electronic ignition?

[roger's-spit]

Hi All, I need to replace the coil, leads, points and condenser on my 1980 1500 spit. Question is , if i am doing this, is it worth getting an electronic kit? Whats the pros & cons?

[Davemate]

Double check what dizzy you have first.
I fitted these about two and half years ago,fitted and forgot and a damm site less acu spark !!!

http://www.mm-4x4.com/britpart-electronic-conversion-kit-2720-p.asp

Simply replaces the points and condenser

[Dannyb]

1344 wrote:

Double check what dizzy you have first.
I fitted these about two and half years ago,fitted and forgot and a damm site less acu spark !!!

http://www.mm-4x4.com/britpart-electronic-conversion-kit-2720-p.asp

Simply replaces the points and condenser

Thats the one I also fitted 2 years ago and no problems. I always carry the old points and capacitor in the boot just incase.

[Davemate]

I just bought a second set and a carry them as a spare, probably costs less than a set of points and a condesnsor, although when I bought mine it only cost £12 !

[Rich_s]

i have one of these on mine,

http://www.simonbbc.com/electronic-ignition-kits/by-distributor-model/lucas-45d-43d-59d-powerspark-electronic-ignition-kit

got mine off ebay for about £20 but now more like £25, been fitted for about 2 years now after going through 3 sets of points in 6months, never touched it since, only other benefit was better starting, not noticed better power or mpg but not having to keep cleaning and adjusting  made it worth it for me.

rich

[69vitesse]

Electronic all the way.
Aldon in mine.

[Ludwig]

Aldon for me too,

Fit and forget - smoother & deffo more power (not loads but enough to notice).

Got an Accuspark as spare in the boot just in case.

Alex

[nang]

I've gone the Pertronix way with both my Triumphs (and the Cortina). No problems whatsoever. The one in the TC has been in place for 5 or 6 years. Was carrying a complete spare dizzy in the boot for a long time. Never needed.
Tony.

[roger's-spit]

Thanks Guys, sounds a bit of a no brainer, I will have a look around at the different makes available.

[Velocita Rosso]

H and h ignotion solutions
They supply to your dizzy(or can supply replacement)
New coil, rotor arm,cap,tune curve to your requirements new ign pick up alla at very good prices

and....after a fault find after three years they supplied a new pick at no cost.....

[piman]

Hello Roger,

"sounds a bit of a no brainer"

Not entirely, there have been quite a few instances of aftermarket ignition systems failing totally, ask how many people carry points in the car for that eventuality?

Alec

[rotoflex]

To be fair, I've had points fail totally while on the road & not had a spare.
At that cost, you could probably also keep a spare solid state unit in the car.

One of my best speeding tickets came while one set of points was burning up & the car would only keep running while accelerating.
Try explaining THAT to the officer.

[dimtavies]

Can anyone recommend an electronic ignition system for a GT6 Mk2, particularly with regards to ease of fitting

[piman]

Hello Bill,

yes points can fail but usually give fair warning before they do rather than die completely with no warning as happens with an electronic system. I've had two failures in the past with electronic ignition and reverted to points which i still stick with.

Alec

[Slimboyfat]

and me.

In fact I have had at least half a dozen electronic ignition units fail on me and long ago reverted to points and condensor for reliabilty (or ease of repair at the side of the road).

[Russell]

2325 wrote:

Can anyone recommend an electronic ignition system for a GT6 Mk2, particularly with regards to ease of fitting

Accuspark do a 6 cylinder Delco unit. I've got one in my Mk 2 mated to a lucas DLB105 coil. No issues with it so far and that includes the 800miles in 24 hours done for last weekends HCR.

Just ensure you have a clean 12v powering both the electronic ignition and the coil (no ballasted feeds).

All my other cars have Petronix Ignitors and they've proved reliable too with the same coil set-up.

[uksnatcher]

1344 wrote:

Double check what dizzy you have first.
I fitted these about two and half years ago,fitted and forgot and a damm site less acu spark !!!

http://www.mm-4x4.com/britpart-electronic-conversion-kit-2720-p.asp

Simply replaces the points and condenser

I too +1 for this exact item for the 4 cyl, i fitted the exact same Britpart optical unit about the time as Dave and still running with no probs at all... 3 yrs and 10k down the line and still going strong.

For those running with the same (ish) items name the brand and faliure date after fitment.... as the Britpart item i really cannot fault  :)

[oil_on_the_carpet]

piman wrote:

Hello Roger,

"sounds a bit of a no brainer"

Not entirely, there have been quite a few instances of aftermarket ignition systems failing totally, ask how many people carry points in the car for that eventuality?

Alec

Have there? I've never had one fail in over 35 years and my first Luminition from the dim and dark Leyland days is still working fine.
I've never had an electronic ignition fail on one of the moderns either despite running up many hundreds of thousands of miles assorted,

But I can guarantee you that every set of points fails and has to be replaced inside a year or two.
There is a very good reason EVERY engine manufacturer on the planet dumped the utterly crude and unreliable mechanical contrivances.

If you ask the RAC/AA, the most common cause of breakdown is a dead battery, perhaps we should all fit starting handles instead of relying on these new fangled electric starting gizmos?

[oil_on_the_carpet]

Slimboyfat wrote:

and me.

In fact I have had at least half a dozen electronic ignition units fail on me and long ago reverted to points and condensor for reliabilty (or ease of repair at the side of the road).

For so many of one of the most reliable devices fitted in cars to fail on you would tend to suggest the problem is not with the units themselves.

[piman]

Hello Oil etc,

"There is a very good reason EVERY engine manufacturer on the planet dumped the utterly crude and unreliable mechanical contrivances."

I'm sure there is a good reason, for the manufacturer. This argument is given for many modern advances but rarely are they fitted with regard to the consumer but to make the construction of the car simpler, cheaper or otherwise to the gain of the builder.

Alec

[Slimboyfat]

2748 wrote:

For so many of one of the most reliable devices fitted in cars to fail on you would tend to suggest the problem is not with the units themselves.

So I have broken them deliberately?

[thescrapman]

Slimboyfat wrote:

So I have broken them deliberately?

Well it would help your sales of points and condensors Dave. :-)

But then you would be buying them from yourself (assuming that you don't use someone else :-) ) and that would be self defeating and expensive.

the couple I have had fail have been caused I suspect by other outside influences. Water ingress into a Piranha (fixed it myself by replacing power transistor), dodgy coil set fire to my previously very reliable Pertronix and incorrect fitting saw to a Accuspark (repariable) and another Piranha (again repairable) as the wires chafed through.

Cheers

Colin

[Slimboyfat]

My first failure was a Mobelec 'Grand Prix' I fitted to my TR5. Bought with my staff discount from the Motorist Discount Centre I was managing in 1979 (the previous manager, and his assistant had been sacked, but thats another story).

That lasted about 13 months. It just died, and the concensus amongst staff from other shops was that customer feedback had been terrible with many returns just in warranty, unlucky me.

My next failure was a Lumenition I had fitted to my Stag in about 1985. That was in warranty and Lumenition bless em admitted they had had problems and swapped it for another that lasted 13 months (theme developing here). That expired on the M69 after doing over 10 miles at 100mph plus (I never did see any coppers on the M69 in those days), and just after losing my stainless windscreen trims over the roof (I wonder if that had a knock on affect?).

The next failure was whilst driving my dads PI Estate. The Sparkrite unit died whilst climbing Porlock Hill. Fortunately those Sparkrites had a get you home faciilty whereby you could throw a switch on the unit in the event of failure and limp home.

Then there was a Newtronix (scuse spellin?) that left me stranded in a punters GT6 on the way back from an MOT.

Then there was a Pertronix that gave up the ghost whilst I was setting up the carbs on a punters Spitfire 1500 (that confused me!).

In between somewhere I have had two ignition modules fail on our V8 MKIII saloon. They both went under different circumstances. The first just died as I was cruising through our local town, and the second gave up a couple of years later as I was pulling off the drive at home. The most convienant brake down I have ever had.

[Davemate]

Slimboyfat wrote:

My first failure was a Mobelec 'Grand Prix' I fitted to my TR5. Bought with my staff discount from the Motorist Discount Centre I was managing in 1979 (the previous manager, and his assistant had been sacked, but thats another story).

That lasted about 13 months. It just died, and the concensus amongst staff from other shops was that customer feedback had been terrible with many returns just in warranty, unlucky me.

My next failure was a Lumenition I had fitted to my Stag in about 1985. That was in warranty and Lumenition bless em admitted they had had problems and swapped it for another that lasted 13 months (theme developing here). That expired on the M69 after doing over 10 miles at 100mph plus (I never did see any coppers on the M69 in those days), and just after losing my stainless windscreen trims over the roof (I wonder if that had a knock on affect?).

The next failure was whilst driving my dads PI Estate. The Sparkrite unit died whilst climbing Porlock Hill. Fortunately those Sparkrites had a get you home faciilty whereby you could throw a switch on the unit in the event of failure and limp home.

Then there was a Newtronix (scuse spellin?) that left me stranded in a punters GT6 on the way back from an MOT.

Then there was a Pertronix that gave up the ghost whilst I was setting up the carbs on a punters Spitfire 1500 (that confused me!).

In between somewhere I have had two ignition modules fail on our V8 MKIII saloon. They both went under different circumstances. The first just died as I was cruising through our local town, and the second gave up a couple of years later as I was pulling off the drive at home. The most convienant brake down I have ever had.

You should try one of these cheapie ones,they seem to last ok  ;D


That will be the kiss of death to mine now  :-/

[thescrapman]

Slimboyfat wrote:

In between somewhere I have had two ignition modules fail on our V8 MKIII saloon. They both went under different circumstances. The first just died as I was cruising through our local town, and the second gave up a couple of years later as I was pulling off the drive at home. The most convienant brake down I have ever had.

You can't count those Lucas ignition modules, they were built to fail, usually sooner rather than later.

:-)