Hey there thanks for looking! I have a rather long question and this due in part to the amount of aftermarket items I have on my 351W.

The Players:

Accel Super Coil with Ballast Resistor
--------positive and negative terminal
--------positive wired directly to the ballast

Duraspark II Ignition Module (83 Bronco)
--------Black: Ground
--------Green: Tach
--------Orange:Stator Assembly
--------Purple:Stator Assembly

Mallory Distributor without vaccum advance
--------no wires not even a direct ground

Petronix Electronic Ignition for the distributor
--------red:Petronix said hook this up to the positive on the coil
--------black:Petronix said hook this up to the negative on the coil

The Problem:

No spark to sparkplugs, however and getting 12.3 volts on of the coil wire going into the distributor.

The Questions:

1) The Duraspark II system has 4 wires coming from it I am concerned with.

Black: Ground
Green: Tach
Orange: Stator Assembly
Purple: Stator Assembly

What is the STATOR ASSEMBLY and where do I hook up the purple and orange wires if I no longer have one?

2) How should I route all the other wires so I don't fry my electronic ignition (Petronix said it operates ideally between 7-12 volts)?

3) An auto-parts guru said I should never be running over 8 volts from the coil as it my fry the distributor or the coil. It this true?

My ignition module was tested and it tested perfect so I know the issue is not there. The detailed timing is not an issue yet because I know I am not getting fire to the plugs. I have set the crank to TDC and gotten the timing close though I am sure of that.

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond. I am sooo close to getting it running it is itching my brain! Anyway, thanks!

 

Brent,

First problem is you have 2 ignition boxes, you only need one either the Daraspark II(DS2) or Petronix.

Secondly, if there's one wires to your distributor your not going to get any spark. The ignition module tells the distributor when to fire. With the DS2 system you have a Ground and the Orange and Purple from the box. How the Petronix is set up I don't know but if there are no wires between it and the distributor, it ain't gonna work.

 

Thanks for the reply! The Petronix is not an ignition box it simply replaces the points and is completely internal. It does not even have an MSD box. I guess I will call Petronix back and make sure if I need to he Duraspark or not. Thanks you brought up some good points! I appreciate it!

 

>Accel Super Coil with Ballast Resistor
>-----positive and negative terminal
>-----positive wired directly to the ballast
>
>Duraspark II Ignition Module (83 Bronco)
>-----Black: Ground
>-----Green: Tach
>-----Orange: Stator Assembly
>-----Purple: Stator Assembly

>Petronix Electronic Ignition for the distributor
>-----red: Petronix said hook this up to the positive on the coil
>-----black: Petronix said hook this up to the negative on the coil

Let's figure this out.
The Pertronix replaces the points.
The Duraspark is a primary circuit amplifier.
Therefore, the Duraspark needs to be between the Pertronix and the coil.

First of all, you can probably by-pass the Duraspark to get thing going if you need to. Just follow Pertronix's instructions for installation. Next, you should look at an original Ford Duraspark distributor. Is there a power lead for the Duraspark distributor? Probably, the Duraspark amplifier supplies a voltage to the Hall Effect transistor in the Duraspark distributor. If so, then one of either the Orange or Purple that goes to the Stator Assembly will be at a constant 12 volts or some voltage when the system is powered up. Use that power wire to energize the Pertronix's red wire. Get it?

The Pertronix needs power to run its Hall Effect transistor so it normally taps into the distributor 12 volts, but you can use the power lead from the Duraspark. As I pointed out above, that will be one of either the Orange or Purple wires.

By the way, that ballast resistor is going to reduce the voltage to the + terminal of the coil, and therefore the voltage to the Pertronix is going to be reduced as well, if you tap onto the coil. If the Pertronix needs a full 12 volts, then you'll want to attach it to the other side of the ballast resistor if you're not using the Duraspark.

Does that make sense?

>1) The Duraspark II system has 4 wires coming from it I am
>concerned with.
>
>Black: Ground
>Green: Tach
>Orange: Stator Assembly
>Purple: Stator Assembly
>
>What is the STATOR ASSEMBLY and where do I hook up the
>purple and orange wires if I no longer have one?

The stator assembly is a reluctor and a Hall Effect transistor in the distributor. These parts replace the points and the points cam in the distributor.

>2) How should I route all the other wires so I don't fry my
>electronic ignition (Petronix said it operates ideally
>between 7-12 volts)?

If you by-pass the Duraspark, then the Pertronix should be on the high side of the ballast resistor, or, not attached to any point between the ballast resistor and the coil.

If you use the Duraspark amplifier, then the Pertronix should be on the Orange or Purple wire, whichever is at 12 volts when the Durspark Amplifier is powered up. The other of the Orange or Purple wires will be at a low or zero voltage.

>3) An auto-parts guru said I should never be running over 8
>volts from the coil as it my fry the distributor or the
>coil. It this true?

Sort of. Many coils are designed to run at a reduced voltage except during cranking. During cranking, the ballast resistor is by-passed to provide more voltage to the coil. This is done for two reasons. The first and most important reason is that the starter drags the battery voltage way down when it's cranking the engine over. So, to make sure that you're getting enough juice to the spark plugs during starting, the ballast resistor is by-passed and the coil gets as much voltage as is available. The second reason is that the extra voltage helps fire the engine when it needs it most.

>My ignition module was tested and it tested perfect so I
>know the issue is not there. The detailed timing is not an
>issue yet because I know I am not getting fire to the plugs.
>I have set the crank to TDC and gotten the timing close
>though I am sure of that.

Ah! Try by-passing the Duraspark to set the timing, then rewire the Pertronix to the Duraspark after the timing is set.

email me at my yahoo! account in case I forget to follow-up on this thread; pcmenten(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

Best of luck, you're getting close.

 

also, check your earlier post looking for duraspark diagrams if you need those--I scanned em and posted a reply over there for you

 

Why would you want to use the pertronix and the duraspark II at the same time? What a wiring nightmare and a waste of money. You need to either use one or the other.

 

franklin good point....and that is what I am going to do...

ok well first of all I want to thank you for the expert advice you have given me on the matter. It is very much appreciated! I feel like I am very close to a solution here and it is getting exciting.

I called Mallory today and they suggested that I do not need the Duraspark Ignition Module at all. They suggested exactly as you did that I hook the ignition wire to the positive on the coil and the red wire to the positive and black to the negative.

I have one question about this though. The Duraspark Module has a red and white wire going into it that the manual states are for the ignition switch. Can I use these two wires and hook them up to the coil for the ignition wires or do I have to run seperate wires from the fusebox? I would assume if I use these that the red ignition switch wire would go to the positive side of the coil and the white wire would go to the negative?

Thanks again and I will let you know what happens!

 

The red wire is 12 volts to run the duraspark module. It does not have the resistor in the circuit. The white wire is hot only in start and tells the duraspark to retard the timing to make the engine turn over easier. You need to use the original wire that went to the coil, since it has the resistor already in the circuit. I think if I remember correctly it is red/green.