[Olds442455]

I have a 71 GT, the engine turns over fine but ther is no fire going to the plugs. so I made sure the points where set at 0.018 and left the cap off the dis. Then I removed wire from the coil that runs to the Distributer and connected a test light between the two terminals and and turn the the engine over and the light blinked so I put the wire back on the coil and tried it again and I saw a spark at the points so I figued that was right.
I then left the key on and disconected the wires from the other side of the coil 1 was hot and 1 was not.. Is that right??
I thought it was,,,, So I reconected the wires, and put the rotor button and Dis. Cap back on, and tried to start it it turned over a few times( with out sarting) and I let off the key leaving it in the on Position,, Next thing I see is smoke from under the distributer cap and my points have melted,, I have been fidling with this for a while now and melted about 8 sets of points trying to figure it out..
Thanks a lot for any help

 

[TGSI Racing]

Here's a couple of possible problems and one solution.

1. The wiring could be hooked up wrong and applying +12V directly to ground through the points. The coil should have +12V connected to the + side of the coil. The tach (green wire I think) and points should be hooked up to the - side of the coil.

2. The resistor wire to the + terminal of the coil has been replaced with a regular wire. Since the resistor wires in 30+ year old Opels have gotten brittle, it is very possible that it has been replaced improperly. Although this would cause your points to burn & pit quickly, it is not likely that it would cause them to melt.

3. The coil has an internal short. Not likely, but this could happen. If combined with a by-passed or improperly replaced resistor wire, that would take +12V to ground through your points.

Solution to ignition problems of all kinds. Replace points with a Crane XR700 (or even better XR3000) electronic ignition and Bosch "Red" coil. You can get the stuff from OGTS (maybe not the XR3000). Even if there was nothing wrong with your stock stuff, you should go to electronic ignition.... your engine will like you for it, and you'll never have to hastle with points again.

 

[oldopelguy]

Points? Who uses points?

If the above option seems a bit cost prohibitive, you can get better than stock performance with a new Bosch coil from your local auto supplier and either a Pertrionics or Compufire points replacement electronic ignition. I have used both and prefer the Compufire unit, but they both work about the same. These units are designed for air-cooled VW, are a drop in replacement for the points and condensor, and are available through almost anyone who advertises in Hot VX's for @$55. Compufire also makes a DIS system that should work for @$200 that I've been dying to try!

 

[Burst]

I had TGSI's condition #1. After letting my car sit for several years and long engine overhaul later I had connected the coil backwards! Yes, it won't start, and the wire on the points starts to melt and burn! I felt like such an idiot for not checking that more carefully than I had, since I had my brother there looking on at my failure with total amusement!

 

[Gary]

Re: Points? Who uses points?

If the above option seems a bit cost prohibitive, you can get better than stock performance with a new Bosch coil from your local auto supplier and either a Pertrionics or Compufire points replacement electronic ignition. I have used both and prefer the Compufire unit, but they both work about the same. These units are designed for air-cooled VW, are a drop in replacement for the points and condensor, and are available through almost anyone who advertises in Hot VX's for @$55. Compufire also makes a DIS system that should work for @$200 that I've been dying to try!

I've been using a pertronics in my '69 for 5 years now.
great little unit. BugStuff.com sells them for ~$52.00.

The part number is 1847V

 

[TGSI Racing]

I got an email about the Crane vs. the Allison electronic ignition listed in the OGTS catalog (about $120). These are exactly the same thing. Crane bought the product line from Allison a few years back.

 

[TGSI Racing]

I just looked up stuff on the Pertronix and Compufire units. They both look interesting... expecially the Compufire although it is a little "pricey". I'll probably try the Compufire on the race car. We're designing a comuter controlled advance box (no more mechanical or vacume advance) so we can "dial in" the timing for each RPM range in 250 RPM increments. It looks like the Compufire unit will be a perfect match.

Here's the web sites for Pertronix and Compufire:
http://www.pertronix.com
http://www.compufire.com/vw.html#11100

 

[oldopelguy]

One more option

-There is another points replacement that used to be available, of all places, through JC Whitney, called Luminition. It used a disc with 4 holes drilled through it and a photo transmitter on one side with a reciever on the other. I havn't seen one lately, but they worked well too.
-Some of the VW suppliers are selling a cheap knock-off of the pertronics unit called a Mag-fire for @$35. Most people havn't had great luck with them, so the more reputable companies won't sell them anymore. I didn't try one myself, but for the extra $20 I'd go with the Pertronics.
-The Pertronics, Compufire, and Luminition can all be used with a MSD box as well, if you have one stashed away in the garage. You may need to reread your instructions, but I have made all 3 work with a 6A unit that is older than the Opel to really liven it up.
-A good ignition system will make even a stock Solex equipped car run stronger and get better mileage to boot! I went from 24mpg with the Solex and points to 28mpg with the Pertronics, a new coil, and new wires. With the Weber, later, mileage actually dropped, to @25mpg, but the car really pulled better. With the MSD box the mileage climbed back to @27mpg and pulled better still! I think the new ignition had almost as much of an impact as the carb change.

 

[Olds442455]

WOW!!

Great info,,, Thanks
But if I get this electronic Ignition can I forget about that resister wire??
Or will I still need to fix it??
I have been plannig on gettin the elec. igni. but I just wanted to hear that baby run with what I have, Being some one who works on cars as a hobby its nerv racking.. that I cant fix a ignition prob but this GT is a lot dif from anything I have worked on.... I even thought about building a 1/4 mile car out of her,, but its to cool the way it is,,
Oldopel guy,, 28 mpg I wish I wher driving your Opel right about now, since we'r getin screwd at the pumps. I found another one of those 71 opel manuals to and watched it till the last sec,, Ha Ha you snake.. Thanks for the info man..

 

[TGSI Racing]

The older Crane systems required a balast resistor instead of the resistor wire, but I think that the new versions of the XR700 don't require the ballast resistor. In either case, you can use plain wire. The XR3000 doesn't require a ballast resistor or resistor wire.

As for the other systems I'm not sure. There is nothing about wiring resistance or ballast resistor in the Compufire installation instructions, but their instructions are for a Volkswagen. If my memory of old "BUGs" is correct, the ignition wiring is just plain wire. But check with the manufacturor to be sure

 

[oldopelguy]

Coil is the answer

All of the points replacement systems need 12V to operate properly. Ford, VW and most imports use a coil that has resistance built in or compensated for, so they don't need an external resistor. Dodge, Opel, AMC, and some other companies use the ballast resistor to drop the supply voltage to the coil to keep the coil from burning out.
I'll upload a simple schematic of how to hook it up after work tonight, but the answer is that if you get a coil that doesn't need the resistor, then you can eliminate it. I have seen 5-6 Opels with an aftermarket internal resistance coil hooked up to the resistor wire, giving less than 5000V to the plugs! Truth be told, my GM alternator puts out more like 15V and the resistor wire drops it to 12V so I left mine in.
Any parts store should be able to tell you if the new coil has built in resistance or not. If you do get one that needs an external resistor, though, or even if you keep your stock unit, you will be ahead to get a Dodge style of resistor, ie the little white ceramic do-dad, because they have much more stable resistance values. 1/2" in length difference of the resistor wire can mean 500-1000V difference to the plug!

 

[PROPEL]

Compufire is on sale for $179.50 from http://www.doghouserepair.com

Just ordered mine