View single post by Tom Bradley
 Posted: 10-02-2018 09:16 pm
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Tom Bradley

 

Joined: 07-15-2013
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Don,
Standard 14 gauge wire to the coil is perfectly OK. The only thing I get worried about is the connectors. This is where I have had most of my problems over the years. When I re-did my ignition system I got rid of as many as I could, especially inside the engine compartment. The spade terminals like on the coil, alternator and starter are the worst. If you have these, even if they are new, make sure that they are very tight. They should be difficult to push on and pull off. If they slide easily they are too loose and you should tighten up the connector on the end of the wire with a pair of pliers. People who are in a hurry to put things together sometimes wiggle the connectors to get them to slide in easier. This does not usually cause problems right away, but often cause intermittent problems down the road as they loosen up some more.

I once had an intermittent problem that only occurred after I had been driving for 15 minutes or so that I finally tracked down to a loose spade connector inside the Lucas alternator. Apparently after the engine compartment got hot the connector loosened up enough so that the alternator randomly stopped working, but then was fine when everything cooled down enough for me to work on it. One minute with a pair of pliers fixed the problem.

On the coil I got rid of the spade connectors and put ring terminals on the end of all the wires to get rid of the problem, though I think I may have been getting carried away there. As long as the connectors are good and tight they should last for many years.

The weakest link at this point is probably the ignition switch itself. With the original points, the ignition switch could get burnt just like any switch. I ended up replacing it with an electronic switch of my own design which has worked well for many years, but that is a pretty major undertaking and butchers up the wiring big time. Since the Pertronix 2 has built-in current limiting hopefully that will extend the life of the ignition switch as well.