points as backup

[pookster]

Well I finally bought myself pertronix and installed it into my '65 mustang 200. But after a few minutes it died. So I looked under the cap and the wires were cut up. So I did the best I could with some solder and fixed it as much as possible. So I was wondering if I was driving down the road and the car died could I just put back in the points? If so would I need to reset the gap between the contacts, and what would be the gap size?
Mike

 

[Asa]

yup, you'll be able to keep the points for extra insurance, i did for the longest time

dunno 'bout the gap though

 

[Anonymous]

Pookster,

A lesson that I also learned the hard way, except it pulled my wires completely out of the module.

I put the points in and gapped to .026 I believe. I also had to change my plug gap back to stock .035 I think. If you have the points you can get it running with just a guesstimate gap setting and when you get it home you can set it correctly. Remember to retime it as well. Mine was way off after I changed back. ??????

Definately keep a set of points in your vehicle if you run a Petronix. I've heard Petronix is reliable but points got me home.

I'm going with a Dura Spark with MSD 6A next.

Bob

 

[addo]

The whole thing is just plain wrong.

You buy a replacement part not to require carrying backup spares, but to free you from these concerns. One Forum member, "steve" has done a lot to represent the Pertronix I, but it's all off his bat - no vested interest. As a minimum courtesy, Pertronix should have refunded his purchase cost; he's done that much for 'em.

Driving around consistently with spares and tools adds weight, does nothing to diminish insecurities and loses MPG. Leave home with nothing more than the car, and ability to pay for the tow back - if needed (probably not).

Regards, Adam.

 

[MustangSix]

I have not owned a vehicle equipped with points since the early eighties.......The ones that came with points were always quickly converted to Electronic.

However, for those of you who are leary of electronic ignition conversions, this circuit for a capacitive discharge ignition retains the points and provides a helluva jolt to the plugs.

 

[ludwig]

What am I doing wrong? Mine worked great right out of the box and it's still going strong.

Okay, so it took an hour to install and not the 20 minutes they say in the poop sheet. I could see that the wires were going to be a problem so I took a little time making sure they wouldn't get wrapped around the shaft or whatever.

But, gorsh, I feel a little lonely without a beef of my own for Pertronix.

 

[CobraSix]

The whole thing is just plain wrong.

You buy a replacement part not to require carrying backup spares, but to free you from these concerns. Driving around consistently with spares and tools adds weight, does nothing to diminish insecurities and loses MPG.

That's what I thought. I installed pertronix. Never had an issue with the wires. I was sure to pull them all the way down and sinched them all the way down so they wouldn't back out. My problem was the tape holding the magnets in place came off and 3 of the magnets fell out. I then drove the car 30 miles on 3 cylinders firing because I didn't have the points. After that, I kept the points in the back from then on. It didn't add much weight because I already carry around a complete set of tools.

However, having to wait 3 days for a replacement part is what closed the deal for me to go DS2. If something goes wrong, it's a quick trip to Autozone for new parts.

Slade

 

[Lazy JW]

Seems unlikely that a spare set of points would overburden our robust Ford sixes Modern electronics are pretty reliable but if I had to take a trek through the outback where the towtrucks don't run I would have much more confidence in breaker points with a spare. That said, the MSD box can be triggered with breaker points, and when the MSD box fails just switch back to full breaker points to get home.That just might be the ultimate in reliability/performance. I wonder if breaker points could be fitted to a DS2 distributor so one could run the larger distributor cap?
Joe

 

[simon]

However, for those of you who are leary of electronic ignition conversions, this circuit for a capacitive discharge ignition retains the points and provides a helluva jolt to the plugs.

since I´m highly interested in burning up a set of points, I have had a closer look on that circuit. What sorta ops should I use? The drawing says schmitt trigger, but that doesn´t tell me the exact specs.

Any ideas?

 

[Lazy JW]

Simon,
Check out www.gofastforless.com . He has several ideas for upgraded ignitions that still use points. In the early days of capacitor discharge ignitions they were all triggered by points. Oldsmobile had a dandy setup in the 70's and my Father-in-law has an outboard motor that uses a point triggered CD.
Joe

 

[MustangSix]

Simon the trigger spec is here. It's a simple circuit that anyone could duplicate, and with only 200 mv going thru the points, they should last forever (or until the rubbing bolck wears out).