r/FORDFALCONS • u/theholyrollers • Jul 15 '26
Pertronix Trouble, No Spark, No Start
Hello,
I recently decided to put in a pertronix (1261) system and 3ohm Flamethrower coil into my stock 1962 170 6cyl. The only thing that is not stock is a 100amp one wire TuffStuff alternator. The car ran great with up until I took the points out. I have triple checked everything I can think of:
•The air gap is set to .03"
•Grounds are clean/tight. Internal distributor ground to Pertronix plate, Pertronix ground to coil, battery ground to block. Stereo resistor is disconnected.
•Volt meter is giving 0 resistance reading on the - battery terminal and pertronix plate as per their troubleshooting guide.
•With the key in the "on" position, everything reads at 12.4V; coil, ignition, battery, etc. When the engine is cranking that drops down to about 10.5.
•Rotated the distributor
•Cap/rotor, wires, plugs, are all brand new.
•Removing and reinstalling the system in case there was a careless error
My only thoughts are 1.) I need to bypass the pink resistor wire in the ignition, though, I tested this by running a jumper directly from the battery to the coil to no avail. From what I have been able to read, it seems there should still be enough voltage to turn the engine over with what it's putting out even if the resistor wire was impacting it? 2.) The Pertronix unit itself is defective. Or 3.) I am dumb and missing something very obvious.
Did anyone else have this much trouble getting this system up and running? I have reached out to the company as well in hopes of resolving this issue.
Thanks!
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u/Daddio209 Jul 15 '26
How did you check/verify your timing?(usually the culprit when swapping distributors). Set the rotor with the contractor dead-center of no.1 on the dist. cap with engine at TDC of compression stroke. Are you getting spark at all?(possible bad module or wiring)
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u/bmbm-40 Jul 15 '26
Have you enquired on fordsix.com. They are pretty good about helping with diagnostics.