Five years later and this is still making a difference. Thanks Ken!

Thanks, man, I think the pertronix went out in my son’s Impala today. Now I know how to test it. It should be a little easier for me since I pulled the distributor. Thanks again.

Thank you!!! Nice lesson on how to test it and use tools that should be in the average garage/workshop. You also did an outstanding job as the instructor!

Been having fits with my boat. This helped me know that the plate isn't grounding good. Took off plate and worked good. I bought a new ignitor 2 and it didn't work either. Get this ! You can't do a bench test on it . That's what Pertronics tech told me. So I'll just make sure it's grounded good. Thanks again.

THANK YOU KEN for this VERY HELPFUL VIDEO. I’ve been having a hard time this season getting my classic 1967 Mustang to start properly. It cranks, but it never quite catches and I was trying to figure out what the problem was. Then I remembered that I recently installed a new radio and I left the key in the on position (without the engine running) for a good half hour testing the radio stations. I remember reading that constant power could burn out a Petronix electric ignition system exactly as you mentioned in your video. So I followed your instructions multiple times with my Petronix II Module but I couldn’t even get the test light to turn on. I checked and rechecked that my wiring matched yours. Then, just before I was about to throw out the module and order a replacement I figured I’d try to spin the magnet ring with the drill just to see what happens. Unless I am missing something, it seems that WITH A PETRONIX II MODULE, CONSTANT POWER ALONE WILL NOT CLOSE THE CIRCUIT, THUS PREVENTING A BURN OUT. WHEN DOING THIS TEST WITH A PETRONIX II, THE VOLTAGE TESTER LIGHT WILL STAY OFF UNTIL THE MAGNET STARTS SPINNING - TURNING THE MAGNET SEEMS TO CLOSE THE CIRCUIT WHICH IN MY CASE ENERGIZED THE LIGHT, NOT DE-ENERGIZED IT AS WITH THE PETRONIX I SHOWN IN YOUR EXCELLENT VIDEO. I just wanted to make this point so that anyone with a Petronix II understands the difference. Thank you again for a great, very helpful video!

excellent my friend ,,,,,i have the same problem almost ! i had a " hot spark " they told me went bad ? they intalled a pertronix in the bug ,,,so i was testing the old module with an DVOM ,,and same way you did except i turned it by hand , its showed me its not a bad module according to my test ,,,so it was replaced for nothing ,,,,,,you reinforced what i was questioning ,,,,i thank you for that ,,,,,people dont troubleshoot now days they just change parts LOL ,

Great demo, Ken. Helped me out a lot.

Appreciate seeing this helping folks. The Pertronix modules, at lest the early ignitors are really particular about voltage and ground. Those are the first things to check, in my experience., voltage supplied and good grounding.

Thanks so much this really helped me !! Now I don’t have to pull my distributor out and take it to the speed shop 50 miles away. Thank you !!!

Glad this is still helping folks. I forgot that I had posted it. Not enough fun times in the garage recently...Thanks for the comments.

Excellent video very good job of explaining and demonstrating.

Very informative and ice job explaining it. I am using 4 cylinder module and its a good upgrade and works flawlessly. however when things will go bad this video will be very handy.

great job Ken !

Great info thank you for this vid.

That was extremely helpful. Thank you for doing this video.

Really nice video. Very helpful

Thanks! Helped me diagnose a bad igniter.

Still helping ppl out! This helped me troubleshoot my Tbird ignition, got a bad module

Nice demo!

Just saw this Pertronix Test Video, GREAT job Ken. Love the way you explain. Very engineering format with test & verify!

thanks ken good basic demo

Great video. I lost spark with my Pentronix/TR6. Using your methoid (no drill) I found the neg connector had a bad connection. Thanks

Thanks it will help me great video.

The voltage, according to Pertronix, should drop from 12v to 3 to zero as it is rotated. Good video

Best method hands down

Excellent

Nice vid

Nice job, I will use this to troubleshoot my “no spark” problem.

I've got an original 1281 and a Pertronix II version. The original, key on, causes the test light to glow when first turned on, but the PIi version only works when it sees the make/break of the magnet. Assuming a protective circuit in PII not found in PI. Helpful video. Thank you.

Installed a pertronix 3 on aircooled VW, can't get it to start. Looked up this video and set it up with distributor out of engine. I get good results while spinning faster, barely detect any light on test light if I turn it slowly. Also did a similar bench test with coil and spark plug. Sparks while spinning faster, nothing while rotating slower. Parts used are: Ignitor 3 distributor Flamethrower 3 coil Pertronix plug wires My thoughts are it would start if it rotated fast enough? Any thoughts?

Thanks. Might be an easier way out there, especially if the distributor is removed and has the module installed. One could probably just connect it up and spin the distributor shaft. My module was on the shelf so I made do....

Good lesson to learn. Thanks.

I don't know about 6 cylinders but I know on 4 and 8 cylinders, these plastic rings have four magnets. I wanted to build a "wasted spark" electronic ignition system for my 2 cylinder Trabant 601. I used a Hot Spark (because it was cheaper) for a VW Type 1. The biggest issue was trying to figure out where the transistor was located inside the module which turns the coil on and off to get the ignition timing set correctly. If you notice in the video, there are four white marks placed above the magnets. Using a timing light, you can see that each time the coil fires, one magnet is at the leading edge of the module and the other magnet is on the trailing edge of the module. I initially thought the transistor was placed in the center. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gtycn8SAnpacoGw.html This engine has no distributor. Instead it uses two sets of points mounted on a plate and two ignition coils for each cylinder. By hooking the black wire off the module to both coils fires them simultaneously. So one coil fires near TDC and the other coil fires near BDC and vice versa. Like a Harley Davidson motorcycle. I still need to do some more work to this system before I feel it's road worthy. The reason the engine sounds the way it does is because it's 2 cycle engine.

AS far as I know the issue with this is a module can still show its doing something and not be working correctly. IMO.

Couldnt you do a similar test just by testing for continuity over the wires and from positive wire to ground? Ive one that shows no continuity at all but I dont know if thats normal. I know which a point set I could get that.

Why not wire the test light coil and position it where you can see it as you crank the engine over, would that work?