electronic ignition conversion still using ballast resistor??

[showskier]

I have a 1990 Ski Nautique. At some point the previous owner had it converted to electronic ignition. While giving it a tune up I noticed That the Ballast resistor is still hooked up. The resistor is reducing the voltage to the coil. Is anyone familiar with an electronic ignition conversion that requires less than battery voltage? My first thought is that whoever did the conversion overlooked the resistor or forgot to remove it. I thought I should ask before removing it and burning something up.

[s_kelley2000]

Do you know what brand EI kit is it? When we added a Pertonix EI to our old 90 Sport we bypassed the ballast resistor. I imagine most kits would instruct you to do the same but I can't say for certain.

[Zach@n3]

The resistor is to reduce voltage to a coil that was designed to operate on a 6v signal. Usually people do 1 of 2 things. They leave the resistor in and reduce voltage to the EI unit. Sometimes they will run fine but die early and other times they might not run. The other thing they do is take the resistor completely out and the coil will over heat causing an intermittent longer run dying condition. This will kill the coil quickly too if the boat is used a lot or on long run intervals. If it is a 6v coil run a hot wire from the inlet side of the ballast resistor to the EI unit and leave the coil as is. If you go the other route just buy a proper 12v coil and eliminate the ballast all together. You need to figure out what brand the EI conversion is to see what it works with on the voltage source.

[kend]

I used the purple resistor wire (yes resistance built into wire) on an '88 5.7 Mercruiser when I converted with Pertronix. It worked ok for a few months and then the Pertronix failed. I ran the new one directly from a 12v source and got a noticable improvment in performance. Just make sure you have a low resistance iginition coil ($30-40) when you go with a full 12v.

[surroundsound64]

Best modification I ever did on mine was a DUI distributor. I fiddled with the electronic conversion kits for years. They are just bandaids for cancer. Fwiw.

[Zach@n3]

I am not so sure why everyone dislikes points? It boils down to that folks don't know how to properly set up points. (or EI set ups for that matter). The PCM EI setup is the best, the pertronix piece is generally garbage. My boat with a fresh carb and points that have almost 700 hours on them fires with one pump of the throttle and idles immediately. Just about as close to fuel injection as you can get. You just need to lube the mechanical advance and point cam every few years and you are in like Flynn. Usually what happens is people have a running or starting issue and they point fingers and the points just because it's "old technology". They put in EI conversions and still have the same issues. That being said, folks really like the DUI dizzys in performance applications.

[surroundsound64]

I work with points and condensers on an almost daily basis (new -piston- airplanes still have magnetos.) I'm not arguing that people don't know how to set up point systems, I'm just saying that I work with that system probably more than 90% of motor enthusiasts and still had problems.

My issues with the conversion weren't so much start up problems, but high power setting problems. Misses, stumbles, things like that at 30+ mph. I like points, but I always carried an extra set with me or the tools to work on them. No worries with a DUI.

[TRBenj]

All ignition modules can potentially fail- DUI's included. When they do, youre usually dead in the water if youre not carrying a spare module. No limping back home like you can with points. I have dead modules of every flavor in my basement if you dont believe me... DUI, Mallory, Pertronix and Prestolite (PCM). Dead is dead.

I love my DUI's as well- run 2 boats with them. I love my points too. I think the conversion kits are generally a bad idea. Some are better than others (Pertronix being the worst), but theyre all quite a bit more expensive than points without any real performance benefit. And Ive seen them be a detriment when it comes to reliability. Points for all my stock and even lightly modified engines, please.

[Zach@n3]

^^ +1

[Mikeski]

The distributor on my 1983 Ski Nautique came with points. It ran good when they were adjusted correctly and it kept points until 1989. Around that time it had started to become a spring routine where it did want to start and I would find points that had corroded being the most common issue. At that time I installed the electronic conversion kit and rebuilt the carb. It ran better than new from that day until the day I sold it. The factory carb had one of the air passages partially blocked by a gasket so that is probably why it did not run perfectly from the factory. But this boat lived outside under a simple boat cover in the rain on a lift year round, and it passed water through the cover and out the drain plug over the winter. All of this condensation wreaked havoc on the points, I would find green hair between the gap. Installing the electronic conversion eliminated this maintenance issue and made my first day of skiing after winter much more enjoyable. So I guess it somewhat depends on your situation, I am done with points in my boats that stay outside.