Pertronix Ignitor II and Flame thrower II coil

[cobra 3.0]

...sitting here in the cold white north and wondering if the electronic ignition sytem is worth the bucks? I have a 1986 OMC 3.0 Cobra and my old points system works just fine. I read that there are benfits to performance, fuel economy, etc.Has any one put it on their motor? Were the benefits worth the expenditure?

[JasonB]

Yup, it is worth it. Starts on my Ford 302 are much quicker and throttle response seems slightly snappier. No major noticable power gain, but it can't hurt.

[Boomyal]

Additional benefits are the lack of degradation as the points wear and lose adjustment. No replacing, readjusting and retiming. You put it in and forget about it.

[dmartin1215]

I put a Pertronix Ignitor in my 1966 Mustang 289 to replace the points in 1995...still in there nearly 10 years, and nearly 100,000 miles later. Points and condenser will never go back in it again. If it works that great on a car, I'm sure it'd be great on a boat!

[ncwest39]

DO IT ! It is well worth it.

[OMARiverRat]

I'll be getting my Wellcraft out of storage here within the next few weeks, and a petronix ignition system is something I've been considering as well. Is it possible my vessel already has a solid state ignition, or do I have the points-type distributor? Engine is a 1990 Mercruiser 5.0 Alpha 1. I'd check myself, but I don't have access to the boat right now.Thanks for the help

[imported_Mike_M2]

A '90 Merc already has electronics, no points...

[OMARiverRat]

Thanks Mike.... Finally, something that doesn't need updating.

[Fishermark]

Back to the title question - Is there a noticable difference or improvement of the Ignitor II over the original Petronix? What about if you keep the original coil?

[JasonB]

The two advantages to the Ignitor II is the power off feature and adaptive dwell. If you leave the key on/engine off with the original ignitor, it can be damaged. The Ignitor II senses this and turns itself off. The adaptive dwell is supposed to make starts easier by adjusting the dwell to provide more spart when turning the engine over (my understanding). The II costs about $30 more, but well worth it for those reasons. As for the coil, I opted for the standard flamethrower coil and have not been dissappointed. My original col was 1975 issue and was on its last legs.If you go for the hotter coil, which I recommend, be sure you have decent wires. My wires that I pulled last year were 1975 issue as well. I installed a new $35 set of MagStar marine wires and really like them. They have much more insulation.This years spark plug change will also get the .05 gap increase recommended with the ignitor and flamethrower combo, so I'm curious if there will be any change in running.

[blackcreek]

You might still want to check your ignition,my1990 mercruiser 5.7 bluewater ski model enginestill had points. I put in the pertronics, nomore hard starts,great idle,worth every cent.