It looks like with the 40111 coil and original Pertronix you need a ballast resistor.. Input voltage to the coil should not be over 8V. It sounds like like your coil failures may be due to overheating the coil. A stock coil will fail in the same manner if the voltage is not reduced.

According to the instructions, it should work fine with the ignitor and no resistor.  http://www.pertronix.com/docs/instruction-sheets/40111.pdf



Lawrenceville, GA

My flame thrower flamed out after a year of use on another Ford with stock Bosh/Motocraft electronic ignition.  I replaced it with a Summet 60000 volt unit for $28 free shipping.  Immediately performance increase and instant start up. 

I found this confusing when I installed my Flame Thrower coil. I called Petronix and their tech guy said to run it without the ballast resistor. It does seem to get hotter then a stock coil using the ballast resistor so it always makes me nervous.

I called Pertronix and they told me the same thing. Their coils have an internal resistor and was told to bypass the external resistor.
The instructions sheet also said the same thing. Doesn't that defeat the purpose by running an internal resistor and an external resistor. I tried it hooked up to an external resistor and I coudl feel the difference. Pulling away from a stop the car did not have the zip.

All coils have an "internal resistor."  That is primary resistance.  You need an external resistor with points to prevent the points from burning up and in that case, it does not defeat the purpose.
If you don't follow the instructions and use an external resistor when one is not called for, then yes it most likely will defeat the purpose because that is not how it is designed to be wired.



Lawrenceville, GA

You make a good point Charlie! I have been running with Petronix and an original Flame Thrower 1, coil now for about 13 years with no problems what so ever. I HAVE been running through the ballast resister though. Now you say this will keep my coil cooler, could this be the reason why I have not had ANY issues with this system??? Also, now that I am running a higher compression motor, should I eliminate the resister to give me a stronger / hotter spark???  I want performance, but I am willing to sacrifice some for the sake of reliability. (hopefully this makes sense!) 



I love the smell of burning rubber in the morning!

Royce said it will run cooler.  I didn't know that.  Possibly that could be why it has lasted, but I'd be inclined to run it the way Pertronix suggest.  They designed it so they should know.  Others seem to not have a problem so perhaps the problem is with a newer batch of coils, rather than the flame thrower coil in general.

On the subject of pertronix, I noticed no difference whatsoever when converting to the ignitor II and flamethrower II from points.  No easier starts.  No smoother running.  No better throttle response.  No better mileage.  Nothing.  It wasn't any worse but certainly not what was advertised.  When I managed to fry the P II and reinstalled the points, it felt better with the points.  That is my only experience with Pertronix so perhaps my opinion is not justified, but I am not impressed.  This was also in a fresh rebuilt distributor, so there was no worn out, sloppy components for the electronic pickup to mask and provide a perceived increase in performance that can be had by simply rebuilding the distributor.

Never had a problem with the coils.  I still have the flamethrower II somewhere and I have a Flamethrower with my points distributor for a backup.

I second Drylakes recommendation of Performance Distributors' ignition.  Though the HEI style (che vy style) is impossible to use on a Y block, A Duraspark conversion with their Dyna Module, inferno coil, and livewires is fantastic.  That's what I've had for about 5 years now, trouble free and I did notice a difference with that, much less cold natured, feels stronger from idle to about 2500.  The cold driveability is the most impressive.  On the coldest of days we get in Georgia, I start it and it is ready to go.  With the points and Pertronix it would spit and sputter on cold days if I didn't let it warm up a bit but this is start and go.  And by the way, I don't recommend that, you should still give the oil and fuel system some time to warm up but it is an option.
Mileage may have increased but i did a carb swap before I could check so I don't know how each contributed to that.  That combo did get a 2mpg increase.
However, there is a significant difference in price between that and Pertronix.  I think it boils down to the old saying, "you get what you pay for."



Lawrenceville, GA

I agree with Charlie. Many independent tests have shown no increase  in HP, performance, mileage etc. People who claim big gains when switching from points usually happened because the point distributor wasn't set correctly or worn out before. The only performance gains were at really high RPM were problems with point bounce/dwell change occur in a point type system.
From what I have read from automotive electrical engineers and this is a condensed version, all coils are 8 volt. A 6V system is really 6-8 just like a 12V is really 12-14.. A resister is needed to bring the voltage down to approx 8V. If a 12-14 coil was actually made it would be twice the size. So we have two types of 12V systems for coils, external ballast resistor like most early Fords before they went to resister wire, and an internal resistor type coil. If you check an external resister it gets HOT, so now you put the resistor inside for a internal resistor coil like the Flame Thrower and you have added the extra heat to it. I would prefer an external ballast resistor type coil but I don't think Pertronix makes one..

The limitations of the "pointless" inductive ignitions lies with (1) the power handling capability of the transistor that switches the coil on and abruptly off (to fire the plug) and (2) the ability of the chosen coil to handle the amps and "charge" during the period of dwell. The original "Ignitors" - don't have a very capable transistor, the dwell (time "on") is limited to something like the points supplied, and if the primary resistance of the coil you use is too low, then the transistor cooks. The conventional style coils (like the one my Ford came with) have very limited insulation capacity - and the oil "cooling" system for the windings had its roots in the days of horse and buggy. Won't work well without a ballast resistor to protect it.

The better grade of coils - now in current production - are of "E" core construction (E describing the visible chunk of steel the windings are wrapped on). I have several FOMOCO versions around - one of them came on an F-150 I found at the parts yard and had 165,000 miles on it - they are about 1.2 OHMs primary resistance, are fed from a resistance WIRE in the ignition (1.45 OHMs or so) and work nicely with one of the Duraspark II triggers (electronically set from the factory at the exact dwell used on the points of a late 50's / 60's distributor). The Ignitor would work virtually forever with one of these - if you used the OEM style resistance wire for a total OHMs of 2.65. Performance would be better than stock - but the E-core coil would be there for all to see. I think that is the issue many guys have with going to the new systems - that are really pretty good parts - but it looks too new for my '56.

When GM came out with the "transistorized ignition" for the Corvette - it incorporated a wonderful device. A microchip that could check on how many AMPs were flowing through the coil's "On and Off" transistor and control the heating. Adjust the dwell between low and high rpm and such, a nifty gadget - now widely copied by everyone in the world. When you get a patent for something - you have to explain it for all to see - that's the rule. GM used this chip technology in the controller for the HEI type distributors - and the Ignitor III has this same brainwork - it saves the switching transistor and works magic with a low OHMs (.50) coil. I believe that Pertronix now has a low OHMs cylindrical coil for use with the Ignitor III - and that completes the package - makes it possible to have a stealthy electronic ignition for an engine that will accept it.  


 

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona