1) correct, the black ring is press fitted onto the cam. The ring contains a single magnet for each cylinder, sealed by the green tape. 2) correct. I have not tried to fit this on a six lobe cam but my assumption, also based on the reply from Pertronix is that one side should fit the six lobe cam, the other one the three lobe cam. Maybe the attached image gives some help in identifying the correct shape, if you compare this with your cam. I dont know if the magnets are in the correct height for the hall sensor though, if fitted to a six lobe cam this might or might not be an issue. 3) The baseplate comes with the kit. One piece is the prefabricated baseplate on which the hall sensor is mounted, the other piece of the kit is the magnet sleeve. 4) The hole for the single mounting screw in the baseplate is part of the prefabricated baseplate. If you check out the attached image and compare the cutouts in the outer baseplate it looks like i mounted the baseplate using the wrong hole in the distributor, as the cutouts do not match up with the screw domes in the distributor (this was not an issue when installing, i just discovered this when taking a look at the image again). It is quite a tidy setup and that was one reason for choosing the Pertronix instead of the Crane setup because the transistor switching circuit is already integrated in the hall sensor, so no external box as with the Crane XR setup (e.g. this is easy to conceal to keep things looking original, just hide both cables from the hall sensor in heat shrink tubing). You are correct, there are six magnets mounted in the sleeve. The three lobe cam sensor achieves the correct firing order by using two points, whereas the six lobe cam sensor uses two set of points to enable retarding for low rpms instead (which is what the second set of points is responsible for). What i referred to with "modifying the factory wiring" is indeed getting rid of the 'R2' set of points and the associated wiring and mciroswitch for the additional retarding. The three lobe setup does only use the flyweight advance for retarding and advance, i have to check the manual but i believe the idle advance for the european three lobe cam setup is about 8 degrees. As the retardation by 'R2' is added to the flyweights advance curve, you might end up with the european advance curve when installing the Pertronix setup, which is not a bad thing except that your setup does not cater to US requirements from the early seventies anymore
Quick update, www.dinoplex.org is now online (but still beta), i've started with the documentation of the Dinoplex AEC 101 for all the Ferrari Dino 206 and 312P/512P owners out there Wish you a happy new year, Adrian
I may be getting out of line a bit, but here's another new setup by a local vintage Ferrari dealer. Thought some of the gearheads would be interested to see it. w/ smiles Jimmy PS. The shop also has A/C system setup adapted for Dino (using reliable Japanese units). Image Unavailable, Please Login
Scott, I certainly intended to, however, Santa 08 and 09 did not deliver and I got side tracked on a multitude of other Dino tasks. Since the car is running well, converting is lower on the priority list. However, I am very interested in this so if you or anyone else has recent experiences please do post. The thought of having to re-set the R1 R2 points again at service is not appealing, not difficult, just tedious. Kevin.
Kevin, this is not really a convenient option as i live in germany, but if you want to send me your S125C i am happy to try the conversion for the six lobe cam (still have a spare Pertronix to play with, on that occasion i could also check out the advance and timing on the distributor tester). If anyone else wants to do this, i am happy to post the wiring modifications to get rid of the R1/R2 switch.
The Pertronix MR-161 kit comes with a magnet sleeve to suit the 3 lobe cam only. Mostly Euro distributors have a 3 lobe cam and dual points = 6 cylinders. US versions can have a 6 lobe cam and dual points of which one set is used as a retard for starting. There is a 12 cylinder kit (MR-1121) to suit the 365's which have a sleeve to suit a 6 lobe cam. It is possible to substitute the 3 lobe sleeve for the 6 lobe sleeve to suit the US versions. It is not possible to turn the 3 lobe sleeve upside down and use the hex section as the magnets are at the bottom of the sleeve to line up with the switch in the Hall Call. Turning it upside down puts the magnets at the top and away from the switch so it will not work. There is now an Ignitor 2 version of the Ignitor which has adaptive dwell and permits the use of a low resistance coil. This kit coupled with a Flamethrower 2 coil has more spark energy than a MSD 6 (according to independant tests). It also has polarity protection and will switch itself off in the event of the ignition being left on without the engine running.
I have 2000 (Fiat) Dino with an MSD 6A, Blaster 2 coil, and magnetic trigger. The previous owner installed the magnetic pick up. The car starts and runs well but occasionally the engine just dies, as if the ignition just stops. This only happens when the engine is warm. The 6A and the coil are very new - less than 500 miles. But the magnetic pick is of unknown age or manufacture (the previous owner has passed away). I would like to replace it. Looking at the Dino ignition alternatives sheet, is the Petronix MR-161 the best choice with the MSD 6A?
I measured different Pertronix MR trigger setups on the test bench a while ago and noticed that they all had several degrees of timing variance between the magnets (cylinders), so stopped recommending them as triggers for external ignitions. Not sure if this has been fixed in the meantime so you might want to check the timing of your Pertronix converted distributor on a distributor testing machine before using it in your Dino.
I haven't tried this yet but a compatible replacement could be the magnetic pickup for the Fiat 124 Spider which is readily available as a spare. The mounting plate would need to be modified for the installation in the S125 distributor, but the sensor itself should be plug and play with the MSD 6A.
When dies is engine at idle? and can you confirm this is not a carburettor idle circuit issue? Many Dino run rich and die at idle because idle circuit is off or progression enters
Not fuel-related. We tested and have good pressure and flow. And the engine re-starts immediately after dying. I can see fuel being delivered by the accelerator pumps, so the bowls are not empty. More interesting symptoms. During one of the failures we had on Tuesday, when the engine died we cranked the car and watched the red LED on the MSD. It illuminated solid while cranking, that is, it did not pulse as expected and the engine did not start. Then, we turned off the key off and back on again and cranked it again. This time, we saw pulsing of the LED and the engine started. This might indicate that (a) the ignition switch is intermittently failing to provide power to the MSD or (b) the magnetic trigger is intermittently failing. The plan this evening is to put a test lamp on the wire from the switch to the MSD box and watch it when the engine dies. If the lamp goes out, it's likely the switch. If it stays lit, my suspicion falls on the magnetic trigger. If I need to replace the trigger, which should I choose?
