Pertronix help needed.

[Woodhouse]

Hello all. Need some advice in installing the pertronix 1 unit. Looks as though I have a external baluster resistor on the coil. I also have a wire coming from the firewall, that is blue, that is connected to the negative in the coil. The ballister, and the wire from the distributor are connected to the positive. Just need clarification, as I’m slightly confused, having researched it a bit. thanks for the help in advance, including pictures. 1969 390.

[Woodhouse]

OK. I think the little canister on the coil is a radio suppression capacitor, right? So if there’s no ballast, I should be able to just hook up the igniter to the positive and minus on the coil, correct?

[cep62]

Welcome to our site.
These trucks came with a resistor wire , under the dash.
with the key in start mode you get a full 12 volts to the coil , in run mode it goes through a resister wire. (pink ?)
They splice together and comes through the fire wall with the temp and oil wires , I think , it's been awhile since I've messed with that.
It's best to test with a volt meter.
On the main page there are links to wiring diagrams.
If I remember right the power should go to the Positive side of the coil.
The blue wire doesn't sound familiar , someone may have been in there before. Again a volt meter is your friend.
The little canister is for radio suppression.

[cep62]

Maybe the blue wire goes to a tachometer ?

[Woodhouse]

Thanks for the replies. I believe someone has been there before, that blue wire goes to the negative on the coil. No pink wire inside. I’ll have to test everything. I tried hooking it up as per the instructions and couldn’t get the engine to run. Didn’t mess with the air gap, but then reinstalled the points, and it fired right up. I had read that even with the resistor the motor should fire up. It would just run poorly. Or it might run fine. But eventually burn out the igniter. Wondering if I should attempt again, and test everything and make sure the air gap is adjusted correctly. or return it and be happy with the points

[Jbarnes79]

I looked up the trouble shooting guide online and it gives some things for you to check on a no-start condition for your reference.

-The position in which the Ignitor red wire is attached to is not supplying sufficient voltage. (See 'Misfiring' point above for 'Voltage Testing' tips)
-The air gap between the module and magnet sleeve is too great.
-The ground wire inside the distributor is not connected.
-The wire connections are not tight.
-The polarity is not correct.


http://www.pertronix.com.au/troubleshooting.html#ts4