Thinking about going to an electronic ignition instead of buying a dwell meter and working the old fashion way. Went to the auto parts store and they did not know what dwell was. '69 series 2 with 4.2 motor. Any suggestions?

 

Hi John,


It's me again. The dwell angle is a much more accurate way of setting up your points than fiddling around with feeler gauges whilst turning the crankshaft. Since virtually every car these days has electronic ignition, dwell is no longer needed and therefore an unfamilar term for many. However you would expect those guys working in a carshop to know what it is !!!


Anyway, if you are thinking about electronic ignition, I can recommend that. Go for the Petronix Ignitor module (LU-166A). It makes a world of difference and does away with all we discussed above. They are about 60-80 USD.


The job takes about 15 mins, but I recommend you use the opportunity to give your distributor a good once-over and clean-out. How-to is in the manuals.


When installed, start the car and use the strobe gun (which I told you to buy last time) to achieve 10BTDC at 1000rpm. You will notice a much stabler tick-over and it will probably avoid those misfire issues you mentioned in your other post.


Good luck.

 

I picked up someplace that the electronic ignition will make my tack go wacky. If so, is there a fix?

 

Not with this Ignitor 1 model. It works fine in my car (which is the same as yours).

I've read the same about the Ignitor 2 models and some of the 123Ignition ones, but I can't share any experience there.

 

If you go petronix , use ignitor1, Ive used them for over 100 different cars for 30 years when everyone laughed years ago.
With that said!, The petronix NEVER worked right IMO for those jags, it just would buck, fart never right, unless something has changed.
I have used a SERIES 3 XJ6 set up for 30 years and it runs as smooth as glass .
Probably and old mans comfort as the new distributor bolts right in and has vacuum advance.
Just my two cents

 

I had the Pertronix Ignitor 1 for about 15 years and it went well but eventually failed so that car wouldn't rev past 2500-3000 rpm. Went back to points and condensor and car went well but I felt that it didn't start as easy nor idle as well. Considered buying another Ignitor 1 but after some research I bought an AccuSpark. Similar to the Pertronix Ignitor 1 but has adaptive dwell which I don't think the Ignitor 1 offers. Also cheaper in Australia. Has an extra wire back to the coil compared to Pertronix or conventional points. Only installed it a couple of hours ago so can't comment yet on performance.

 

Petronix has a good help team. A friend installed one in his MK7 and they ironed his problems in 1 phone call.

 

want to go to the Ignitor but cannot find my distributor number on their site, Or the numbers I found on the metal bowl are not right. What I found were:
70214
96-02
Assuming I translated a mirror image correctly. Look right?

 

no worries John, as long as you have a 22D6 the Ignitor 1 module will fit. It doesnt matter which "sub-model" you've got.

S1 3.8 and 4.2 had 40617A, vac adv
S2 non-USA had 41060, vac adv
S2 USA had 41207, no vac (I AM 99.999% SURE YOU HAVE THIS ONE)
S3 had 41322, vac retard

I gave you the Ignitor number in my reply earlier, LU-166A. It fits all the above.

 

I installed the LU-166A in my 69 Series 2 FHC and the car ran great (although it also runs great with std points), the problem I had was that the tach was no longer accurate. I think it was reading low RPM. There is a guy at "jaguarclock" who can modify the tach so it reads correctly with Petronix but I didn't want my tach messed with so I put the points back in the car.


BTW I'm a big fan of Petronix and maybe will put them back in some day.

 

There was always an issue with a spike or surge from the unit on the jags.
Even with my series 3 xj6 set up in my 4.2 Etype .It would read fine at idle but bounce a little more than usual then settle down.
Supposedly WELSCH JAG had a surpressor that kept the tach at bay?