Pertronix Problem ?

A

Aussiecsi

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Guys, I checked out some threads on the Pertronix and couldn't find anything specific so hopefully someone can assist.

A number of us here in Perth bought some Pertronix units ( based on VIN ). The first was installed in a CS without incident . The second was installed in another (csi) by a competent practitioner ( Wally of Jakarta fame ) and the pertronix unit fused/blew up . A third was installed by a BMW "guru" mechanic in a csi and it met the same fate as the previous csi ( the latter also had a brand new distributor ).

Suffice to say I have deferred installing my unit and the question has arisen as to whether this could be a csi "thing"?

Thoughts please
 
I must be lucky then. I have two cars with Pertronix and have not had any failures. The biggest problem with Pertronix is getting the right voltage to the distributor unit and having the correct coil to go with it. The original Pertronix needs a reduced voltage via a ballast resistor or resistor wire or some similar system. Pertronix II can run on full voltage. As I recall, Pertronix II requires a low internal resistance coil.

I think most of the Pertronix failures are due to mismatched components.
 
Pertronix are widely used in British

Cars with very low failures. I've had horrible luck w them lately, perfect success wih them In others . In particular I don't trust their newer LS models that don't use a magnet wheel.
 
We both speak English Chris but things still get lost in traslation :)..... I was actually making a statement confirming that 1868's is what got installed ( whereas i think you thought i was asking if that 's what should be installed ?) Anyway, it seems that installing these units can be a bit of a lottery going by some of the comments. I'm no boffin on these things so is it possible that you ( or someone ) could be kind enough to provide something of a " pre-flight" checklist of things to note/verify that can be given to the professional installer to try and mitigate the chancses of another Pertronix fatality ?
Thanks for your interest and expertise.Cheers,Simon
 
CSLCOUPE said:
Most Petronix unit's fail .
Click to expand...

Can you please elaborate ? Ive been on this board for quite some time and I dont recall ever hearing this. Mine has been going strong for 7 years. If I have been playing the odds and should prepare for a failure Id like to know. Plus, my issues with carburation and timing are well documented. SOunds like I may need to take a look at the Petronix
 
Well , at the expense of you all poking fun, my coil was in backwards, done by the PO but the car ran fine. If I did not look at the positive/neg sides of the coil and just followed directions, red to ballast with ignition, black to coil on side which led to points, I would have reversed the Petronix setup and possibly fried it. Guess this is a potential cause to avoid
 
Hi, I installed the Pertronix 1868 today after work in my fjord 3.0Si. Since I noticed some bogs on low revs and light load and some hesitation at +4.5k rpm I thought it might be worth a try.

The instructions are very straight forward and at the same time I fitted a Bosch red coil. I went with the "Made in Brazil" item this time although I have a spare red Made in Germany if the brazilian should not be up to the job. Since my car doesn't have the resistor but a resistor wire (0.9 ohm) as it was produced after August 1973 I wired the red wire from the Pertronix unit to terminal 50 on the main relay behind the brake booster.

As I also took the dizzy out of the car for some cleaning it took about 2 hours. The points looked quite used after less than 5000 miles and this was a good moment to get rid of them. I have the feeling that cars with D-jetronic have some more than healthy appetite when it comes to points... The car now idles like a dream, doesn't hesitate or bog about but pulls strong to 6400 rpm- in short: it runs like it should :-)

You just have to love a well set up D-jet BMW! Driving home was very nice!

Cheers
Anders
 
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You may want to look into a 1.8ohm resistor, that's what a red coil needs, I was using the stock one and I think it is what caused my engine to randomly shut down, once blowing out my rear exhaust with the backfire.
 
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