Author Topic: Pertronix 3 wiring?  (Read 7371 times)

The Going Thing

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #15 on: April 20, 2020, 11:50:41 PM »
That will absolutely work as well. I tried to stay away from the wires that carry a load off the ignition switch connection.  I used the red wire that goes into the tach just before the bullet connector. (It gives 12V  constant power.  The resistor wire is on the other side ( drivers side connection of the tach). It gives 12V  constant power.)

67gt500

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #16 on: April 21, 2020, 12:48:27 AM »
OK, so the 2 Tach wires are the Red / Green stripe that loops from the ign switch and has a female connector and the Pink / Red has the bullet connector.. This is the one you use to splice into for the 12V feed ?

(just noticed the terminal popped out of the Ign Switch block)
« Last Edit: April 21, 2020, 03:12:25 AM by 67gt500 »

Kent

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #17 on: April 21, 2020, 05:25:11 AM »
As a fact I wouldnīt start a thread if Iīm not sure that a Pertronix 3 will definetly destroy the tach of a GT500 if you wire it the wrong way, I knopw a bunch of germans that learned this lesson the hard and expensive way on 67/68 FE Mustangs. Check the FE and Mustang Forums and you will see with the tach you need a special solution. The instruction is only working for cars w/o a tach. And I only want to know how people here are solving this problem.

If some of you know the tach rebuilders they can tell you that the most of the repairs they have are because of msd/pertronix that were wired wrong. I checked under the dash yesterday of my GT500 and what have I seen there wooooow there is a MSD Tach Adapter and that one was installed in the late 80s because the owner then installed the pertronix, and my tach is ok. Maybe I take it out and do the installation more original style because I like to keep things clean and original.

The Going Thing is correct with his statement about the wiring etc.
« Last Edit: April 21, 2020, 05:39:21 AM by Kent »
SAAC Member from Germany and Owner of a unrestored 1967 Shelby GT500, 1968 1/2 Cobra Jetīs and some nice Mustang Fastbackīs 67/68

Kent

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #18 on: April 21, 2020, 05:33:15 AM »
I would say we should make a drawing with some pictures for this thread how to make it correct, then everybody who is doing a search can use it. Itīs not uncommon that people take their orignal fomoco distributor and add a pertronix 3, its a nice celan solution vs msd with their boxes etc.
SAAC Member from Germany and Owner of a unrestored 1967 Shelby GT500, 1968 1/2 Cobra Jetīs and some nice Mustang Fastbackīs 67/68

The Going Thing

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #19 on: April 21, 2020, 10:26:11 PM »
Kent: Had I known I would have taken pictures while the cluster was out to make it simple enough for a Caveman to do it.  It will destroy the tach if wired incorrectly. Yes, two well known to this forum told me exactly that. It's why I made sure it was wired correctly before the cluster was installed. I plugged the tach leads together so it would run until I had completed the interior.

The same person telling me I'm wrong told Randy Gillis the same thing.  Most of you know Randy Gillis, he needs no introduction here nor his qualifications.
I know most of us try to hide modifications to our Shelbys. After looking at the abortion of a schematic offered by the empty heads at Pertronixs I found a simple way to wire them and hide the modification with the exception of the 14 gauge wire running from the tach lead under the dash to the red wire for the module in the distributor. I taped it to the lead running to the coil and it is in the clips on the valve covers which makes it hard to see.  There's no real need for a schematic.
It's one wire. The balance is wire per instruction. The black lead from the Pertronix goes to the negative terminal of the coil. The Ford harness wire slips right on the terminal as it was.
I would recommend the II, as it no longer requires the dwell to be set. The rev-limiter is really the only advantage of the III unless you're using it as a trigger for an MSD box.
If pictures of the firewall forward and coil wiring pictures will help I'd be glad to provide them. I am not planning on removing my cluster for anything at the moment, so that would be more difficult to provide.

Being this has been such a confusing factor for many, I wish I would have done a step by step .



mlplunkett

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #20 on: November 12, 2020, 09:41:06 AM »
This is great information as I am having my distributor rebuilt now with a pertronix III (to gain the rev limiter feature) and I would very much appreciate a schematic even if it's hand drawn. My car has had previous modifications and it didn't have the factory tach so I'm adding all the Shelby parts and can't really count on anything that's there being correct. Help me out with a drawing if you can.

Just to be clear I was planning to use the Pertronix coil if that makes a difference in the wiring.
« Last Edit: November 12, 2020, 09:43:45 AM by mlplunkett »
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mlplunkett

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #21 on: December 04, 2020, 04:19:50 PM »
I had this diagram stored in my Shelby stuff but don't remember where it came from. Is this diagram correct? If used with the standard yellow top coil will this result in correct tach readings?
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mygt350

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #22 on: December 04, 2020, 08:50:05 PM »
Anyone have a similar diagram for the 65 GT350 tach?
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mlplunkett

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #23 on: December 05, 2020, 09:51:38 AM »
I actually had this stored in my GT350R folder but that doesn't mean a lot. I don't know what "Faira" tach means. I don't remember hearing that term anywhere else.
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Royce Peterson

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #24 on: December 05, 2020, 10:20:06 AM »
That diagram is correct however I always tie in at the bullet connector so that no wires need to be cut. It won't affect the tach at all if wired this way - the correct way.

I had this diagram stored in my Shelby stuff but don't remember where it came from. Is this diagram correct? If used with the standard yellow top coil will this result in correct tach readings?
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Bob Gaines

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #25 on: December 05, 2020, 11:20:51 AM »
I actually had this stored in my GT350R folder but that doesn't mean a lot. I don't know what "Faira" tach means. I don't remember hearing that term anywhere else.
Faira is the mfg name for the 66 GT350 tach.
Bob Gaines,Shelby Enthusiast, Shelby Collector , Shelby Concours judge SAAC,MCA,Mid America Shelby

mlplunkett

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #26 on: December 05, 2020, 01:27:24 PM »
So will this diagram work for the 65-67 tachs including the R Model instrument package?
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oldcanuck

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #27 on: December 14, 2020, 08:45:57 AM »
Yes indeed. The Pertronics coil is lower resistance than the stock coil. So it gives a higher output to the plugs but ruins the performance of the tachometer.

Personally I prefer using the stock yellow top coils.

I wired per the instructions, but I replaced the old non-original coil with a new Pertronix Flame Thrower coil as I thought that is what was required for the HEI ?

Is that were I goofed....... ?

If I swap back to my stock coil on my Pertronix I conversion, will it correct my low reading tach ?

Thanks All.
Bob
Knoxvegas, TN

oldcanuck

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #28 on: December 30, 2020, 08:53:50 AM »
Yes indeed. The Pertronics coil is lower resistance than the stock coil. So it gives a higher output to the plugs but ruins the performance of the tachometer.

Personally I prefer using the stock yellow top coils.

I wired per the instructions, but I replaced the old non-original coil with a new Pertronix Flame Thrower coil as I thought that is what was required for the HEI ?

Is that were I goofed....... ?

If I swap back to my stock coil on my Pertronix I conversion, will it correct my low reading tach ?

Thanks All.

Royce, somebody..... please. I dont want to try this and end up hurting something on the car.

Thanks for your help.
Bob
Knoxvegas, TN

Bob Gaines

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Re: Pertronix 3 wiring?
« Reply #29 on: December 30, 2020, 12:15:30 PM »
Yes indeed. The Pertronics coil is lower resistance than the stock coil. So it gives a higher output to the plugs but ruins the performance of the tachometer.

Personally I prefer using the stock yellow top coils.

I wired per the instructions, but I replaced the old non-original coil with a new Pertronix Flame Thrower coil as I thought that is what was required for the HEI ?

Is that were I goofed....... ?

If I swap back to my stock coil on my Pertronix I conversion, will it correct my low reading tach ?

Thanks All.

Royce, somebody..... please. I dont want to try this and end up hurting something on the car.

Thanks for your help.
The Pertronix is designed to work with or without the stock coil. If all things are equal and your tach is working now although with a low reading then there is no reason to think you will hurt the tach if you change back to the stock coil. It may not change things given the tach may already be hurt but no reason to think it will make things worse. The tach typically gets hurt if wired up wrong in the schematic. I hadn't heard of a situation like yours before. I hope changing out the coil helps. Keep us posted.
Bob Gaines,Shelby Enthusiast, Shelby Collector , Shelby Concours judge SAAC,MCA,Mid America Shelby