New a4 owner hoping for some assistance

[Sailorsb]

Ok. All good information. After tearing into this this afternoon I think its just time for a full tune up. Everything is wore some and plugs are obviously old. Coil reads good and getting power but no spark. Problem is I was hoping to leave here tomorrow night to get to a spot where I have better support. Only get the odd 24h with under 25kn winds and tomorrow nights one of them. If I'm understanding correctly this coil will work just not last as long as the right one? Maybe local parts store has cap and rotor button? And they should have plugs no problem.

I’m new to this forum, but in the photo it looks like there may be a cut in the insulation on one of the wires coming from the (+) terminal of your coil. If the conductor is exposed, it could short to ground.

Steve
Port Huron, MI

[joe_db]

The easy way is to hook it up and see if it works. Actually there is no other way to test the Pertronix that I know of.

[W2ET]

Steve (Sailorsb) pointed this out.

[stranded-sailor]

I’m new to this forum, but in the photo it looks like there may be a cut in the insulation on one of the wires coming from the (+) terminal of your coil. If the conductor is exposed, it could short to ground.

Steve
Port Huron, MI

Your correct there is. Has since been repaired. Thank you

[sastanley]

s-s - it's OK dude, that is how we all learn. You can use a 1.5Ω coil provided you have sufficient external resistance in front of it. I experimented quite a bit with different external ceramic resistors until I was satisfied. the ignition is likely fine, it is the coil that will get fried, but they usually come back for a while. The way you tell if that coil is fried is run the motor and if it goes 45-90 minutes and shuts off, the coil is toast. then it will cool down and run for a little while again.

edit - oops, i missed the entire 2nd page.

[stranded-sailor]

s-s - it's OK dude, that is how we all learn. You can use a 1.5Ω coil provided you have sufficient external resistance in front of it. I experimented quite a bit with different external ceramic resistors until I was satisfied. the ignition is likely fine, it is the coil that will get fried, but they usually come back for a while. The way you tell if that coil is fried is run the motor and if it goes 45-90 minutes and shuts off, the coil is toast. then it will cool down and run for a little while again.

edit - oops, i missed the entire 2nd page.

Yes, running 30 to 40 minutes was the issue at first. New coil which apparently is incorrect but I'm going to get a resistor for it. The last shutdown(which was after the new coil) I believe is a tune up problem, or atleast thats what I'm going to do next to eliminate it as the plugs and rotor button are very bad looking. Hoping that solves the issue, if not atleast its out of the way. Tks for your reply

[Dave Neptune]

The rotor and cap should be replaced at the same time. While you are under the cap be sure and give the C-advance a twist to be sure it moves freely and returns smoothly too.

Dave Neptune

[stranded-sailor]

I was just looking at the moyer site and see that there are two distributor caps which look identical. I do not have points, one cap says for ignitor systems. Would this be the one I want? Also my engine is a '72. Would this be a late model?

[sastanley]

I used the points cap that I had on hand, and used a sharp knife to open the cutout at the base a bit to handle the extra wire & rubber grommet which was absent in the points system. The early model Prestolites were smaller in diameter and I think had clips, whereas the late models are larger and screw down caps. As Dave said, make sure you have some light oil while you are in there and made sure the spring loaded advance works..The distributor shaft is actually two, one rotates inside the other to do the timing advance. You should be able to twist the shaft about 17 degrees (inner I think, been a couple years) and it should spring back with force and pop right back into place. It is easy to forget maintenance on this piece with EI because you aren't pulling the cap regularly to fool with points. If you can't get a fresh cap & rotor right away, some emery cloth or sand paper can clean up the contacts until you can replace cap & rotor.

[Borrowed Time]

Electronic Ignition woes

I had this same issue when I converted my A4 from points/condenser to a Pertronics Electronic Ignition like that shown in OP's picture. I had intermittent shut downs happening and it about drove me crazy using coils from here and there. I finally broke down and bought Don Moyer's coil. It was quite a bit more expensive than what you will get from an auto parts store, but my random shut down problems ended the day I installed Don's coil. Oh and I have no resistor in-line, it is not needed as long as charging voltage is reasonable. It simple and it works beautifully on my A4. As for charging, I am using the original motorola alternator with a newer external voltage regulator after my old one died. I now charge below 14 volts and the system seems to be working great.

[sastanley]

Chris, It would be a couple interesting data points to know when running:

(+) voltage at the coil (be sure to use engine to ground, not (-) post)
(+) voltage at the alternator post
(+) voltage at the battery post

Many of us went thru this exercise way back on the forum, and had interesting results. Lots of our old boats see significant voltage loss if we have a cockpit mounted ammeter. I ended up removing mine and went straight to the batteries from my alternator and then adjusted my charge voltage to my personal preference (running an m5-197 adjustable regulator on my OEM Motorola)

This will also provide some fresh data for stranded-sailor to digest.

[Borrowed Time]

Electronic Ignition Woes

I'll check voltages this weekend and get back to you all.

[ndutton]

Pertinent information from the manufacturer of the electronic ignition is found here.

[Borrowed Time]

Electronic Ignition woes

Evening all,

As requested by Shawn, I checked voltage readings at the requested points and all came in around 13.4 volts. I don't have an ammeter. I dumped it in favor of a simple voltage gauge in the cockpit panel.
As per advice on this board years ago, ran a secondary 6 or 8 gauge jumper line (w a 50 amp fuse) from the alternator output lug to the nearby positive lug on the starter giving the alternator a direct path to the batteries. Somewhere along the way I replaced the voltage regulator with one much like your original that also has this tiny adjusting pot inside the shell. I set it at 13.4 and the system seems to be happy at that voltage.