Veteran
Posts: 143
Location: Denver, Colorado, USA | dels56 - 2023-03-08 9:23 AM I had purchased a Pertronix 1383 for my distributor and sent it out to have it installed and curved. Stuck it in and timed the engine. Starting was usually 1 rotation of the engine and it ran perfectly. The last run my wife and I made last fall was a 200KM (120 mile) to a music festival. Ran perfectly. I put the car back in the garage for the night. The next day I was going to take my granddaughter for a ride however the car would not start. After a number of hours of scratching my head I pulled the distributor and put my my spare points distributor in. The car started, wow. I timed the engine and drove it, runs perfectly. Pertronix don’t show the 1383 any longer so I purchased a 1385LSP6. I will install the 1385 in the spring and hope it it runs as good as it did with the 1383. Has anyone else had this problem or used the 1385? Del Trash the Pertronix and any of their other components (ICM, coil, harness, etc.) and get a quality distributor and system. Most of their distributors and components are made overseas and have poor quality control, even the parts they advertise as US-made. I stopped using Pertronix about ten years ago due to quality issues in a couple builds, but so many people in the last five years had raved about Pertronix that I decided to give them another chance in 2019. Apparently they have a great marketing team because the hype is bunk now like it was in 2012.
After installing the electronic distributor, I couldn't get the timing to remain consistent, and the timing mark jumped about 3/4" back and forth at 4K rpm and even worse at idle. Driving the car, I got stumbles and misfires throughout the rpm range. I suspected the distributor since the engine didn’t have these issues prior to the install. I pulled it and set up a dial indicator on the distributor cam. It was machined off center causing the inconsistent spark. I called Summit and explained the issue, and they sent me another one for exchange. With the second distributor, the engine would sometimes start and sometimes not. Before returning that second one for a refund, I checked the cam and found it was centered, so something in the electronics was faulty.
I ordered and installed one of Richard Ehrenberg’s HiRev 7500 P3690430 that I usually run, and all was well. I also run his HiRev 7500 ICU, coil, 0.5 ohms ballast resistor, and wiring harness. His kits are about the cheapest price for great quality. You can find them on his ebay page, seller "rehrenberg." |
Expert 5K+
Posts: 9675
Location: So. Cal | When you guys say that you used "no resistor" you must realize that it's a mostly meaningless statement. You need to state how much primary resistance you are running. Most of the new aftermarket canister coils have an internal resistance of 1.5 ohms that replaces the external ballast. But you are still effectively running with a ballast.
If you don't want to run a stock setup, I recommend using an HEI module instead. No primary ballast required and no box to mount on your firewall. I sell kits to install them onto the bottom of an electronic distributor. http://www.designed2drive.com
Doing this is cheaper & easier than buying the Mopar box & wiring as well. And coupled with a high power, low primary resistance coil, it will give you much better performance.
|