Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[62rebel]

the Spit i recently obtained is fitted with a Piranha electronic ignition, and from what i gather these chaps have gone out of business. what would be a troubleshooting method for locating and correcting a fault, or should i pony up for a new setup entirely?

and forgive me for blatant stupidity, but would a standard points-type distributor work on the 1500cc engine and which donor cars should i look for if so?

[Greeney in France]

I am not hugely knowledgeable on the spit although I rebuilt my sister in laws for her
I think the early spits had Delco Remi and the later was a Lucas set up but you would have to make sure the advance curve was correct so try and get the original part number!
I have used a system called 123ignition on 4 cars so far with great results, even the 2CV and it makes so much difference they arent cheap (what is?) but in my mind are the best, it is a complete replacement ditributor with all the gubbins inside so no extra box
http://www.spitbitz.co.uk/ ok for secondhand parts
http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/ new parts
http://www.123ignition.nl/downloads/folder/123ignition-Folder-LQ.pdf
Thats a PDF so you will need a reader on the computor
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[ukdave2002]

Hi 62Rebel

The Spit would have originally had points, the Piranha would have been an after market add on which replace the points with an electronic sensor, and if I remember had a separate box with the power circuitry that triggered the coil.

In terms of tracing faults;

• The air gap on the sensor in the dizzy should be about .00020" you will have to google to get the exact spec, it could be + or - .0010"?
• If you put a volt meter on the coil and turn the engine by hand you should see the voltage go on and off much as you would expect with standard points.
• If you have access to a scope you should see if the sensor is producing a squareish wave output.

So I guess your options are if still doesn’t work;
1. Put a set of points and condenser back and run as original
2. Replace with another electronic system, the 123 that Greeney uses are good as you replace the whole distributor with a new one, so will also be addressing any other problems the dizzy may have like shaft wear or sticky advance weights, the only thing to look out for is if your spit has a mechanical rev counter driven from the dizzy, the 123 wont drive it.

If the dizzy is in sound mechanical shape, and you want to maintain electronic ignition I would use the Petronix system, it’s a fraction of the price of the 123 and all fits in the dizzy, very quick to fit, I use one in my Stag.

The main advantage of keeping the electronic system is that it allows you increase the dwell a bit and to open the spark plug gap up, with the assosiated benifits.

Dave

[62rebel]

well, given that i'm removing the powertrain from the donor car, getting it running can wait. i'm going to replace the Piranha but i will keep it as i'm unsure whether or not it works. at least a new pertronix will have a warranty and have spares available!

[Nic Jarman]

Hi, I had a piranha ignition on my suzuki gs1000. It was an optical type. It parted company with the bike on the side of the Blackwall Tunnel. That stopped it working.

Nic