor wire is to remain.

jesserose17 · Apr 22, 2004

I have Pertronix II and it runs fine with resistor wire. They do recommend bypassing the resistor wire to get full performance benefit.

65fastback2+2 · Apr 22, 2004

whats the diff between the 1 and 2???

jesserose17 · Apr 22, 2004

Pertronix II has built-in shut down safety switch if Key is left in 'on' position without engine running. Also II comes with automatic dwell that adjust according to RPM's for better performance. Pertronix I doesn't have all those features mentioned above.

dolfan87 · Apr 22, 2004

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input.

usedtobe 67p51d · Apr 22, 2004

carry a spare petronix unit! I've been stranded twice!

MSD

pabear89 · Apr 23, 2004

usedtobe 67p51d said:
carry a spare petronix unit! I've been stranded twice!

MSD

That's why there is a pointset,cond and mounting screws in a plastic baggie in the glove box of the Cougar.
Mine has not failed yet But,
Cheap insurance to keep from walking.

PB

Red Barchetta · Apr 23, 2004

I used to run my Ignitor with the resistor wire. While it did run better than with the points, it had a harder time starting. One day I decided to put my handy dandy Fluke meter to use and I found out that I was only getting 4 volts to the Ignitor at idle.

I dumped the resistor wire and added a .08 ohm resistor to get the required 1.5 ohm resistance specified by Pertronix as my Mallory Promaster coil only puts out about .07 ohms resistance. Now the Ignitor sees about 11 volts at idle and it starts much better.

Great68 · Apr 23, 2004

I haven't had any problems for 3 years now, I never removed the resistor wire.

I am running the Ignitor II though, so I don't know if it's any different.

geordie · Apr 23, 2004

Like Red Barchetta I'm running the Ignitor II and have some problems starting.

1. How do you measure the voltage across the ignitor?
2. How do you identify if you have a resistor wire there. I don't mean by color, how do you measure the wire resistance?
3. What's involved in getting rid of the resistor wire? How easy is it to get behind the dash on a '65?

Red Barchetta · Apr 23, 2004

geordie said:
Like Red Barchetta I'm running the Ignitor II and have some problems starting.

1. How do you measure the voltage across the ignitor?
2. How do you identify if you have a resistor wire there. I don't mean by color, how do you measure the wire resistance?
3. What's involved in getting rid of the resistor wire? How easy is it to get behind the dash on a '65?

I didn't measure voltage "across" the ignitor, just how much was going to it. Just get a multi meter and measure the voltage going to the ignitor. I measured where the positive wire for the ignitor is connected to the coil, as this is also where the coil takes it's power from the ignition switch.

To measure resistance, you need to connect one side of your multi meter to the positive wire going to the coil, and the other side to the switched 12 volts ignition wire from the ignition switch. Do this with the power off. You do not want the ignition switch on while measuring resistance.

It would be easier if I had a diagram. I do not, but this person has one for a '66:

http://www.hammar.dyndns.org/~djhamma/wiring.htm

I didn't link directly to the image as I don't want this person's site to get hammered. But if you click on the 1966 Mustang Ignition, Starting and Charging schematic, you can see what I mean.

I don't know exactly what the differences are in wiring between a '65 and '66, but the should be very similar in regards to the ignition. If anything, the '65's may not have the resistor wire as for some reason, I think I've heard they added this later on.

Start by connecting one end of the multi meter at the #16 wire (red-green) wire at the ignition switch. Then connect the other end at the #16 wire (again, red-green) on the positive side of the coil. From there, you should be able to measure the amount of resistance your ignition is experiencing.

Remember, this if for a '66, your colors may be different.

It can be a pain to remove the resistor wire as you might have to fish it out of the wiring harness. I ended up completely replacing the wire from the ingition to the coil, replacing a couple of connectors along the way.

68 daily driver · Apr 24, 2004

Pertronix ignition

I have had this problem in my 68 302 engine involving Pertronix ignition and the "Pink resistor wire" located under the dash. If your pink resistor wire is working propertly, no problem leaving it intact while running pertronix ignition.
BUT, this pink resistor wire has a history of going bad and causing too much resistance and dropping the voltage very low at the coil. If this happens, you will have engine miss, and even the engine dying on you while going down the road. even after the engine dies, you may be able to start back up and go a little further and it dies again.
If this happens to you, you may want to cut out or bypass the pink resistor wire, the one that says, " do not cut or splice", and run a direct 12 volts to the coil from the ignition switch. a voltage check at the coil will tell you if your volts are too low, below 8-9 volts. You can run 12 volts if running a Pertronix ignitor I or II. BUT you must use a Pertronix 40,000 volt coil that has a resistor built into it. Other type of coils will more then likely fail having 12 volts going to them. Or you can mount a 1.5 ohm resistor on the firewall between the coil and ignition switch that will take the place of the pink resistor wire. If you run points instead of the Pertronix, you have to have a resistor in the line prior to the coil. If you do not, it will fry your points real quick like. I know from experience and it took alot of work and contacting people in the know before I found out what my problem was. In the meantime, I burn up a set of points and also fried one Pertronix ignitor. I am now runnig a Pertronix ignitor and coil combination. No problems.

68 dailydriver

Ozsum67 · Apr 24, 2004

True, while the pink wire has a history of going bad, the results are the exact oposite. It doesn't do much in the way of resisting, it lets MORE voltage through.

68 daily driver · Apr 24, 2004

Pertronix-pink resister wire

If the resister wire failed and allowed more voltage though, the most it would be would be 12 volts. this was not my case. My voltage had dropped down to around 4-5 volts at the coil because the pink resister wire crapped up and caused too much resistance to the voltage. All other cases I was made aware of was a result of severe voltage drop to the coil because of the resister wire going bad. The Pertronix unit will start acting up when the voltage gets down to 5-6 volts. Are you very sure about the voltage increasing instead of decreasing when the resistor wire fails.

68 dailydriver

Those of you with Pertronix

dolfan87

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85MustGT

crushnut

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Red Barchetta

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