5 replies to this topic

[TheSplodger]

I am looking at getting electronic ignition for my '92 998 cc City Auto - I can't choose between the Petronix (£60) or the Lumenition (£80). I'm not too fussed about the £20 difference - reliability and ease of fitting (for a buffoon ) are more important. Which one would you recommend?

[minimanclive]

I've had the Lumenition Magnetronic system fitted to my Minis for the last six years. I'd recommend it.

[Guess-Works.com]

Never used either, but I believe the pertronix is favoured by the more classic (period) mini owners as the unit fits entirely within the dizzy cap thus there is no external box which 'gives the game away'... I also believe the pertronix is used in the aldon electronic ignition system..

[dklawson]

I believe Guessworks is correct. Pertronix markets their ignition system as "Ignitor" which I believe is the same name Aldon uses.

There are only a couple of things about the Pertronix that you have to be careful with. The original Ignitor module is a magnetic (Hall Effect?) switch that has current limits on it. You must make sure that the resistance of your combined coil and ballast resitor (if fitted) is NOT less than 3 ohms. I know people who have run moderate performance coils with 2.5 ohms resistance but Pertronix doesn't recommend it. If the resistance is too low, too much current flows through the components and it literally burns up. The second problem is related to the first. You must NOT leave the ignition on with the engine turned off for prolonged periods of time. If you leave the ignition switch turned on for longer than 5 minutes, there is a good chance the components will overheat and fail. This sounds bad... but how often do you turn on your ignition and walk away from the car for 5 minutes? Ignitor II is their new product which does not have these thermal/current problems. However, I don't think it's available yet for Lucas distributors. As mentioned, it's a nice system because the only indication that you have a non-stock ignition is the second (red) wire coming out of the distributor.

I have no experience with Lumenition ignitions. However, I have an email acquaintance who has reported that he had one that gave him problems until he cut the spade lugs off its leads and crimped on new connections. This was a minor quality issue once the problem was found... but it dogged him for a while.

[Protarmic]

I have one of these fitted to my car, what the hell do they do anyway?

[dklawson]

I have one of these fitted to my car, what the hell do they do anyway?

Whichever is fitted... a Pertronix/Ignitor or a Lumenition, they are both electronic ignitions which replace the contact breaker points to fire your ignition coil... which in turn creates the spark at the spark plugs.