Transistorized ignition

[Jerry Weidner]

I am having difficulty with the Ti system on a 66 425 hp car with Ti installed and would like some suggestions on converting to a more reliable set-up for occassional driving. The car dies right now when driving and when idleing and seems to be ignition related. I would like to switch to a reliable system I do not have to worry about so I can enjoy the car.

Regards,

Jerry

[Rob A.]

Re: Transistorized ignition

Jerry,

I understand you can put a modern system inside the original T.I. housing and you will have reliability and retain the original appearance.

[Mike M.]

Re: Transistorized ignition

TI systems i have or had were "all or none" functioning. if your 66 runs intermittantly, its' probably not the TI pulse amp. mike

[Duke W.]

Re: Transistorized ignition

My experience is that they work perfect or not at all.

I think you might have an intermittent connector problem. Check them all with a magnifying glass. Look for corrosion, bent/loose pins, etc. including the amp connector. Check continuity in the wire harness while jiggling the harness.

You can also remove the back cover of the amp to check inside. Be careful not to tear the rubber gasket. Use silicone grease (NOT silicone sealer) on the gasket and the amp connector boot.

The two wires from the pickup coil can fatigue and break. An intermittent can be IDed by using a vacuum pump while the engine is idling to cycle the vacuum advance control, which rotates the stationary pole piece and exercises the wires

Since it may be a simple problem you are better off doing some trouble shooting before you junk the system for a bubba fix, but replacing the amp guts with a HEI module is okay if it is the main power transistor or something on the board.

Duke

[Alan Drake]

Re: Transistorized ignition

Went to the in the box replacement last year, very pleased. Before that (in the 80's) used a MSD set up that worked fine.
Found that mine failed after a long warm up period, could drive for 1hr or more then nothing. It was the amp, water was inside which shorted the amp. When it failed, as others have said, nothing worked.
A TI harness is a stand alone harness so if you find wiring problems a new one won't hurt much.
Good Luck.

[Mark #28455]

disconnect the radio capacitor on the coil

The RF interference capacitors can dry out internally over time and start to short out - this will lead to erratic ignition performance even though the part looks externally perfect. A NOS part can also suffer from the same problem if it is 40 years old.

Easy to test for, just disconnect the capacitor from the coil terminal - it is NOT needed for function, only to suppress radio static. If the car then runs fine, you have the culprit.

Mark

[Jerry Weidner]

Re: disconnect the radio capacitor on the coil

How do I identify the RF capacitor? I am mechanically decent but when it comes to electrical systems I am a moron. The Ti system is fairly new, Distributer rebuilt, new nos box from LIC, new harness, new Lectric plug wires, I just do not want to start replacing items to try and fix but I am unsure how to diagnose the problem. It ran fine previously but yesterday it died completely while ideling after getting it restarted it died a 1/4 mile down the road and then ran extremely rough. It has periodically died while idleing before but never has completly shut down like yesterday. I believe it to be the electrical system and not a fuel problem but I could be wrong. Any quick tips on checking all the aspects of the TI system?

Regards,

Jerry

[Bill S.]

do not believe K66 had a cap

i is my understanding there is no capacitor on the coil on a TI set up.i could be wrong. my 66 L72 with TI runs great. it has an updated amp.

[Terry M.]

Re: do not believe K66 had a cap

Bill,
The use of a capacitor may depend on the year of the car, and obviously if a radio was installed. My 1970 with TI and AM/FM came with a capacitor at the coil from the factory.

[John H.]

Re: do not believe K66 had a cap

67's with T.I. didn't use a capacitor on the coil - dunno about '66.

[Mark #28455]

If it's there, it's obvious

The capacitor is a small metal cylinder about 1/2" dia by 1 1/4" length with a single wire coming out of the end. It is screwed to the coil mounting bracket. I do not know if it was original on a '66, but someone may have added it.

Mark