distributor problem

[Guest]

I have had my pertronix (enabled) distributor for about 7 months now (loved it till now!)and have just finished rebuilding my engine - everything is together, but we have no fire to the plug. We have gone through everything, checked the air gap, tightened the distributor ground, tested resistance, amperage, and voltage across every conceivable connection. The only thing that keeps coming back is I must have no ground. <P>Is it possible to have somehow lost the ground to my distributor? How would one go about grounding the distributor? I am stuck! I know that the ground should connect to the breaker plate inside the distributor, but where is the best place for the other end to go? ( please keep your jokes to yourself ha!) <P>Seriously - I have considered going from the breaker plate to the negative on the coil, to a bolt on the block, even to the magnetic pickup bolt on the ignitor. I was getting to the point tonight where all logic about this was going out the door! Put the distributor in take it out, check the gap, turn the ignition over, look at it for 15 mins, turn it over again, whisper sweet nothings into the vacuume advance - nothing seems to work! I figured it was time to ask for help before my friends started worrying about me - and Christine lol! <P>help

[Guest]

Where's the rotor? on the bench?

[Guest]

Ha! Too funny chuck. I have even called pertronix for help - I am wonder if the pertronix module is hosed. Anyway still wondering what could be the problem. Just seems like there is no ground to complete the circuit.

[Guest]

Wasn't trying to be sarcastic, I've done it myself more than I care to admit.<P>Your points plate should be grounded to the distributor housing with a braided wire. How's the resistance of your high tension wire? 12V going to the coil when you are cranking, maybe the ign switch crapped out? How about engine block ground? Is the distr turning, maybe it is not seated in the oil pump drive? Has the distributor drive gear pin sheared?<P>Need more info on what you have checked?

[Guest]

No problem Chuck - First thing I ask someone when they say "my computer won't start" is Did you plug it in?!! It is those simple little situations that I keep thinking (knowing) is the cause of this.<P>I have 11.3 volts to the coil during crank. I have a Blaster 2 coil. No ballast. No resistor wire (bypassed). At this point we are completely "Hotwiring" and bypassing the ignition switch. But will need to bypass the resistor wire from the ignition to the coil once we know what is really the issue here. Any advise on how to do run this wire (to and from). Attachments etc.<P>Distributor drive / gear looks good. Dist is "all the way down", but will take off cap and turn over to ensure it is rotating.<P>We have power all the way to the coil (both terminals, but once we get to the distributor we are shooting blanks. <P>Grounds - this is the kicker. How can i tell if the distributor has a good ground? The ground wire on the breaker plate is tight. I see the ground wire on the breaker plate is secured, but I am beginning to think that the wire is broken off inside the dist ??. So, if I were to run a ground wire from inside the distributor to the breaker plate where would I run the other end to: the coil, the pertronix magnetic ring (bolt), or to a bolt on the block? The engine itself is grounded to the frame.<P>Imagine - all that torque and HP being held up by 12 volts (or the lack there of)!<P><BR>Thanks,<BR>Cisco

[Guest]

Sounds like you've done your homework, the distr is usually grounded to the engine through the hold down clamp. Is there a freshly painted distr body causing this? I would poke around with an ohmmeter to make sure the breaker plate is getting a ground to the frame, if not this might narrow down your hunt for the grounding problem. <P>It is possible that the Pertronics unit is dead. Testing it would depend if it is the optical unit or the magnetic reluctor type. I can assist once I know this.

[Guest]

When I installed my first Pertronix setup I noticed that little wire (the ground wire) is welded(?) to the underside of the breakerplate and then connected to where the original points wire ran. Since the wire broke off, and no longer have points(yay!) I just put two new circle connectors on a 18gauge black wire and ran one end to a screw on the Ignitor module and the otherend to a screw that secures the vac advance on. Never a problem since.. Just make sure to run the wire underneath the breakerplate as much as you can so there's no binding when the advance comes into move the thing.. heh<P>To bypass the resistance wire that goes from the fuse box to the coil (this is using my 71 as the example) buy a new red, black or whatever color 16-18 gauge wire and tap in connectors. I used 18gauge I think. Anyhow, on the fuse box under the master cylinder you'll find a braided wire, it's a cloth sheathing instead of plastic, you'll see that it runs to the coil or almost, where they use a splice connector to make two wires out of it, one to the starter(?) and one to the coil. Start your tap as close to the fuse box as you can, and end it about a half to a inch from the splice connector. Bingo, 12V.. :-)<P>Hope ya get it all working!<P>Scott

[Guest]

Well, sounds like we have something to work with now. Thanks for the tip on the wire(s) installation CyberBuick. <P>Chuck, The distributor was not painted, but only cleaned up. Thanks for the how to check my ground, + lead to battery light indicator /or - on voltometer to baseplate (see what I mean about logic going out the door) <P>I believe I have the magnetic ring (it is the first Ignitor - not the Ignitor II). <P>The guys at Pertronix stated that I could not use the Blaster 2 coil without the ballast and that it was incompatible. I was also told that if the resistor wire is run to the Blaster coil i could have to much resistance and would lead to a decrease of Amps. Anyone have experience with running a blaster 2 coil and pertronix. <P>Thanks again,<BR>Cisco

[Guest]

The update....<P>Well, never got the pertronix unit working, switched back to points and car fires right up. There was no problem with the ground and with the .8ohms ballast and the resistance of the coil .7ohms brings me to: 11.3 cranking volts / 1.5ohms = 7.5Amps which should work find with the ignitor right? Oh well...<P>Anyway, I am thinking the ignitor is hosed - strange since it worked flawlessly from day one. I'll probably try it again once everthing is dialed in and seated in the motor.<P>Chuck da Machinist - I have the magnetic (not optical) ignitor. I'd like to check and see if the unit is broken - can you help me out?<P><BR>Thanks again,<BR>Cisco

[Guest]

Whatalark you've found the problem, toss it in the garbage. The pickup and ignitor is integral on these so there is not much to test (I think). Buy another one and chalk up it up to expierience. Perhaps someone else on the forum knows a specific testing procedure.

[Guest]

I'm sorry you gave up, but know this, if the unit failed you can call up Pertronix and get a replacement for free or maybe S&H. The waranty on the thing is quite a selling point.<P>There are 3 types of Ignitor's, The original Ignitor came in two versions, the magnetic pickup and a lobe sensing version. The Ignitor II module (to my knowledge) only comes as the magnetic type. It should say on the unit which series it is.<P>If using the Original Ignitor, then use the same series Flamethrower unit. If ya have the Ignitor II, ,then use the II series FT unit. I'd highly recommend using the FT units with the Ignitor modules.<P>You can get away with leaving the ballast resistor in with the LobeSensing unit better then the magnetic type as it's not quite a picky. They (the Ignitor and FT units) were made to run on 12V straight current, but are supposed to be 'compatible' with the ballast resistor. I find that somewhat untrue, many people have problems with it while leaving the ballast in, it's easier to spend 5 more min and bypass the resistor wire.<P>When you had the thing in and tryied to start it, did you leave the Key-On for about 10-20 seconds before turning to Start? If not, might want to try it.<P>As for testing the thing, I have no idea. Might call Pertronix and see if they can tell you, as long as they don't say, "Try it in another engine". lol...<P>Cheers<P>Scott

[JUSTIN]

I put a lobe sensing unit in my 65 riv a couple months ago. it started right up but died right away. They book said it wasnt getting enough volts. so I put a direct wire to the coil from the fuse box and it works fine. I did have a 45,000 coil and it died at idle so they recommended a 40,000 coil and it works now. I don't know if I have damaged the unit but its been working for a couple months.<P>Is there a difference in my new stock 40,000 coil and a Flamethrower 40,000 coil?

[Guest]

Well, I guess I will be taking her out for a spin today. I'll try putting the unit back in the future, but pretty much tired of thinking about it for now. I have a couple of other issues to track down (in another post). <P>Thanks for all the help.