Pertronix I Ignitor Install/Idle issues

Cougar Community Classic Cougar Maintenance Restoration and Repair
1

Hi all,

I am new to the community after purchasing a 69 Cougar XR7. Just pulled it out of Flat Rock, MI and working on making some very mild upgrades to an otherwise very stock/untouched car.

After a thorough tune up with new spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and set points/timing (also splurged on new turbo mufflers), I decided to upgrade to Pertronix I. Did the install myself, but now I am hearing a miss in the engine and a rather rough idle. Does anyone know if the 69 cougar came with a Ballast Resistor. Also, did they all have 12V systems? I also purchased the Flame Thrower coil but have not installed this yet.

I appreciate your thoughts on this and I am sure it may be more than one thing. Anyone have had similar success (or failures) with Pertronix I?

Cheers!

Scott

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2

Welcome to the insanity Scott :beerchug: Thats a nice looking cat, yea i’m partial to black :open_mouth: I can’t help on your question but it won’t be long till someone does. :smoke:

3

No ballast resistor, but there is a resistor wire. To get optimal performance, you need to feed 12v to the pertronix. Lots of threads discussing this… here’s one: http://www.classiccougarcommunity.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4087

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Yes your Cougar has a resistor wire, and you do need to run 12 volts to the Pertronix. Try this thread for all the details: https://cccforum.discoursehosting.net/t/pertronix-pointless-ignition-module/3968/1

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Welcome to the forum Scott. This is a great place for information and a good group of people here willing to help out a fellow cat lover. That is a very nice looking car. What did you pay for it?

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Wow, excellent article. thanks everyone. I will need to run this to the resistor wire…didnt do that and it idled rough…

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Welcome Scott, that looks like a keeper, nice combination of color and wheels, as others have said, you need to by-pass the resistor wire and get full switched 12 volts. The resistor wire is pink coming from ign. switch.

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Also should mention that Rocket Man makes a relay specifically designed to provide 12v power to the pertronix. It’s as close to plug-n-play as you can get. Look for “pedapter” here: http://www.rccinnovations.com/index.php?show=menu-relays

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Thanks for the link to the article about the 12V feed on the Pertronix unit. My cat already had the Flame thrower dizzy on it when Dad gave it to me and I JUST had this happen this weekend. Thought I would need a tow home, but car started perfectly, only to die at idle with headlights on. You SERIOUSLY just shortened my troubleshooting time on this one. THANK GOD

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Hey All,
Just found a relay kit specifically for the pertronix to give a constant 12v in Mustangs Unlimited Cougar catalog, so may help with this issue.

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Thanks, do you have a link to this relay kit from the catalog?

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Power Relay Pertronix Ignition @ MU: http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=PX2001+01