Is this a pertronix problem?

I just rebuilt an Oliver super 88. I put pertronix igniter and coil in it. Today was the first time I used it. Ran good til it was warm. Then it would shut off and would not start until you turned the key off and then back on. It did it several times, and if I was quick enough I could turn the key off and back on and it would come back to life. The key switch and wiring harness are both new also. Ever have an igniter act up like this? Maybe my ignition switch is faulty? Thanks for any ideas.
Josh

I have installed many pertronix units. The ones I did have fail. Failed completely. Of course anything is possible. But I would be looking at the switch.

I agree with Billy, When they fail they don't come back to life. Did you install resistance plug wires on it also? Metallic wires can cause them to fail. Our first conversion failed after a year because of metallic wires which pertronix told us after we sent it back for warranty. Been running for 25 years now with resistance wires and I have converted dozens since with the pertronix kit, coil and resistance wires with no problems. On yours, have a test light handy and see if there is power to the coil when it dies.

You could rig up a test light to the coil so it could stay connected while running. Then you could look at the light when the problem occurred.

If there is power at the coil when it quits, feel the coil for excess heat. It is normal to get warm, to some degree it is influenced by under hood conditions, but it should not be too hot to hold.

If the coil is over heating, be sure it is the correct coil. It should have about 3 ohm resistance across the + and - terminals, out of circuit, including the resistor if used. If the ohm reading is low, around 1.5 ohms, you will need to add a resistor.

If all checks good, recheck your wiring on the Pertronix unit. If still having a problem, call Pertronix. They will probably have a solution or warranty it.

Did you add a resistor to it. My JD G needed a resistor installed.

"I have installed many pertronix units. The ones I did have fail. Failed completely. Of course anything is possible."

Yep, VERY possible,

Back in the day when I wasted my time with those &^%$ things I installed one in a customer's mid 70's Chevy tandem farm truck with a BBC.

Almost from the start it would randomly quit at inopportune times, then about the time they'd round me up to diagnose what was wrong it would start.

Finally had enough of that and installed a GM HEI distributor (at my expense) and it's still running flawlessly today. (Over a decade later.)

Had several others drop dead, probably not an issue under warranty if there's a stocking distributor nearby, NOT the case here, and customers get awful cranky when the EI you sold them as a "cure all" for their ignition problems dies and lays up their unit for DAYS 'til a replacement arrives.

Not to be totally negative, have seen a bunch of 'em work well, and for years. In my experience, though, the failure rate was higher than would be tolerated if they were and OEM part.

In over forty years I have had more failures. Than I like to admit. Convince the owner to install the latest an greatest up date.Install it then go to start. And NOTHING HAPPENS.Then you feel like an idiot as you put the old system back in.It works just fine.

I have installed a lot of those things for years with no problem until this one tractor 444 international, I put one in ran like a champ for about and hour and died, took one out of my 240 that had been in there 20 years and put that in there same deal about an hour later it died. Called Petronix they sent me a replacement for the new one and the old one I lost. Here is how the conversation went after I explained to the fellow what happened he asked " what kind of spark plug wires are you using" I told him I was using factory wire on the 444 and I was not sure about my 240 because I had not looked at it for so long as no problems. He says" I'll bet you are running carbon fiber type wires on your 240, we have been having trouble with old factory metal core wires because they get cracks in them and "leak" and burn up the modules. I told him that no where in the instructions did it tell the buyer to use new style automotive wires. He said your right thats why I am sending you 2 replacements instead of one.
Now I do not know or understand anything about what a leaky wire will do but I went and found a set of NOS wires for an old Ford Pinto and used them and the problem stopped and I did have a set of carbon fiber on my old 240 that has been used for a long time with petronix without a hiccup.
Maybe someone on here can explain the leaky spark plug wire thing

I have installed several of them on my own tractors. With in 3 months after the warranty ran out they all failed. I went back to points and condensers and never looked back.

(quoted from post at 07:12:01 04/09/17) You could rig up a test light to the coil so it could stay connected while running. Then you could look at the light when the problem occurred.

If there is power at the coil when it quits, feel the coil for excess heat. It is normal to get warm, to some degree it is influenced by under hood conditions, but it should not be too hot to hold.

If the coil is over heating, be sure it is the correct coil. It should have about 3 ohm resistance across the + and - terminals, out of circuit, including the resistor if used. If the ohm reading is low, around 1.5 ohms, you will need to add a resistor.

If all checks good, recheck your wiring on the Pertronix unit. If still having a problem, call Pertronix. They will probably have a solution or warranty it.

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Are a Voltmeter, As far as diagnostics it would be the same as if it had a conventional points set up. Intermittent electrical issues are hard to catch on either that's one of the reasons I use a dash mounted voltmeter instead of a amp meter.

(quoted from post at 20:30:25 04/08/17) I just rebuilt an Oliver super 88. I put pertronix igniter and coil in it. Today was the first time I used it. Ran good til it was warm. Then it would shut off and would not start until you turned the key off and then back on. It did it several times, and if I was quick enough I could turn the key off and back on and it would come back to life. The key switch and wiring harness are both new also. Ever have an igniter act up like this? Maybe my ignition switch is faulty? Thanks for any ideas.
Josh

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I have never seen a properly installed Pertronix fail. All too often there are mixups with polarity, ballast resistors, coils and the type of high voltage wires.

I am thinking of putting a Pertronix system on one of my tractors and have been reading about the pro and cons. I have found that besides using the Pertronic system including their coil you need to use the wires they recommend ( no solid copper wires). The main cause for failure of Pertronix system is poorly grounded system.

You need the flashing spark tester that goes inline with the plug wire . Then you can see if it is from losing spark.

If they are bad units they fail in the 10hours if I remember correctly . I was told this by a distributor I get mine from. Got a free replacement and haven't had a problem yet but you never know.

Vito

(quoted from post at 19:36:14 04/09/17) If they are bad units they fail in the 10hours if I remember correctly . I was told this by a distributor I get mine from. Got a free replacement and haven't had a problem yet but you never know.

Vito

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ounds like the 'burn-in'/'infant mortality' tester is the customer, not the factory!?