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Pertronix
Ignition
Dear Dr. Motorhead,
Where is Piston, your trusted assistant?
Haven't heard much from him in a long time. And by
the way, who are you anyway?
Signed,
I won't tell you until you tell me.
Dear anonymous,
I am Dr. Motorhead. I am me. This is my real name. Well, I should
say, a derivative of my real name. My great grandfather came to the
United States from Germany. When he arrived, he did not want to use
his German surname which was Motorkaupf. He Americanized it and
renamed himself Motorhead so he would not get confused with all the
other German immigrants named Motorkaupf. His first name was
Freidenberger. He shortened that to just plain old Fred. My parents
named me Fred in his honor. So, there you have it; that's who I am -
Fred Motorhead. Oh, by the way, I heard a funny one the other day.
Someone thought I was Steve Merjanian writing under an alias.
Impossible. You see, he is an Armenian, not German and besides, he
only knows a fraction of what I know. In fact, he calls me from time
to time for advice. I am happy to do so as I enjoy giving you all
advice. So don't forget to keep writing in with your questions.
I am glad you asked about Piston. He is doing very
well. Currently he is studying at the University of Hawaii, getting
straight A's and is the Captain of the hockey team. I'm very proud
of him. He will be back in Minnesota this summer helping me with
continued research and catching up on all the filing that's been
ignored since his departure in late August.
Those weren't very difficult questions to answer.
Can't you come up with something tuffer (sic) than that? And,
incidentally, I know who you are.
Signed
Dr. Motorhead, the one and only.
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Dear Dr. Motorhead,
I have heard much talk and read a number of articles pertaining to
the installation and use of electronic ignitions in our older boats.
What do you think of this modern day wizardry? Is it all that they
say it is? Are there any adverse effects with it's use? Do I need to
know how to operate a computer? Or, are these questions just
pointless?
Signed,
Nan O. Second
Dear Nan,
Nice to know women are getting involved. Your questions are not
pointless, but your distributor will soon be. It's a new century,
get with the flow gang, move onward and experience the electronic
age. It's simple and painless; you will love it, your engine will
love it, even your pocketbook will love it. And no, you don't need
to know how to operate a computer.
Here is how it works: The mechanical distributor
tells the coil when to send spark to the spark plugs. This is done
via the contact points inside the distributor. I have written about
this before, so I won't bore you with all the details again. These
points get worn out, pitted, corroded, out of spec (point gap or
dwell) and won't allow your engine to perform it's best.
What will you need to do when you convert our
distributor to an electronic type? Simply replace the old breaker
points with a new electronic module. There is a company, PerTonix
Inc., that manufacturers the conversion kits for just about every
distributor - new and old. You need to talk to an automotive parts
dealer who carries the PerTronix line of equipment. You must bring
them the number on the identification tag attached to your
distributor. Order one up, and wait with anticipation for your order
to arrive. You should be as excited as when you were a kid waiting
for your Nabisco Spoonmen to arrive in the mail. When your package
finally arrives, open the box and take a look. Your first thought
will be, "is this all I get?". That's it, simple as pie.
Go to your boat, remove your distributor cap,
remove the rotor and look to see what's left. There is an aluminum
plate which the breaker points are attached to. You are going to
remove this. The plate is fastened with two small screws on the
sides, take them out and remove the plate. Now you will see the
counter weights and springs which are the mechanical spark advance
mechanism. Using WD 40 or the like, squirt these down good, get 'em
clean and easy to move. No big deal at all. Next, open the box and
fetch the new plate with the electronic module attached. Re-install
the new plate. Install the magnetic collar over the rotor shaft.
Re-install the rotor and the cap. Connect the black wire to the
negative post on the coil and the red wire to the positive post on
the coil. There you have it - converted, with nothing more to
adjust, file, clean or deal with again. I would also recommend
installing one of PerTronixs' high output coils and a set of high
performance spark plug wires.
How does all this work? Briefly, the collar has small magnets
inside. These magnets pass by the module and trigger the electronics
to complete the circuit, thereby igniting the coil.
Positives: better performance (more rpm), more
horsepower, engine burns cleaner, never have to change or adjust
points again, no more condenser and this system is not affected by
moisture, great attribute in a boat. Easy to do, even for you
neophytes (got this word from Piston). Also comes with the Dr.
Motorhead seal of approval.
Negatives: you must convert your boat to a 12 volt
system, there is an extra wire coming from your distributor, judges
may deduct for that extra wire. You may chose to connect your red
wire someplace less conspicuous than the coil. If so, it should be
connected to the positive side of the ignition switch.
Looking for ways to get that little extra out of
that flat head engine of yours? Count this as tip number one.
Signing off for now,
Dr. Motorhead.
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