Hi everyone
Has anybody tried the Pertronix 6 volt ighitionn system on his 216? Mine will not fire on the 3.5 to 4 volts on the ignition system at starting. The engine starts sometimes when i release the starter solenoid. Mine is RHD.

You need to check your starting system because your voltage is going to low. I would think that at 3.5-4 volts it would be cranking slow. Does it start ok if you jump it?

Thanks Denys
I warmed up the engine and took some voltage readings. At start the battery was 6,5 volts with the intelligent charger connected.At cranking the volts on the lead terminals was 4,5.The volts on the ignition module in the distributor was 4,4 measured between the supply lead and earth terminal on the polarity reversing model distributor.Any ideas? I know the electronics needs some volts to work but I dont know how much.

Dear Dens
The folks at Pertronix say minimum volts is 5,2 at the unit.Ill try a diode and a large condenser. No 8 volt battery for me.

Do tell how you plan on using a diode and capacitor to resolve the low voltage issue? A diode in series will just drop the voltage an additional 0.7V and I know of no capacitor large enough to keep the voltage up that long when cranking.

The next step would be to voltage drop all your cables and connections, both pos. and neg. Use a digital volt meter and start at your battery posts one lead on the post and the other on the cable clamp and crank the engine while watching the meter you want .2 volts or less. Next move to the other end of the cable and check there the same way, if you find a high voltage drop then you need to clean connections or replace cables.

The electronic ignition unit draws 20mA standing and 20mA whilst cranking the engine (damn thing fires at 3 degrees C outside temp after I release the starter without my foot on the gas pedal.These old Chevs were well designed)
So I need 70mF capacitance for a 20 second crank period.Now to raid my son's car audio system.

Have ordered 2 of 1,5F 5,5 Volt backup capacitors to try.Will let you know if it works.

Dear Dens
I measured the volt drops and upgraded the starter cable to 00 and replaced a battery terminal.This has reduced the volt drop to 0,1 volt.
Dear Shawng
The condensers dont work. I'm using 1F but the volts drop off fast from 6,5 to 5,2 volts. I put in a new set of points and now it starts just fine.I think I was overreacting to the problem.My '57 1/2 ton points used to last 2000 miles. I put in a 12V pertronix unit which failed after 3 trips.Turned out the coil was faulty ( a cheapo ) so i bought a Bosch coil and haven't had any trouble since.But the Pertronix unit worked in this stock situation.

I put a petronix in my 72 Monte about 10 years ago, it failed on the 2nd or third time I drove it and when it died I was 100 miles from home parked in front of the registration table at a car show. Had to find tools and parts to put points back in it. It still has points.

I had a feeling the cap would not work. They are good for fraction of a second drops, but no more. Yes, there is math to calculate this, but it has been many years since school, so let's pass on the theory.