Electrionic ignition

I am thinking of putting electronic ignition on one of my tractors, are they worth it? Brand preference opinions?

I did it on my Massey to-35.I did mine a few years ago with no problems and real easy to install. I think mine is the 12 volt Ignitor brand.

You'll get answers that very from the extreme like to the extreme dislike, and plenty in between as well. Personally, I put a Pertronix EI in my Oliver 1600 5-6 years ago now and have had nothing but good results with it. Before it would eat ignitions parts, and had since my Grandpa bought it new. Haven't had the cap off since I did the switch.

Other guys can't keep the kit in for a year and it burns up, and they burn up the replacements they put in too. Then they go back to the points and keep on living.

If your tractor eats points, condensors, and caps, fouls plugs and gives you fits, you've got nothing to loose. If your tractor only needs a tune up and replacement ignition parts every couple years or several hundred hours, you may be best to leave it alone. We've also got a Massey 165 w/ Continental gas, and that still runs the points. It's rarely an issue on that tractor, so in my mind it's not worth it for the 165.

Donovan from Wisconsin

I installed Pertronix units in my John Deere G and 520, and have had no problems. One bit of advice if you go with Pertronix, purchase, and install their "flame thrower" coil with it. Good Luck.

Google electonic ignition several companies make virtually the same thing; ie hall effect magnetic pick up. Prices all over the place from the most advertised to many at half that price.

CumminsMan (diesel fitter).........DO NOT buy enny Electronic Ignition for a 6V-tractor. Why? 'cuz the solid state electronics module quits working at 5.7Vdc. (ittza solid state design problem) The very act of starting, causes many weak 6V batterys to drop to 5.4Vdc. Wanna guess WHY yer sparkies don't sparkle when yer startin'??? Surprizingly enuff, regular points and coil still work at 5.4Vdc.

Besides you can replace alotta $20 points fer $150 solid state electronic ignition.

I am NOT ANTI-ELECTRONICS ignition. I built my 1st-one in 1962 for my 1956 Dodge D-500 Hemi-V8 engine. (cousin to the Chrysler 300 Hemi-V8) I also have CD-ignition for my 165hp 7500rpm semi-race 1969 BMW 2002. All my other vehicles are diesel and I am still lookin' fer the sparkies.

Contrary to advertisements, Electronic Ignition does NOT make more horsepower ...or... solve male pattern baldness. Save yer money. Howsomevers; there is 'nuttin' wrong with EI and 12V battery systems and work good. ........Dell, ret Electronics Engr

I have had good luck with 12V conversion, 6V coils and ballast resistors, will stay with that.

i dont care what brand you use...if it goes out you walk home...i never saw anybody scrape a transistor like you can a set of points and limp back to the shop.

I think the reason that so many guys have problems is that they do not use the matching flame thrower coil, or they have left their switch on for an extended period of time.

THe setup uses the original cam and body. Keep the parts and you can put them back in to """limp""" home. I think they are a fine contribution to reliable efficient operation. Jim

I see the luddites are besmirching the good name of EI again.
I have concluded that those who complain the loudest about EI have never owned it and so do not have the experience to have done a side by side comparison but just keep repeating the same old worst case scenerios.
I have had EI in one of my tractors for 7 years this month and have never had a problem with it and have never had to touch the distributor since I installed it.
If you like the idea of set it and forget it you will really appreciate EI.
As Dell suggests I would not install a 6V unit - for the reasins he states.

I switched to ei on a 706 IH. Not one prob in thousands of hours.

I used to believe that same story and repeated it often." Give me a pliars, screwdriver and pocket knife and I can fix a point ignition system and get home." I repeated that until a smart fellow said,"Yeah, lets see you fix a shorted / open coil or condenser with your Knife, screwdriver, pliars."
I had to admit, I could no more "fix" a failed coil or condenser than an electronic ignition module, so I don't say that anymore. ;-).

I will say that I have yet to see a point system converted to solid state electronic that does not start better and run smoother, pull better.

Points are so dependant on the cam lobes and distributor shafts and bushing having little wear so point gap / dwell stays constant, so ignition timing is spot on for all cylinders.
Maybe a lot of the improvment is because the electronic conversion is usually installed in a well worn distributor where that wear has little effect on the timing accuracy of the electronic conversion.
I am sure it also helps that the electronic ignition systems run very long dwell for full coil saturation that is only otherwise possible with dual points, plus the electronic module will feed more primary current to the coil than points can handle without burning.
I have installed a half dozen of the Pertronix units for others with good long term success, and have converted my hard starting 4020 gas to a home built point triggered electronic ignition system using Chrysler electronics.I used a point triggered system because they will fire right down to 0 rpm, while the magnetic triggered ones will not. This is a hot, high amperage system that makes it the great starting, good pulling tractor it should have been since new.
At the same time, my Big Mo 400 Moline starts and runs just fine with the stock point setup.

While doing a rebuild on my 856 IH last winter, I saw in the operators manual that factory installed electronic ignition was a factory option on atleast the 56 series.

It's a long time since I looked at a Pertronix catalog, but I believe the ignitor II module will shut down and protect itself if the ignition is accidently left on, while the old ignitor module will stay powered up, overheat and eventually burn out if accidently left on.

Make sure your new Pertronix kit has the ignitor II module.

There have been quite a few posts about the Pertronix ignitions. Some folks seem to have quite a bit of trouble with them, others do not. A common thread among those with problems seems to be that they installed the electronic ignition in the hope of solving some undiagnosed problem. Well, if the tractor runs like crap on points, it's not going to run any better on EI.

Personally, I have no intention of replacing the points on my tractor with EI. But then I don't use it but a few hours per year; the occasional maintenance that the points require is no big deal.

Depends on what you want out of it. Some systems do not give any gain in more spark potentional. They just eliminate the maintanence of points. Pertronix Ignitor is one example (not II or III).

Considering how slow tractor engines run - I hardly regard points-maintenance as an issue. Keeps points clean after sitting a long time is more of an issue that a pocket knife quickly fixes.

I don't believe the many stories of tractors running better with electronic. If they do, they weren't right to start with. That is a faulty comparison. To the converse - I can name a few tractors that did not run at all with a failed Pertronix - but came back to life with the old points back in. Yes, another stupid comparison.

Electronic breakerless systems would be great for tractors if they were more mainstream and generic -but they're not. If a part fails - you won't find parts locally - as you would for a car or truck. I had to buy a new breakerless part for my 1979 Datsun last week and NAPA had it in stock. On the other hand if your new 2012 Pertronix dies - you won't find parts to fit an any local store.

This is one of those questions that yields plenty of opinions but there are some engineering basics involved so it its your decision to change over to an elec ignition or not. The elec switch has advantages as well as disadvantages as follows:

1) An elec switch does provide a fast positive current switch as opposed to mechanical points which bounce and ring and the contacts burn and pit and carbon up and develop resistance and voltage drop.

2) HOWEVER if points fail you can often file them and get back to the shop while if an elec switch fails youre pretty well stranded.

3) An elec switch costs more but often once it burns in many can last for years versus having to buy many sets of points and/or condensors.

4) HOWEVER if you pay like $100 for a system and it fails soon you would have been better off buying several sets of points over the years.

5) Many owners report improved starting and low idling characteristics using an elec ignition

6) HOWEVER some report problems when a tractors starter reduces battery volatge drastically

7) I doubt you will achieve any (maybe none) noticeable HP increase using an elc ignition versus a good set of points

8) HOWEVER as long as it works properly (maybe a short itme maybe yearsssssssss) the elec switch will provide relative consistent performance while a set of points will over time burn and pit and carbon and decrease performance as time passes.

NOTE to get the most bang for the buck and utilize more of the advanatges an elec switch has to offer I suggest you match it with a high energy coil and then you get a higher energy spark discharge versus that a stock points ingition delivers.

A good set of points properly adjusted and maintained will provide long service at a relative low cost while an eelc ignition with a high energy coil can yield more spark energy AS LONG AS IT IS WORKING

SUMMARY so there are some engineering considerations so now its your choice

John T Too long retired electrical engineer

I have the Pertronix with Flamethrower coil. It works great and starts quicker, runs better before totally warmed, comes on power cleaner, and doesn't foul the plugs. I kept the old points but can't see ever putting them back in. I also took advantage of the higher voltage to open the gaps on my plugs to .042 and advanced the timing to accomodate this. If points were better OEMs would have been using them. They are truly maintenance free.

Aaron