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  #1   IP: 24.152.131.155
Old 10-20-2011, 07:51 AM
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ndutton ndutton is offline
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Electronic Ignition

Here are a few notes on Pertronix electronic ignition systems and their effect on coils. It's neither a drawing nor a schematic but I repeated it here to make the resistor calculator easier to find.:

Through testing and following an advisory from Pertronix regarding a 4 amp system maximum we found the addition of a ballast resistor in the ignition primary circuit significantly reduced coil heat in some cases. Internal coil resistance combined with coil input voltage were found to be consistent predictors of coil heat and subsequent failure. There is no indication a resistor will fix a sick coil. If your coil has overheated to a point of shut down, it's damaged internally and needs replacement.

We now have a simple ballast resistor calculator specific to the Atomic 4 with Pertronix electronic ignition. It applies what we've learned on the lengthy Coil Input Information thread and adds a 15% safety factor. You need to input two values, it provides a resistor value to one decimal place. Note that this is the best information we have at this time. Should new info emerge, we'll adjust the calculation as necessary.

Ballast Resistor Calculator.xls

For those unable to open the calculator or without Excel, smosher provided a free program to resolve the issue found here.
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1977 Catalina 30
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prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22
Had my hands in a few others

Last edited by ndutton; 11-29-2011 at 09:14 AM.
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  #2   IP: 108.23.219.10
Old 10-20-2011, 08:47 AM
Dave Neptune Dave Neptune is offline
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Nice work Niel! Now that you have done the Pertronix and understand it's limitations, I have a quick question. Do you have any numbers on the power rating on the Indigo unit? I'll dig around in my boat stuff and wee if I can find my paper work on it today.

Certainly hope that this eleviates the percieved problems regarding coil zapping.

Dave Neptune
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  #3   IP: 24.152.131.155
Old 10-20-2011, 09:29 AM
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No Dave, I don't but I was thinking along those same lines. I wonder if Indigo has any system amperage limitations and how their dwell compares to Universal's specs.

edit:
Dave, I recall that you have had excellent performance from your Indigo ignition. Would please measure your dwell, coil resistance and input voltage at cruising RPM for comparison? Any other Indigo users care to contribute to the database?
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prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22
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Last edited by ndutton; 10-20-2011 at 12:15 PM.
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Old 10-20-2011, 09:39 AM
smosher smosher is offline
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wouldn't the issue be with the coil and not the ignition module.
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  #5   IP: 24.152.131.155
Old 10-20-2011, 09:45 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smosher View Post
wouldn't the issue be with the coil and not the ignition module.
In the course of testing, the only difference I measured between points and Pertronix EI was dwell and the difference was significant, like double for the EI. I formed an opinion that the increased dwell - combined with our few number of cylinders and low RPM - might be oversaturating the coil. It's interesting that we've heard many stories of coils that worked for decades with points were quickly cooked after the switch to EI.
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Had my hands in a few others
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Old 10-20-2011, 12:40 PM
Dave Neptune Dave Neptune is offline
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Wink Ok

Niel, will do. I will check my paper work and see if I can find a dwell meter somewhere. For kicks I will check the specs on one of my old Allisons that we ran some really Hi-voltage performance colis with @ over 10,000 on some rotary apps. Also used them in many dune buggies as they were very durable. That was the first Electronic I used on my A-4 26 years ago, it is also a photo optic trigger not a "hall-effect" type.
I will be going by the boat tonight maybe and if I have time I get her lit, check my running voltages and get the part number off my "Flame thrower" coil.

Dave Neptune
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Old 10-20-2011, 01:35 PM
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Ah, good point. I was thinking along the lines of keeping the ei and decreasing the amount of current through the coil. The argument can certainly be to use points as the dwell is less and less dwell means less current flowing through the coil
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