I've just installed a Pertronix EI and now find no spark at the plugs. The EI has only two wires- one red and one black. The red is wired to the positive coil terminal and the black to the negative coil terminal. I am wondering how I may have mis-wired such a simple device, if that's the problem. The only other explanation is that the EI is faulty out of the box. The coil positive terminal has 11.34 volts. Thanks in advance to any of you who can help me troubleshoot this! (I have just found this and will try it:
I do not know if my E-type is the same year and model as yours, or if my Pertronix add-on electronic ignition is the same model. It was already installed when I bought my car over a decade ago, so I don’t have details on the installation steps.
But on mine (1967 4.2 Series 1) the yellow and black wire is not connected at all. I don’t have a terminal on the distributor to attach it. I have it taped off, as well as it being disconnected on the coil side. I don’t have the black wire inside the distributor, either.
Thanks Dave, this car is a '69 4.2. I’m not sure what the purpose of this wire at the 2 O’clock position is- I was guessing maybe a distributor ground wire.
I would certainly remove that white/black wire from both the coil and the distributor.
I cannot tell from your 1st pic what the colors of the wires are on the coil – is that a solid white wire to the positive lug?
I ask because a coil that is connected backwards will work (mostly) with a set of points but not with a Pertronix. It is not out of the question that it is backwards as one commonly used wiring diagram has a schematic that shows it that way.
Yes, the solid white wire, which on mine has that vintage cloth-style insulating jacket, should be on the positive terminal of the coil.
The white/black smooth rubber wire (which kind of looked yellowish to me, sorry about the confusion) I think is a connection for the points. I guess the way it is now, it probably just does nothing if no points are installed. But I’d disconnect it from the coil anyway.
The black wire and terminal in the distributor really reminds me of part of a ignition point unit - I’m surprised it’s there. On mine, the instructions call for the complete removal of it and so there is no trace of it - maybe Pertronix changed their design?
thanks Dave. I found the Pertronix instructions to be lacking detail. It turned out the wiring was okay. You’re right about the black wire in the distributor.
The distance between the two components of the Pertronix EI needs to be .030"
To get this the adjustment of the new EI has to be set to its narrowest limit. My kid and I have been working on this car for months. Tomorrow we will try starting it after decades in storage. We can hardly wait.
I’m questioning the same wiring configuration. As best I can tell from the schematic the white/black wire connected to the 2:00 position in your photo is somehow related to the tach. The rubber bushing provided with the 166 Petronix unit fits well without the black plastic trim piece that sits between the cap and the dizzy body. I’ve drilled runs for the two Pertronic wires in the old bushing and install the cap back on. I don’t know if I have the wires correctly attached to the new coil or not. You stated that the wiring was correct but I have more wires attached to the coil than I see in your photo. What was your final outcome?
On the original/points set-up the white/black wire is the low tension lead from the coil to the distributor.
I don’t think it serves any purpose when using a Petronix. I unplugged it and zip-tied out of the way to be used if & when I need to install my backup (points) distributor.
William
Follow below
Red wire from Pertronix to positive on coil
Black wire from pertronix to negative on coil
All other wires do not attach to distributor
Your key wire White should go to your positive side of coil to power red wire to pertronix!
Everything else goes
You might have an inline ballast resistor
That goes too
Just take a test light turn on key
The white wire is there somewhere
Bypass ballast if you have one
Pm any time
Hopefully you didn’t burn out the unit
Gtjoey1314
To get it started…
Wait this thread is almost 2 years ago😳
No issues yet as I’m just in the process of installing. Confused a bit as to the hook-up. On my 1970 OTS the wires attached to the positive side of the coil as original are cloth covered and I unsure of the color, but I’ll peel a little back and see. The black lead going to the ballast resistor splices from that connector. I know that the ballast resistor is taken out of the mix by bypassing it but do the two wires that originally connected to either side need to be somehow spliced together…or just taped off? How does the tach receive any sort of a signal or is that irrelevant with this sort of ignition system? The wiring schematic I’m looking at has the white/black running to the negative side of the coil and what appears to be the other end of this wire is part of the wiring harness that terminates near the coil. From what I’m reading that is irrelevant as well? image|666x500
Yes, the op posted this originally two years ago but I was today old before I got around to reading it. Is it preferable on this site to start a new thread about what appears to be an old tired issue (looking at you Pertronic installation instruction writer!). Nothing burned up as no battery is in the car. I know from reading that I may expect tachometer issues…maybe.
The only white wire I see appear to be a continuation of the wire attached to the blade connector on the dizzy as it is the same white/black.
The wire which originally provided power to the positive side of the coil may have at one time appeared white, but time, oil and road grim have rendered it quite black. One clue is that the black wire that originally connected to one side of the ballast resistor splices into the bladed connector of this wire.
Speaking of the ballast resistor, do those leads need to be spliced or simply taped off?
…and, I believe you were starting to tell me something about getting it started.
Thanks for being a remarkably consistent resource on this site!
I have done this on two E-types, one a 69 with a non-ballasted system and one a 71 with a ballast resistor.
In both cases I kept the original coil so on the 71 I retained the ballast resistor. The Petronix doesn’t ‘know’ or ‘care’ about resistors, it just needs to see the correct resistance at the coil – so the resistor can be used if it is paired with a correct coil.
I see you are using a Pertronix coil which I believe means you will need to omit the external resistor and modify the wiring slightly to accommodate its absence.
Originally your car with its ballast resistor would have also had a starter relay on the firewall to provide starting current directly to the coil while cranking and then to the ballast resistor after the engine has started. This is the starter relay you may still have:
I did not do what you are trying to do – omit the ballast resistor, skip the relay and retain the stock Lucas distributor – so I haven’t work out exactly how that should be. You may need advice from someone who has done exactly that or someone who cares to work out the details or (if all else fails) examine the instructions and wiring diagram to figure out what you need.
Or… another alternative would be to use a stock coil (readily available for about 25 bucks) and simply use the Pertronix as a substitute for the points.
BTW - the tach worked just fine in both my applications and is run off the white wire before it goes to the coil.
Joe D sent you a pm
Gtjoey1314
Geo pic is very good
All your doing is taking the white wire stretched at the ballast and putting it to the positive side of the coil
Look at your pm
Thanks! Did you change to a 3 ohm coil and take the ballast resistor out of the mix?
If so, do the wires that originally attached to either side of the ballast resistor need to be spliced to complete a circuit or simply taped off?
It’s so hard to read these threads. I suppose my winter project will be to do a detailed write up on how the S1 and S2 ignition systems work, and how to add a variety of aftermarket ignition systems.
Let’s begin with this. The diagram you’re using is for the early S2 ignition, which didn’t have a ballast. This is the diagram for your system:
The white/black wire should be completely eliminated. The pertronix goes to the end of ballast resistor that’s away from the coil.
If you want to remove the ballast (why?), then you need to go to a 3 ohm coil. You CANNOT do what Joey tells you to do, because the stock coil is a 1.6 ohm unit, with a 1.4 ohm external resistor. Pertronix makes 3 and 1.5 ohm versions of all it’s coils, you need to order the correct rating for your application. Without a ballast, the system would look like this:
Yes I did put a new Pertronix coil in. I didn’t make any changes to my 1969 series two after reading various threads about this. I did replace spark plug wires.
