Change points to electic. Yes or No
Printed From: CorrectCraftFan.com
Category: Repairs and Maintenance
Forum Name: Boat Maintenance
Forum Discription: Discuss maintenance of your Correct Craft
URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=37698
Printed Date: November-16-2024 at 11:31pm
Topic: Change points to electic. Yes or No
Posted By: Sampson 182
Subject: Change points to electic. Yes or No
Date Posted: November-18-2015 at 11:59pm
 So tell me should I upgrade to a new electric distributor points set-up like a Mallory or Pertronix>>>> OR >>>should I leave it like it came factory with points and condenser 1987 351 PCM 2001SN. ..... FYI runs super..... I am a newb on this site this is my new correct craft bought this year second all together . Had many inboards (Moomba, Mustang, Mastercraft) FYI I know how to set points like my granddad taught me with a matchbook cover and a points wrench. LOL!! 
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Replies:
Posted By: SNobsessed
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 12:15am
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Pete is gonna love this one . . . ------------- “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Ben Franklin |
Posted By: davidg
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 1:54am
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If you don't know who Pete is, he will say "keep it original", and I don't think he likes Pertronix either. I would be interested in hearing why he doesn't like Pertronix. I was having misfire issues on my '68 F250 w/390. It wasn't the points, but, rather a bad condenser. I think the replacement was starting to go bad too, Condensers these days, according to the internet, are cheap and don't last. I decided to try a Pertronix system, and it has been running great. No more condensers to go bad. No more misses. However, if your boat is running good now, I'd leave it alone. If it starts to act up in the future, then consider it. By the way, real nice looking 2001. I like the color combo. Very clean boat. |
Posted By: Jonny Quest
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 2:11am
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Fine looking 2001 -- regardless of your distributor type. ------------- Current 2003 Ski Nautique 206 Limited Previous 2001 Ski Nautique Open Bow 1994 Ski Nautique Open Bow Aqua skiing, ergo sum |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 6:49am
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Don, Now that my name has been mentioned, I guess I need to comment but, I would have anyway! Welcome to CCfan. Yes, great looking 2001.  I love your comment about the match book cover. I too have used the trick when a quick point set replacement was needed at the launch ramp and I didn't want to drive home for the feeler gauge. I got the boat home and the dwell meter told me how close a chunk of paper got me!! As mentioned, I'm not a fan of the EI conversions and I don't consider them to be an "upgrade". There are known problems with them and when they fail, you are stuck. We have members who actually carry a spare module on board! With a point set, you can do a quick clean up and get home plus, typically you will know when they are starting to go bad. Points have worked since the days when they replaced the hit and miss ignition. There are no performance gains with the conversions . I feel may times the convertions are done by people who can't or don't know how to handle a point set!! In your case, that's certainly not the problem. If you want to go electronic, replace the complete distributor. There are several threads on it. If you already haven't found it, there's a FAQ thread at the top of this forum section. Fantastic links to just about anything you need to know. If you can't find an answer, ask since the members here have a unbelievable knowledge base. Welcome again and keep the pictures coming. We love them! Also, when you get a chance, submit some pictures and text for the diary section. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: Smithfamily
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 7:45am
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I would leave it as well. I too, remember and have used the old "matchbook" method! I remember years ago, stopping and helping a few "surfer dudes" stuck on the side of the road with a VW bug. Turns out the drivers Dad, had just tuned her up, and failed to tighten the points down, A matchbook (They had one?) and a screwdriver, with instructional lessons at the motor, got them up and running. "Farout". "Cool" and "Hang loose" was my reward. ------------- Js |
Posted By: 75 Tique
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 10:29am
I learned the same way, except instead of a matchbook, use a dime. Last time I did it, I didn't have a dime, so I used two nickels. ------------- _____________ “So, how was your weekend?” “Well, let me see…sun burn, stiff neck, screwed up back, assorted aches and pains….yup, my weekend was great, thanks for asking.” |
Sampson 182 wrote:Posted By: ScottZ
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 10:55am
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I have upgraded all of mine and it was well worth it. ------------- Scott Zuelzke Lake Mitchell , AL 1984 Ski Nautique 1972 Skier |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 11:12am
Scott, Did you do the conversions or go with the complete distributor? Fill us in on why you feel the "upgrade" was worth it. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: ScottZ
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 11:47am
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Conversions. No more corrosion issues or adjusting the gap. WHAT WORKS FOR ME MAY NOT BE THE BEST FOR SOMEONE ELSE. Nice boat Sampson and welcome to CCFAN. ------------- Scott Zuelzke Lake Mitchell , AL 1984 Ski Nautique 1972 Skier |
Posted By: 74Wind
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 11:50am
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My chrysler has pertronix and have had no issues, however, if yours is running well now, why bother? ------------- 1974 Southwind 18 1975 Century Mark II |
Posted By: Gary S
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 12:03pm
I'd change it and look into a FI system too.  ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1711&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1966&yrend=1970" rel="nofollow - 69 Mustang HM SS 95 Nautique Super Sport |
Posted By: 74Wind
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 12:24pm
I must add that was long before I got my WWPD (What Would Pete Do?) bracelet... ------------- 1974 Southwind 18 1975 Century Mark II |
Posted By: cadunkle
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 12:28pm
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I do not like Pertronix as a company. Had one of their units fail on me in the last week of warranty. Called for a warranty claim and they said their RMA system was down, call in a few days and they would honor it as a failure within warranty period. Assured me they made a note of it and would be no problem. Of course when I called back they refused to offer any sort of warranty coverage. Never again will I deal with Pertronix, as I doubt they'll want to make this right after so many years. Still have that worthless failed $100+ Ignitor II sitting in a drawer. I switched that distributor over to an Accel points conversion and it has performed fine for many years. For my boat I run a Mallory unilite marine distributor and am pleased with the quality and performance. Points are fine, but my experience is engines with electronic ignition start easier and idle smoother. Many times the "problem" with points is not really the points at all but rather a 20-40 year old worn out distributor. The bushings wear and the shaft wobbles, causing inconsistent timing and points gap. Electronic conversions can mask the symptoms of that but if your distributor is worn you should rebuild or replace. The actual issue with points is running full current through them as in most old basic ignition systems. If you run an ignition box that just uses the points as a trigger then points work well and last much longer between cleaning and adjusting. |
Posted By: 63 Atom Skier
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 2:18pm
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I've converted to Pertronix on the '63 Atom last year and it was one of the best things I've done! I struggled with points for a couple of years, did a ton of research on how to set and maintain them (I'm a stickler for maintenance - probably the engineer in me! ;-). I also did a ton a research on keeping points vs. Pertronix. At the end of the day you'll find it to be a 50/50 split on preferences, but I'll tell you my boating experience vastly improved last summer with the Pertronix - no more messing with points. Now the "points camp" will argue that when the Pertronix unit fails, it will leave you stranded, as opposed to a set of points that you generally can always get going again. That is true, but the newer Pertronix units have a very low failure rate. In my research, Pertronix had issues 30ish years ago (when electronic ignition was still relatively new anyway), but the new ones are extremely reliable. With this in mind, the minimal risk of failure is greatly outweighed by the convenience of not having to mess with points! ------------- Jason |
Posted By: 63 Atom Skier
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 2:20pm
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Also keep in mind the nice thing with a Pertronix unit is that you can always go back to points - you simply pull out your points and put in the Pertronix or vice-versa. I have to agree with Pete - keep it original, so I really hate doing anything I can't reverse. ------------- Jason |
Posted By: chuckactor
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 2:21pm
| There is a reason you can't buy an internal combustion engine with points anymore. Even the motor in your lawnmower doesn't have points. Switched to a Mallory E-Spark and the boat runs great. I wasted 2 weeks during the start of the season trying to get my "quick to clean up and fix" points to work. |
Posted By: TRBenj
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 2:30pm
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We have seen a rash of poorly performing/unreliable pertronix units in the last 10 years. The count of dead EI modules in my attic far exceeds the number of times that points have left me stranded. You can only revert back to points if you keep the baseplate! Most people throw it out when converting. Those are hard to find. If you can't get points to run reliably then there is something wrong with the distributor, your adjustment, or possibly cheap/faulty parts. I've heard of low quality condensers as of late and got my first one this fall. Still a much cheaper replacement than going EI. Totally agree that old worn out distributors likely cause more issues than the points themselves. Converting a tired dizzy to EI won't solve the issue entirely (or at all). I have some nice electronic DUI's in a few boats and don't have an issue with electronic ignition on the whole, but I do not care for the retrofit EI kits. You get all of the bad parts of EI and none of the good. I keep points in all of my stock/near stock boats. I'd be more inclined to replace the dizzy with new or have the old one rebuilt than simply converting the pickup. JMHO. |
Posted By: Hollywood
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 3:14pm
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The bad modules were possibly burnt up by improper installs too. Failure rates are all old and unreliable data. If it runs fine I wouldn't fuss with it but if/when it does wouldn't be afraid of any of the available EI conversion kits. |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 3:34pm
Very good to know but, what is the reason????? ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: Gary S
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 3:38pm
And really how often is this seen? If the engine is worn enough to be rebuilt then yes, why in the world would someone put a worn out part in something new. More often than not it's from neglect and a points conversion will not help that,more likely make it get worse because then the cap will never come off. If you want to go pointless then use the unit that Tim has recommended and many here have now used,not some pieced together fits one fits all conversion. ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1711&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1966&yrend=1970" rel="nofollow - 69 Mustang HM SS 95 Nautique Super Sport |
Posted By: Hollywood
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 3:55pm
| this is like saying: "hey my friend's ski nautique broke down once, you should buy a mastercraft they are better..." |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 4:01pm
Even with all the research, you are still point set challenged? As I mentioned previously, it's a common reason for the EI conversion. The other is, some seem to think it will add performance which it doesn't. If the engine has problems starting due to ignition issues, then it's probably time for an ignition tune up with a proper point install and dwell adjustment.------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: Gary S
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 4:12pm
Manufacturer's look bad when it takes 2 weeks to get their points adjusted In small engines I'm sure the reason is cost and packaging------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1711&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1966&yrend=1970" rel="nofollow - 69 Mustang HM SS 95 Nautique Super Sport |
Posted By: 81nautique
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 5:18pm
Most likely reliability and longer service interval, lower maintenance costs. My shop vehicle just turned 160,000 miles yesterday and has never had a tune up, original wires , cap, plugs everything. A points system just can't get that done, I remember maintaining the family cars growing up, we had 4 cars in the family and I was always tuning one of them up. |
Posted By: Sampson 182
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 5:25pm
| Thanks everyone. I have actually been sneaking around the site for around a month soaking up all the knowledge I could from the members and posts before I purchased this boat. After reading everyone's post I feel its a 50/50 split. This boat fires right up, idles like a champ and runs super!. So I think I'm just going to order me a spare set of high quality points and condenser to keep on the boat and just enjoy it till I start having an issue. My biggest concern was just reliability on the water and like most say if it ain't broke don't fix it. To be honest sounds like the full conversion ( distributor, coil ,ballast, ect) is really the proper way to get good reliability and at this point my wallet is very thin. Think I am going to put that money toward reconditioning my teak platform and some good old fashioned routine maintenance. |
Posted By: TRBenj
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 5:56pm
I didn't buy the failed modules on eBay, lol. Install was proper on at least 3 in my pile (verified with my own eyes) but the others could have failed for a number of reasons. Even the DUI's are not immune, FYI! At least those modules are only $30. Still more times than points left me stranded too. I agree that I would not be in a huge rush to revert back to points on a boat/engine that came to me with EI (assuming it was running good). But I sure wouldn't spend money on the conversion either. Points are easy and cheap, and have a lower failure rate than the conversion kits in my experience. Of course I think that owning a $20 dwell meter and knowing how to use it goes hand in hand with owning an old boat... So I may be out to lunch on this topic.
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Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 6:04pm
Tim, You're not out to lunch as I have agreed with you many times.
Next time we meet up, we'll get together for lunch!  ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: Hollywood
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 6:07pm
| nice carport too |
Posted By: Gary S
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 7:12pm
I agree Alan,my 01 Jeep doesn't even have wires,cap or rotor but I meant small engines. For example my 24 year old Stihl chainsaw lost spark and was a bad coil assembly. Nothing there to replace but it. At manufacture time no eccentric cam needed to be ground on the crank or flywheel no extra covers,point plates or holes to mount them or condensers, a nice compact item most likely made the engine smaller too. So after replacing the coil myself at 1/3 the original cost of the saw,I was back in business. ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1711&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1966&yrend=1970" rel="nofollow - 69 Mustang HM SS 95 Nautique Super Sport |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 7:26pm
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I think we should go back to magneto's!! ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: SNobsessed
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 7:45pm
JMO, but manufacturing cost is usually the reason for widespread industry changes like this. I imagine it is more expensive to pay someone to set points than just plug in a module. ------------- “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Ben Franklin |
Posted By: Tim D
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 8:25pm
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When I converted mine to electronic, my imagination went wild. You know, thinking it fired up quicker and noticeable throttle response. Hey Sampson, you live in Clinton? ------------- Tim D |
Posted By: Jonny Quest
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 8:26pm
Well said, HW. Made me laugh. ------------- Current 2003 Ski Nautique 206 Limited Previous 2001 Ski Nautique Open Bow 1994 Ski Nautique Open Bow Aqua skiing, ergo sum |
Posted By: Sampson 182
Date Posted: November-19-2015 at 8:53pm
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Yes Tim D. I do. ------------- 1987 Ski Nautique 2001 |