Re: [Chrysler300] Pertronix IMPORTANT CAUTION!
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Re: [Chrysler300] Pertronix IMPORTANT CAUTION!





i thought the original 57 at least wires were resistor wires ? carbon type ? actually ok if not pulled on ?
i say that as way back , I had misguided idea ( from an “ expert” ) that copper was better and I made a set of Packard 440 wire ( copper ) for my 392 using the beautiful early hemi white porcelain insulators . 
then the question of resistor plugs or not ? 
the thinking at the  time  was the “ wires lost power , a step back “ but today we know they are about 20 k ohms ( varies) and with 20 kv an amp can flow . ignition corrects are in 50 milliamperes range ,so ohm drop is not an issue .Carbon wires are more effective at RFI reduction than a spiral . But can break .. easy test with ohmmeter .  
A hemi with copper wires was probably a period “ upgrade” —- like I did . 
that said , = good info re pertronix . i have in general kept points . The 300 records were all set with points . And — yes, they are difficult to set , have to have a dwell meter imho . But then ok for 10-20 k miles . easy to  check in a minute with dwell meter Problems today in my experience are more likely the junk chinese capacitors with black rubber cone and black wire . So, save the mopar ones with copper strap . they are almost never bad. 
interesting thing ... thank you Ray 

Sent from my iPhone not by choice 

On 29 Oct 2020, at 7:07 pm, Ray Melton rfmelton@xxxxxxx [Chrysler300] <Chrysler300-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hello Group -

During restoration of my late father's 1957 300C, I installed a Pertronix Ignitor II electronic conversion kit (no more miserable-to-adjust points in the inaccessible distributor!) along with their "Blaster" 0.6 Ohm 45kV coil.  Pertronix instructions say their unit wants a steady 12 volts, not the reduced voltage from the ballast resistor, so I just filled in the backside of the original ceramic ballast resistor with solder (no a NO-resistance resistor!) so it gets constant 12 volts while maintaining completely stock appearance.  I also wanted to use modern stainless steel spiral-wrapped plug wires for RFI suppression to get best sound from the radio and Highway Hi-Fi; I had to have those specially made because those wires are not ordinarily supplied in the original black color and 7mm size to fit into the long spark plug connectors (but there are lots of 8, 9, 10mm diameter SS-spiral-wrapped wires available in gaudy red, blue, yellow, etc.).   The new setup looks perfectly stock and works very well, especially when coupled with modern fine-wire Iridium-electrode spark plugs (long life and foul-resistant) - usually starts within 1/2 second!  The starting and running have been quite reliable for the last two years. 

HOWEVER,  It turns out that my combination of ignition components may have been serendipitous.......          I just now talked with the Pertronix Corporation about an application for one of my Porsches, and learned some startling information about their products, which may have great impact on the reliability of the conversion!  It turns out that the Pertronix kit is NOT electrically compatible with the usual copper-core plug wires we are accustomed to; the representative cautioned me that their unit will usually fail within two years or less because the RF interference from copper-core wires will FRY the electronics!!   That plug-wire incompatibility is NOT mentioned in their installation instructions - Maybe that is why we have long heard about spotty reliability from the Pertronix conversions!   I told the rep that the failure to highlight that admonition regarding plug wires in their instruction was a major oversight on their part and was probably hurting their reputation because of reliability experiences.  He agreed and said he would forward that recommendation to upper management.

BOTTOM LINE:   The Pertronix factory says:  DO NOT USE the usual copper-core wires with any Pertronix conversion unit!!   I had my special-order black 7mm RFI-suppressed bulk plug wire made by Kingsborne Wire Werks  (www.kingsborne.com)  800-642-0375, and also bought their distributor-end terminals to fabricate my own set of custom-length plug wires.   They were reasonably priced with quick turnaround.

Ray Melton  Las Cruces, NM




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Posted by: John Grady <jkg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>


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