Breakerless ignition system

[Lawrence S.]

Has anyone had the above ignition system fail, and if so what symptoms did you have prior to 100% failure?

Thanks,

Lawrence

[Rick K.]

Re: Breakerless ignition system

A few weeks ago I started my 66 to let it run & bring temps. to operating range. It was idling fine & then just cut off, I restarted it and decided to take a drive & blow-out the winter cobwebs.

I went about 1/2 mile it cut off again but after a few cranks it refired. This went for on about 2 miles (cutting off every 1/4-3/8 of a mile). When I got back home the car would not refire at all & I found I was not getting any spark . I switched back to the old points system & the car fired right away.

My unit (Lectric Limited) was about 5+ years old but I contacted the manufacture in Calif. & they agreed to test the unit for me. A few weeks later they returned the unit & said it was ok. I have not yet put it back in the car because I'am still not sure what caused problem.

I had another one of these units to fail - the car just quit & would not refire. I think it was due in part to the poor condition of that car's wiring at the time of the failure.

Hope this helps.

[Michael W.]

Re: Breakerless ignition system

My experience was similar to Rick's except that it was a dark and stormy night sort of drama. Not fun being stranded. I re-installed points and never looked back.

[Lawrence S.]

Re: Breakerless ignition system

Thanks guys...my current problem is a little miss that seems like it is growing now. Kinda seems like a fouled plug but put new plugs in and switched out the coil, same issue. My breakerless unit has 3200 miles on it and is 4 years old.

[Timothy B.]

Re: Breakerless ignition system

Lawrence,

I would suspect a spark plug wire, if the breakerless ignition quit my thinking is the car will not run. Run the car at night and look closely at the plug wires.

I have the breakerless SE on my 67 and I am very happy with the ease if installation and the simplicity of the unit. The car runs like there are new points all the time. I think Rick may have a problem with the firewall plug and resistance in the cars wiring harness.

[Mike R.]

Re: Breakerless ignition system

I have had problems caused by the ground wire on the amp being loose.

A few weeks ago I started my 66 to let it run & bring temps. to operating range. It was idling fine & then just cut off, I restarted it and decided to take a drive & blow-out the winter cobwebs.

I went about 1/2 mile it cut off again but after a few cranks it refired. This went for on about 2 miles (cutting off every 1/4-3/8 of a mile). When I got back home the car would not refire at all & I found I was not getting any spark . I switched back to the old points system & the car fired right away.

My unit (Lectric Limited) was about 5+ years old but I contacted the manufacture in Calif. & they agreed to test the unit for me. A few weeks later they returned the unit & said it was ok. I have not yet put it back in the car because I'am still not sure what caused problem.

I had another one of these units to fail - the car just quit & would not refire. I think it was due in part to the poor condition of that car's wiring at the time of the failure.

Hope this helps.

[Richard L.]

Re: Breakerless ignition system

Lawrence,

I would suspect a spark plug wire, if the breakerless ignition quit my thinking is the car will not run. Run the car at night and look closely at the plug wires.

I have the breakerless SE on my 67 and I am very happy with the ease if installation and the simplicity of the unit. The car runs like there are new points all the time. I think Rick may have a problem with the firewall plug and resistance in the cars wiring harness.

Agree...

Timothy is spot on...By chance, are you running Lectric Limited spark plug wires..???

Also agree with running the car at night (with no lights on) and lifting the hood...I had an excellent light show going on until I replaced the spark plug wires...(Usual safety disclaimer inserted here)...

My SBC had the same problem (intermittent miss) at 2700 RPM and higher...Changed out to some 8MM wires and that high speed miss went away...

Rick

[Jack H.]

Re: Breakerless ignition system

If it's missing and you suspect the ignition module, then go put the car on an engine analyzer, view the spark waveform(s) and confirm/deny its the ignition module that's mis-behaving. There's no reason to guess on this...

For others who've reported modules that start & stop working intermittently, a little theory of operation might help.

The Breakerless SE has a feature to thwart stress on the ignition coil: automative sleep mode. When you turn the ignition ON, the module does a power-up confirmation of its internal health and then goes to 'sleep'. That precludes running current through the primary side of the coil when it's not needed/called for.

When you crank the engine, the module sees tach pulses via its Hall Effect trigger. So many consecutive tach pules (number is designer proprietary) and the module comes out of sleep mode and fires. The same is true in reverse on engine shut down.

When you turn the key OFF, the module stops firing and the engine stops. Without the distributor turning, there are no tach pulses from the Hall Effect trigger. So many missing consecutive tach pulses observed = instructions to the module to enter its sleep mode and STOP running current through the coil primary.

The feature is very handy in preventing battery drain & coil heating for those situations where the ignition is left ON without the engine running (like on the judging field???). But, sometimes there are consequences.

Like a distributor where the lead wire from the coil has frayed insulation beneath the breaker plate allowing it to short to ground. Such a condition could tickle the dragon's breath and generate false sleep mode episodes.

Or, one of the earlier Corvettes with 'hot ignition' setup ('091 coil and 0.3 ohm ballast) where the battery is way down on the charging curve AND electrical connections are badly oxidized. The absolute voltage to the ignition module could be depressed to the point the module's ability to generate its internal power supply is questionable.

If memory serves, the system is good to something as low as a tad below 4 VDC which should be PLENTY of design safety margin. BUT, given just right conditions, the unusual might happen...

[Jack H.]

Re: Breakerless ignition system

What amp? This thead is about the aftermarket Breakerless SE ignition module, not the factory TI system...

[William F.]

Re: Breakerless ignition system

Jack,
Let me know who even knows what an engine analyzer is, let alone where to find one these days-The only one I've seen in years (nonfunctional)was in an automotive museum .

[Terry M.]

Re: Breakerless ignition system

Oh, Bill -- you don't have one in your garage? I do. Now the greater challenge is to find someone who can operate one with any degree of skill. You got me there. At the minimum an old engine analyzer will make a fine piece of garage art.

BTW: We still have one in school and teach the Engine Performance class to use it -- even in the limited way it can be used on modern engines. I had my Tune-up and Light repair class using it a month ago.

[Lawrence S.]

Re: Breakerless ignition system

I started this post thinking I had a breaker less ignition problem and you guys have convinced me otherwise.

The car is slightly sputtering from 1300 rpms and up not missing as I stated earlier. This is what I have done so far with no change:
Changed plugs
Switched out the coil with a known good coil
Switched out distributor cap
I have new plug wires but looked at them while the car was running at night and did not see any sparks or arcs

Could this be a pcv problem? I pulled the pcv out and shook it and the piece inside did move but did not seem to be as free as a new one. I sucked air through it (tasted real nice!) and did get air flow?

Any ideas? Car has run perfect since resto 3400 miles ago except for this little
hitch.

Thanks

Lawrence