petronix wiring/ alternator

[drem312]

1989 rebuilt motor 350 5.7 GM 305 hp,,,I just put the new motor in and I am starting to connect all the wiring I have the petronix ignitor with flame thrower coil and Im wondering if I have to to disregard the red/purple wire from the back of the alternator to the pos side of the coil? is this considered the resistor wire? what is the purpose of the red/prple wire from the alt? Also I have a purple and black wire from the starter to the pos side of the coil.. can I connect this to the new coil or do I have to run a new wire all the way from the ignition switch to the coil as suggested on the directions from petronix,,and if I do that do I then eliminate the purple and black that is currently coming off the starter ? thanks

 

[drem312]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

hey Don S I know you have an answer????Please????

 

[drem312]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

Anyone??

 

[heiliges]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

When I hooked mine up, I used the same wiring. No adjustment needed.

 

[drem312]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

Where does the coil get the full 12 volts from on yours

 

[gdombroski]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

Where does the coil get the full 12 volts from on yours

The Pertronix needs to get the full 12 volts not the coil. Trace coil resistor wire back to before it resistor point 2-3' and splice in there. If you have an old ESA you need to do the resistor fix as mentioned on their site. Some newer ESA's don't need it. Also, if the Flamethrower is .5 ohm you need to add an additional marine ballast resistor of about 2 ohms for it to work right.

To confirm this if you wish, before you put new coil in run, with resistor wire in place, the engine you will notice the coil stays cool. Now put the new one in run and you will notice the coil gets hot. After a while to the point that the engine will have significant operational problems.

 

[gdombroski]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

and if I do that do I then eliminate the purple and black that is currently coming off the starter

No that wire supplies 12 volts to the coil at starting then the resistor takes over when started.

 

[drem312]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

the petronix diagraham shows the red and black off the distributor going to the coil so if i understand this right i need to put the wire off the starter to the pos side of the coil so during start up the coil has power then also I need to put a wire that has 12 volts when the key on also on the pos side of the coil? along with the red wire from the distributor?

 

[gdombroski]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

the petronix diagraham shows the red and black off the distributor going to the coil so if i understand this right i need to put the wire off the starter to the pos side of the coil so during start up the coil has power then also I need to put a wire that has 12 volts when the key on also on the pos side of the coil? along with the red wire from the distributor?

Nope, that's for a system without a ballast resistor look at figure 3 on this http://www.pertronix.com/support/manuals/pdf/ignitor12vneg.pdf that's the hookup I described above.

 

[drem312]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

I was informed that the coil has its own internal resistor and requires a full 12 volts what ever its called I bought the flame thrower coil 1.5 ohm from petronix... I believe the way im going to do it is the right way I did call them and they were a little helpful although he seemed confused also. we will see tm thanks

 

[gdombroski]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

well now Iam confused even more I was informed that the coil has its own internal resistor or ballastor what ever its called I bought the flame thrower coil 1.5 ohm from petronix... I believe the way im going to do it is the right way I did call them and they were a little helpful although he seemed confused also.

Does you system have a resistor (ballast) wire to the coil? Your first entry says you do. If so, Figure 3 is the right one.

Was your standard coil 1.5 ohms? Probably not as most are 3 ohms, is it this one http://www.pertronix.com/prod/ig/flame/coils/40000_volt.aspx If your standard coil is 3 ohms you should get the 3 ohm version which will not require an additional ballast resistor.

Also, in regard to ESA (shift interuptor) look at the Q&A on above link near bottom about diode fix.

 

[drem312]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

yes that is the coil i bought which reguires a full 12 volts to operate correctly which goes with the ignitor thats in the distrubtor and I have no resistor wire that is going to the coil my first post was questioning the red purple wire tha goes from the pos side of the coil to the rear left side of my prestolite alternator but have been told by a mechanic that that wire feeds the alt not vice versa. the wiring info and set up was from petronix tech when I was speaking to him on the phone... he said the following leave the wire from the starter to the pos side of the new coil this will charge the coil during cranking but to also run a wire from the igntion switch from the dash to the pos side of the coil and this will be charged when the key is on after the engine starts... then red and black from the distributor to the coil,,,,, easy

 

[gdombroski]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

I have no resistor wire that is going to the coil my first post was questioning the red purple wire tha goes from the pos side of the coil to the rear left side of my prestolite alternator but have been told by a mechanic that that wire feeds the alt not vice versa.

Interesting as the red/purple on mine is a resistor. The connector to the alternator output is one that provides a steady 12 v's when running then the resistor part of that same wire connects to the coil. Easy check thou when started put your voltmeter on the coil and check. If its reading about 8.5 volts your mechanic is wrong 12v he's right. The coil does not need 12 v the ignitor does. The only reason I keep questioning is I did the same as your planning with Pertronix input and burnt out two shift interupters and high performance coils.

 

[drem312]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

ok I will check the alt wire thank you!!! I m trying to get it right before I add the juice to it everything I have read says 12 volts to the flame thrower coil when the key is on no ballastor needed has its on on the inside... also looking at the current set up i do not see that diode fix as mentiond on the site but im assuming i will figure that out when i try shifting ... do you have the same set up 350 gm 5.7 1989? do you have the petronix ignitor with a 1.5 flame thrower coil? how did you wire yours ? did you run a wire from your ignition to the coil ?

 

[gdombroski]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

ok I will check the alt wire thank you!!! I m trying to get it right before I add the juice to it everything I have read says 12 volts to the flame thrower coil when the key is on no ballastor needed has its on on the inside... also looking at the current set up i do not see that diode fix as mentiond on the site but im assuming i will figure that out when i try shifting ... do you have the same set up 350 gm 5.7 1989? do you have the petronix ignitor with a 1.5 flame thrower coil? how did you wire yours ? did you run a wire from your ignition to the coil ?

Mine are 89 5.8L OMC's (Ford 351W). If I'm right that you do have a resistor and it's coming off the alternator like mine then the wiring is as I describe above, splice red ignitor wire before the resistor and black to neg coil. Leave positive post as is. If you currently don't have resistor then red can be on coil positive. Please check what the OEM direct replacement coil ohms are as mine were 2.4 and I put in the Flamethrower 11 .6 ohm which required an additional ballast as to not burn out the ESA's (which I'm assuming you also have). If you have a resistor wire and stock coil was not 1.5 I can forward you a technical doc. that explains why you need more resistance to the coil and what it should be. But like I said earlier. When resistor wire determined hook up ignitor with stock coil first and run. Then put in in new coil with ESA unplugged and run if coil gets warm/hot you need more resistance.

Is your ESA original? Newer replacement models eliminate the need for the diode fix.

 

[gdombroski]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

also looking at the current set up i do not see that diode fix as mentiond on the site but im assuming i will figure that out when i try shifting

Your current setup points will not have the diode fix. That is an additional add-on for the ignitor and Pertronix only had, when I did it, instructions on how to build one with cheap resistors/diodes from Radio Shack to prevent ESA burn out when running. If you need it, don't install and run as then its to late you will burn it out.

The additional ballast is to prevent coil from overheating if you need it.

Are your setups OMC's or what?
I will take picture of my setup over the weekend.

 

[drem312]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

I do not know if teh esa is new or not I do see where someone slpiced into the esa purple and grey wire so maybe they did add a newer style esa i will check tonight when I get home,,, I do not have an old coil but when its started i will see i its gets hot ,,,,,I have read that the back of the alternator has a full 12volt post when the key is on

 

[drem312]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

Just found the old coil that was used with the petronix it says use with an external resistor and the number on the coil is 29690 . I bought this boat with a seized motor so I have no idea what worked so the red purple wire is probably the resistor wire then ? I never had points when I bought the boat it came with the petronix ignitor in the distributor

 

[drem312]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

you came off the back of your alternator for the 12 volts and not thru the ignition switch ? cant i just eliminate the red /purple wire from the back of the alternator and run a wire form the key ignition on terminal to rthe coil as described by petronix.. like i mentioned the old coil looks like a standard coil but did have that external resistor marking on it so if there was an external resistor set up previously is that the same thing as the resistor wire off the alternator? are they the same thing? I really need to make damn sure Im doing this right and keep getting different answers... why would an esa burn up? the only thing connected from the esa to the coil is the grey neg wire correct? it doesnt get power from coil just thru the purple wire in the harness?? I appreciate all the help believe me... I looked and I dont think i have a newer esa but will have to take it off the bracket and look at the number underneath. here are two photos one you can see where they splice the esa wires back together,,,like there was a diode fix at one time but im not sure ,,another photo the purple wire off the esa had a spliced wire in it and this went to the distributor or the pos side of the coil the tape i had on it came off during the winter that told me where it came from I think this wire has 12 volts when the key is on and thats why he used it to the coil dont know though

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: petronix wiring/ alternator

Hey Drem, hope you get this all right. I will be watching after all the issues I have been having. Good luck. The diode fix if you need it is what I showed my mechanic the other day, he looked at me like I was nuts. It is shown on the hastings site in one of the pdfs