The sixth post down should tell you all you need to know. It also explains why the one I bought proved to be a waste of money too, but if you still want to give it a go you can have mine for postage cost alone
les wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2023 4:18 pm
How often do the original points fail ? ————very rarely, I submit. When is a Minor not a Minor ?
They will fail if they are ignored for a long time. But if checked and maintained periodically, and replaced when they show signs of coming to the end of their working life, then a quality set will not let you down. Same thing goes for spark plugs. Its not a good idea to ignore routine oil and filter changes, or any other servicing come to that. It will only lead to trouble. I have run with points for decades and the only ignition failures I have had were with poor quality rotor arms. But since obtaining ignition parts from The Dizzy Doc I have had no issues with ignition parts.
As to your second question - when its a Frankenstein's monster!
Lumenition seems to be about the best non OEM system I've found, one of my cars had it fitted when I bought it in 1995 and it's still going strong, beats 28 years of fiddling around with points and condensers. I've had issues with the sparkrite type systems and modern Chinese systems.
I think the Lumention Optronic system has a very good reputation for reliability. It is expensive but basically bombproof. I looked into it in detail and there are some distinct advantages to the optically triggered system:
1) It can be wired for positive or negative earth vehicles with no need for different module. Useful if a car was switched to negative earth.
2) It can be statically timed just like with points (you cannot do this with a magnetically triggered module)
3) You can still easily start the car on the starting handle if you need to (or just want to for fun). It is very difficult to start a magnetically triggered system on the starting handle. Believe me I have tried.
Disadvantes
1) Expensive compared to points or magnetically triggered electronic ignition systems (Hall effect)
2) Separate module. Does not all fit inside the distributor so does not look completely original. However, Lumention make a special coil bracket so that the electronic module can be mounted avoiding any need to drill holes in the car to mount the module.
Stephen
1969 1098cc Convertible “Xavier” which I have owned since 1989.
, also happy with Lumenition ( BSA A65 ).
