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Triumph TR6 - Pertronix Ignitor

Has anyone installed the Pertronix Ignitor and coil in the TR-6? I recently bought a 76 and the former owner had the Ignitor II and a 3 ohm Flamethrower coil in the trunk. I wrote to Pertronix and they said I don't need to attach the ballast wire with a 3 ohm coil. I'd like to know if that was your experience. I read that some people re-gap their plugs to .40 also.
RF Ickrath

I'm using the Pertronix module with a Lucas sport coil. No ballast. I opened up the plugs a bit to around .30. It is a huge improvement over the stock setup with quicker starting and the misfiring I was getting before (doubtless due to distributor shaft wear) disappeared completely. I did notice that there is radio interference on the AM band that was not there before, but that is a small price to pay for the better driveability.


Tony
A. J. Koschinsky

A lot of owners are deep sixing the Pertronix and having the dizzy rebuilt and sent back with points.
Or at least a lot of them carry a spare point plate in the boot
DNK

Don, you are right about the spare bits. I've got the old points, condenser, rotor and coil under the spare tire along with the fan belt, quart (sorry, litre) of oil and a few essential spanners. That way I am pretty much assured that I will never need them.
A. J. Koschinsky

A.J., am I to understand you pulled the condenser, points and rotor out of the distributor after installing the Pertronix? The literature made it sound like you leave them in as a back up. Or do you just carry a complete back up set in the boot.
RF Ickrath

Unless Pertronix has changed their set up, there is a star wheel that fits over the cam in the distributor, with the pick up module fitting into place using the mounts that would otherwise hold the points in place. There may be room to leave the condenser in place, but the points have to go. The rotor, of course, remains in use.

I carry the complete set in the boot just in case. The only time my TR ever quit on the road was when the rotor broke into pieces without any apparent reason. That was in 1978. I've always carried a spare since.
A. J. Koschinsky

OK A.J.

What you say became incredibly obvious once I actually installed the Pertronix set! Unfortunately, the car wouldn't even start, and now I have to go buy a new set of points, condenser and a dwell tach. The condenser looks like it may have come with the car in 76. I Talked to the tech guys at Pertronix and I installed it EXACTLY as they told me. But it would not fire up. I might keep the 3 Ohm coil and ditch the ballast wire though. Good thing is that Harbor Freight has a Dwell Tach for $31. Otherwise it would be Amazon. The other good news is that North Carolina doesn't even bother with inspections on cars over 30 yeears old....so after I get the car running again and replace the clutch slave, I have all the time in the world to get the windshield washer and horn working! Probably a ground...of course!
RF Ickrath

OK...second time was a charm. Pertronix ignition went in the second time and works perfectly. Got the horns working finally. The RH horn was sucking up all the voltage in its attempt to sound like a sick moose. Disconnected the RH horn and the LH horn came to life. Replace LH horn with replacement from Moss. Previous owner had disconnected the wire to the windhshield washer at the switch. Also jets were not attached to bushings. So they now work. Finally, the car won't restart after being warmed up until it cools back down. Numerous people said bad condenser...some said bad battery wire to the starter...one person said get a heat shield from ASE and that would help on these 90+ degree days. So the heat shield came today and the battery wire and gaskets for the shield will be here tomorrow. Pertronix should have taken care of any condenser problems. At least I am now ready for the one time DOT safety inspection NC makes older cars pass!
RF Ickrath

This thread was discussed between 08/08/2014 and 28/08/2014

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