why electronic ignition?

[Murky781]

OK honest question here and I'm NOT trying to start a debate over which system is better. I've had different ignition problems over the last few years and most have come back to problems with the electronic ignition. Now I don't race my car, do autocross or push it any harder than the occasional stop light quick start or topping more than 85-90 mph playing fox and hounds on the backroads up here in New England. Cruising is my fun, and mostly in the 45-65 mph range, with some cruise nights, car shows and evening excursions for ice-cream. Now I have no clue about the magic box behind my glovebox and magnetic pickups in my dizzy that seem to cause me a lot of downtime. I'd love to hear why I need it, and if not, any major problem with the rewiring. Thanks in advance to everyone.

[philminotti]

Perhaps you have a problem with heat or vibration at your ignition box or you have an unreliable distributor brand or any number of possibilities. The point being that points ignitions are far less reliable than a good electronic system. I would look at your system in total, not just the brand, but the quality of the wiring, how it's routed, how it's shielded, where and how the box is mounted, etc, etc. True, spark boxes do fail and there have been some distributor quality problems, but overall, a good electronic ignition should beat grandads points every day of the week and twice on Sundays in terms of reliability.

[DanEC]

If I understand your question, you are asking why you need electronic ignition and how difficult is it to go to something else (apparently points and condenser).

On the second question, you need to run a ballast resistor with points per the ERA wiring diagram. Not knowing what changes ERA makes to the wiring to accommodate an electronic unit, you probably would be best contacting Doug there and talk to him.

On the first question, the big advantage of electronic ignition is supposed to be the lack of routine maintenance. If you are comfortable with points, gapping them/setting dwell, and understand you probably will need to check them once a year - then this may not be a big deal for you. Personally, I started out setting up a dual point distributor for my Mopar in about 1968 and there isn't much that can happen to one that I can't deal with in a couple of minutes. I prefer dealing with mechanical stuff where I can observe it's operation and adjust easily - than mysterious electronic boxes that defy easy diagnosis. But, I'm kind of in the minority anymore and a lot of people have gotten really comfortable with electronics. So, it's kind of a personal decision only you can make.

[Jaydee]

I guess I'm ols school and like points. I'm running a Accel 140001 supercoil. The big yellow lunch box type, and I'm producing a spark as big as any electronic ignition. I even used a spark timing machine to readjust the timing curve. But when it breaks down, I'll know how to test it and fix it. The main problem with points was, pig tail wire breaking, condensor and rubbing block made out of cheap plastic. So i only go with bosch points with a fibre rubbing block. Also it's easy to keep spares in the boot.
JD

[bobcowan]

I think you're asking about 2 components. The electronic distributor is an iprovement over points. Points will slowly wear, and change your dwell over time. Electronic stays consistant through it's service life. But, the electronic module can be sensative to voltage spikes, and can easily burn out.

The "Magic Box" behind the glove compartment can perform a number of functions. But, for your type of driving it really doesn't do anything. You could eliminate that component and not see any difference at all.

[Murky781]

Thank you guys. It's pretty much what I though, but just wanted to double check. I'm old school also and replacing, cleaning and adjusting points I understand. Replace the points, gap with a matchbook cover and it will get you home. I'll look into replacing the EI and go back to what I'm comfortable with. Thanks again.

[Brooklyn-427]

Look at the LS 1-2-3-7 guys no such trouble. There is new systems that replace the distributor

[John Martin]

When I would go over 110 I would get points bounce . (duel points)
Points did sound-different though

[zrayr]

After running a MSD system for 15 years (digital 6+ box, billet distributor ) on several Shelbys and HiPo 289 Musamgs I changed back to stock dual point HiPo distributor. No change in idle or performance. The maintence is just checking the timing and dwell once every 10,000 miles. I can live with that. And the look is far better.

Originally Posted by John Martin

When I would go over 110 I would get points bounce . (duel points)
Points did sound-different though

Not all points are created equal. The points that are supposed to go in the dual point distributor have a higher spring tension. It's possible that another brand of points will eliminate the problem.


Z.

[Wbulk]

Interesting topic. I was just talking to my wife about this subject the other day. I have a Pertronix Igniter III distributor that I love for now, as long as it works. It has multi-spark and rev-limiter all in the module that is inside the distributor. I know guys have been having problems with MSD boxes for some time. My opinion is it is old tech. Which is fine as long as it is reliable and cost efficient. Look at your phone; it can do 100 times the functions in a small case.
That being said as a guy that grew up in the sixties with points, I realize I am vulnerable with an electronic distributor if I broke down in an inconvenient place. Other than being towed I would have limited options readily available to get it running again on the side of the road. I have been considering buying an old points style distributor and carrying it in my trunk.

[Wbulk]

On second thought, if I had to do it over again I would have an old style distributor in the car and install the Pertronix module in it. I would then carry points and condenser with me just in case. It's a lot cheaper that way to.

[zrayr]

LOL, I have the reverse back up, In case my condenser fails I carry a Pertronix I in the glove box.

Z

[Ron61]

I had point bounce problems when I raced and I changed to an electronic distributor and Jacobs Pro Street Ignition. The nice thing about that setup was that if the computer failed, I could just unplug two leads and bypass them and run off the coil and the distributor as that type ignition works well either way.

Ron

[kevins2]

I have MSD and carry a spare 6AL, coil, rotor and distributor cap in the trunk because of the failure stories I've read. I did have a coil fail and replaced it roadside. A bit expensive to have all that spare hardware but when you consider the cost and inconvenience of a tow, it isn't so bad in that context.

Certainly not a resounding endorsement of MSD, though!

[CompClassics]

Factory dual point distributor (C30F), factory points and comdenser, yellow top coil (original not a repop), factory ballast resistor.

[xb-60]

My 39 year old Alfa had normal "mechanical" points ignition from new. Way back when I thought I was smarter, I replaced it with an aftermarket pointless ignition, and that is the only thing - ever - that has rendered the car immobile and requiring a mechanic callout. Just happened to be 100km from home too. Returning it to points ignition restored continuing reliability. The Webers require regular tweaking, and replacing points and checking ignition timing at the same time is no big deal.
Cheers,
Glen

[DanEC]

I was thinking the other day, I started driving in 1967 and bought my first car in 1968. I have pretty much always owned at least one vehicle throughout that time with points and condensor. In that time I've had to be towed 3 times and two of them were for failures in electronic ignitions - a fried Ford ignition module and a fried Accell CD box. The third time was not anything ignition related. Never had a set of points leave me sitting on the side of the road. But I realize I'm preaching to a crowd that has passed me by and embraced all things electronic.

[Jaydee]

What resistor should I be using with points and a Accel140001 yellow coil in total. The instructions tell me to run the one that came in the box as well as the original one in the car. I don't have an original one. And I haven't heard of running 2 in series?
Having worked as a RAA roadside breakdown patrol for many years. I have seen many electronics breakdown and hardly ever being able to fix it, but I've always managed to file the points, replace a coil and condenser and get the car going.
For instance if you jump start a Mercedes the wrong way you'll zap the body computer and cost over 4000 dollars.
JD

[DanEC]

I'm not sure what ohm level ballast resistor that Ford used - probably somewhere around 1.5 ohms but not sure. I think it's about as much art as science in selecting the resistor. I know old Corvettes started out using one around .8 ohms (from memory) and then to reduce incidents of burned points, went to a 1.5 or 1.7 ohm one (don't hold me to exact ohms).

If no one can answer your question I can give you the name of a Ford distributor rebuilder who should be able to tell you.

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