Installing Pertronix- questions...

ubercrap · Post by **ubercrap** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 3:50 pm

I finally got down to the little foreign car specialty shop here in SW Missouri, and picked up a Pertronix (yes, I am referring to past posts about fitting it). I'm trying to install it right now, but I saw something strange in the distributor, it looks like there is a small uninsulated copper wire that comes out from down inside the distributor somewhere and looks like it was soldered on to the advance plate? It must not have been very firmly attached, because either I knocked it off installing the adapter plate, or it was already disconnected? I have what I thought was an extra identical distributor, it looks identical in every way that I can see, so I referred to it, and didn't see any wire?

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 5:12 pm

Uh.oh....

That little copper wire...must be soldered to both plates in teh vacuum advance type dizzy. It connects them. See...the lower plate is teh staionary plate. It is screwed to the body...so it is grounded. The top plate is what holds points or pertronix...and is moved around by the vacuum advance unit pulling on it. So...the top plate...is not grounded unless it has a ground wire....see? You will get no running without that wire. But...its nearly impossible to weld that wire back on. You either can't get it hot enough...or it gets too hot and distorts the plate. Get a new one...out of a junker.

If the other dizzy was mjechanical advance only...it will have a single plate and no wire. No help to you. Ray

DeathBus · Post by **DeathBus** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:30 pm

I thought it was a ground wire but wasnt too sure, I was gonna say that, but didnt want to stck my foot in my mouth. You can resolder that wire with a high enough Wattage Iron and the proper solder. STuff thats flux cored (NOT the plumbers stuff)

ubercrap · Post by **ubercrap** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:58 pm

I'll try soldering it. If I can just find my soldering iron, it's like 300 watts-probably will warp the plate but it's worth a shot. Live and learn I guess... Maybe this is why the car wouldn't start?

MGVWfan · Post by **MGVWfan** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 6:18 pm

I don't remember...does the Pertronix Ignitor have a ground lead coming out of the module? If it does, you can ground that to the engine and not have to re-solder the plate ground flex lead.

500LbGorilla · Post by **500LbGorilla** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 7:12 pm

Not hard to fix at all.

Remove the screws that hold the plate assembly arms. Rotate the plate until you can clear the body dimples at the places where the plate has indentions. Lift the plates out. Flip the plates over and pull the little ball spring plate off the keeper. Remove the ball and spring plate. Now the plates should separate.

Spray the plates off with carb cleaner really well to get them clean. Get it all wiped off and dry.

Warm up a soldering iron. A 50 or 60 watt unit will work.

Preheat the top plate a little with a propane torch (the kind you use to sweat copper pipes. When it is hot enough, you should be able to get a little solder to melt onto the plate in the spot where the copper wire should go. Once it is that hot, put the wire down to that point with the soldering iron holding it down, and solder it on. Once you get it flowing, pick up a small flathead screwdriver and use it to anchor the wire down while you lift the iron away. Hold it there for about a minute, and blow on the plate.

Done. Put it back together.

You might be able to do it with the unit assembled, but there are nylon and plastic parts in the bottom that you don't want to get that hot. I would recommend the disassembly. You can work on it easier and do a better job.

If your wire is frayed, you can get some solder wick at radio shack that works very well as a replacement.

Option B: make a wire that has an eyelet on one side sized so it can go under the screw head that mounts the pertronix into the distributor. Run the wire out of the distributor along with the other wires, and ground it to an engine screw with a bigger eyelet. The nut that holds the distributor clamp down to the case is a good place.

VGM · Post by **VGM** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 7:17 pm

The ignitor only has two wires:red to coil( +) and black to coil( -) .

ubercrap · Post by **ubercrap** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 8:15 pm

Thanks for your help guys, I'm going to work on it on the weekend and see what I can do. Maybe I can get it started too!

MGVWfan · Post by **MGVWfan** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 8:18 pm

Ah, then Option B does what I was thinking, since there's not a ground wire out of the module. Good writeup.

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 8:34 pm

Be very carful when soldering. There is enough slop in these dizzys as it is. If the plate warps at all...it will cause poor advance. I have done the eyelet thing. It works. But to do so, you need good copper heavy duty braid....some very small tough eyelets...and a really good crimper. Last time I tried...was a long time ago and I did not have a factory crimper. The snall 2mm eyelets can be had at any good electronics supply. The braid...if not gotten there also....can be scavenged from a pair of type 1 generator brushes.

What you will need to do...is to drill a hole in the plate...right where the original wire was soldered...but closer to teh center....so the screw will not impair the travel of the advance unit arm. Get a tap...same size as the points screw. Drill tap and de-burr the hole on the top and bottom. Screw down the braid wire.

Now...see that metal arm that is part of the lower points plate that is screwed to teh body to the right of the ball spring assembly? Take a fine file and remove some metal from the back of thatarm. You are adding some gap...so you can slip the eyelet behind that arm....like a washer. When you tighten the screw up from the outside...it snadwiches the esyely between the arm and the dizzy body. Its small tedious work....but should work perfectly. You must check that connection for corrosion and resistance at each tune up. Ray

500LbGorilla · Post by **500LbGorilla** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 9:19 pm

Yeah, you can go about doing it that way too, Ray's right. The wire going out to the engine case seems so much simpler to me. Nothing to drill and tap.

Preheating the plate with a torch will avoid warpage. Those plates are pretty tough from my experience, but you can warp them if you try.