Ignition Woes - DON'T Jump to Conclusions!

[Mike C]

1 hour ago, KiwiTR6 said:

Took the car for a quick jaunt tonight after work and what a difference a new set of leads has made!  Smooth power all the way to the red-line (where it has never been before during my ownership) with no hint of a misfire or pinking.  However, as often happens with these old vehicles, the safety catch on the bonnet fell apart when closing the bonnet after adjusting the idle on my return.  Never ending, but that is part of the joy of owning a classic car!

Gavin

Much better thread title.

A TR6 working well and on full song is a wondrous thing. Don't be tempted to run without a working safety catch- I did that once and had my bonnet fly open under hard braking.

[Mk2 Chopper]

2 hours ago, astontr6 said:

Pertronix do fail as I had one fail. I had it tested by Pertronix here in the UK as they are not far from where I live. I was given another one and that was 8 years ago and its still going strong.

Bruce.

I think some feel that pertronix or similar are not as good for a P.I. because we like to switch the ignition on to pressurise the system, but you'd have to have it on for some time to burn it out, probably not dissimilar to a set of points perhaps? 

Knowing that, I don't wait that long before firing mine up (pertronix equipped), as the pump is pretty rapid in building the pressure. 

I also agree with the new title to the thread.

Gareth

[kiwican]

1 hour ago, Mk2 Chopper said:

I think some feel that pertronix or similar are not as good for a P.I. because we like to switch the ignition on to pressurise the system, but you'd have to have it on for some time to burn it out, probably not dissimilar to a set of points perhaps? 

Knowing that, I don't wait that long before firing mine up (pertronix equipped), as the pump is pretty rapid in building the pressure. 

I also agree with the new title to the thread.

Gareth

I think I managed to do that once. It was not from trying to pressurize the system but I was doing something else and left the ignition on too long. I went with a different ignition after that but do not fault Pertronix for my failure.

 

Simon

[astontr6]

3 hours ago, Mk2 Chopper said:

I think some feel that pertronix or similar are not as good for a P.I. because we like to switch the ignition on to pressurise the system, but you'd have to have it on for some time to burn it out, probably not dissimilar to a set of points perhaps? 

Knowing that, I don't wait that long before firing mine up (pertronix equipped), as the pump is pretty rapid in building the pressure. 

I also agree with the new title to the thread.

Gareth

I have tested the pressure rise at the M/U with a Calibrated Pressure Gauge. It is more or less instant to working pressure using a Genuine Merc. Bosch Pump but not the same when doing the same test on a Lucas Pump. Both types of test had a rewire using 30 amp wire plus a relay.

Bruce.

[KiwiTR6]

17 hours ago, kiwican said:

I think I managed to do that once. It was not from trying to pressurize the system but I was doing something else and left the ignition on too long. I went with a different ignition after that but do not fault Pertronix for my failure.

 

Simon

The Powerspark unit I now have installed has built in protection against leaving the ignition on.  For that reason and the ease of swapping out an identical unit I won't bother refitting the Pertronix other than to check it works normally prior to selling it on.

[KiwiTR6]

21 hours ago, Mike C said:

Much better thread title.

A TR6 working well and on full song is a wondrous thing. Don't be tempted to run without a working safety catch- I did that once and had my bonnet fly open under hard braking.

Thanks for the tip Mike, although I'm definitely going to refit the safety catch I wouldn't have considered the heavy braking risk.