Re: Pertronix Ignitor will not work for me

[jlandry@domain.elided (John A. Landry)]

In a brilliant stroke of genius, M Edler <m.m.adler@domain.elided> blurted out:

>> Isn't the 196 nothing more than half of a 392?  Then *you bet* Pertronix
>> makes a kit for your breaker-point distributor!  It's their part number
>> 1481.  Part number 1482 is for all Holley distributors mounted on an IH V8
>> engine.

>That is what Pertronix told me and they said the the 3rd number in their parts
>number
>tells the number of cylinders.  Both 1481 and 1482 are for 8 cylinder engines.
>
>And to answer your question on the distributor make it is the Holley .  Do you
>think the one kit for the 392 will work for the 196?
>
>Thank you for your replies,  I am going to call Pertronix again.  If you know
>for sure that 1481 will work let me know I just don't want to but the thing
>and not be able to return it.

Matt,

My apologies for steering you wrong.  I was all screwed up on this and I
should have called Pertronix myself before responding to your question.  I
did call them this morning so I could get it all straightened out.  They
faxed me all the pages from the application guide that have any remote
application to IH engines.  They promised to mail me a complete application
guide also.  You're absolutely right.  The 3rd digit does indeed indicate
the number of cylinders the kit was designed for.

Part numbers 1481 and 1482 are in fact for IH / Holley V8 applications.  I
see that part number 1481 is for clockwise distributor rotation (what most
of us have) and the 1482 is for counter-clockwise distributor rotation...
otherwise they are basically the same.

You're right that Pertronix does not *list* a kit for the 196 in a Scout,
but I wasn't convinced they don't have one that will work for you anyway.
They have quite a wide array of kits for IH engines of all types (I count
11 different kits).  Distributor applications include breaker-point Holley,
breaker-point Prestolite, electronic Prestolite and breaker-point
Delco-Remy.  Applications span tractors, combines, hay balers, power units,
etc.

In your case Matt, as far as I know, the Holley mounted on your 196 is in
every respect the same as the Holley on my V8, with the exception of the
part with cam lobes.  Your distributor has four cam lobes, whereas the V8
has eight.  So, the Pertronix kit meant for the Holley V8 distributor will
fit the Holley 4 cyl. distributor perfectly.  The only problem would be
that the V8 Ignitor kit has 8 magnets on the magnet sleeve, where you'd
need only 4.

I called the design engineer at Pertronix I've been chatting with, and ran
an idea by him...  What if you were to buy the V8 Ignitor kit and simply
pry out every other magnet on the magnet sleeve?  Would the module still be
triggered properly?  He said he thought it would work just fine... but with
a few cautions!  You can't just remove *any* magnet when you start prying.
You'd need to make sure you started removing the correct one in order to
yield the correct rotor phasing.  Having a correct rotor phase means the
spark jumps from the rotor to the distributor cap terminal at the exact
moment the rotor and terminal are lined up with each other.  If you pried
out the wrong set of magnets, you'd have the spark trying to jump from the
rotor when it's between terminals in the cap.

He suggested the easiest way would be to bench test the setup first.  After
installing the Ignitor module in your distributor, you provide power to the
red wire (of the module) of at least 6 volts (with the distributor housing
as ground).  Next, hook an Ohmmeter between to the black wire of the module
and the distributor housing.  As you rotate the distributor, you will be
able to watch the module switch the electrical flow on and off via the
Ohmmeter.  You will want to identify which magnets cause the module to
switch the current flow off (high resistance on the Ohmmeter) most closely
as the rotor is aligned with a distributor cap terminal (or *slightly*
past).  Then, you can remove every other magnet from the one just
identified.  Worst case if you get it wrong (hard to do), you simple put
the magnets back in and pull the other ones.

I realize this may be more hassle than you're willing to deal with, but I
offered it to you only because it can be done.  Personally, if I wanted a
Pertronix Ignitor and I had an IH 4 cyl. engine, I'f make the modification.
But then I like tinkering with things... I realize not everyone does.  I'd
be happy to make the mod for you, but that would en tale shipping me the
parts (Ignitor and distributor).  The invitation is always open.

Sorry again for the bad information,

John L.
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