Wiring Question when upgrading to a pointless system

[Guest Ian.Harrold]

All, I am toying with upgrading to a pointless system. Petronix has model 2563LSP6 which should be a replacement for an Autolite IGS-4203 distributor with 6V + chassis.

Looking at the wiring diagram provided by Petronix here.

It shows the negative side being switched. However, my understanding the Coil's + side is attached to the armored ignition switch cable inside the cab. The "-" terminal is connected to the distributor. If this is the case, then I should be able to wire both the "Ignitor Black Wire" and the "+" terminal to the armored ignition switch? Or should I wire the "Ignitor Black Wire" to the negative power. If the coil is not energized (via the switched +, the ignitor should then likewise not be energized)?

Or should I simply run the Armored ignition switched line to the "Ignitor Black Wire" and then connect the "+" coil terminal to chassis. Which would reverse the current wiring.

Which is recommend? Anyone tried this system aswell or other petronix system?

[Guest DodgeKCL]

You're confusing negative ground and positive ground. The "-" would be connected to the distributor if the system was negative ground. But you have positive ground. The wire inside the armoured housing going to the dash is "-". So they want you to connect the Petronix electronics module to that wire so it gets "-" volts via the ignition switch in the dash. And the other Petronix wire from the module goes to the negative side of the coil. But this is the wire inside the armoured cable. The problem as I see it is how do you get to the wire inside the armoured cable to break into it? (You basically have to interrupt that wire with the Ignitor's blk/wht wire and it's blk wire. The blk wire going to the ignition switch and the blk/wht wire going to the coil terminal on the bottom of the coil.) You then just ground the the terminal on the coil that originally went to the distributor where it will pick up "+" ground on the chassis as they want.

Edited October 10, 2013 by DodgeKCL (see edit history)

[Guest Ian.Harrold]

Thanks DodgeKCL. Is this what you mean?

[Guest DodgeKCL]

The bottom diagram is the correct one. The original terminal on the side of the distributor is not used any more. (Except see below.) The Ignitor electronics take the place of the points and capacitor(condenser) and "make and break" the coil current by the switching produced by the Ignitor electronics. It picks up the cylinder information via it's magnetic pickup which you mount inside the distributor. BUT since the Ignitor electronics are INSIDE the distributor under the cap, you have to find some way to get the blk/wht wire and the blk wire out of the distributor and hooked up to the coil. You could use the "old" points terminal for one of them and then you just have to get the other through the distributor housing. Basically the Ignitor electronics switches the "-" volts (current actually) coming from the car's ignition switch "off and on" in response to the magnetic pulses coming form the Ignitor's pickup as it "watches' the cam lobes on the distributor shaft fly by. But the Ignitor "block" has to be inside the under the distributor cap AND you have to find some way to get inside the armoured cable to break into, and splice into, the original "-" wire coming from the dash ignition switch. It would be mucho easier if we didn't have these armoured cables enclosing the bottom of our coils on our CPDD vehicles.