pertronix?

[dirtracer27x]

bought one of these and having troubles with it.first off my boat is a 86 malibu skier,clean,commander model 300.has been a great bought as iam the second owner and have had it since i was 21,im now 34.left it out of the garage last winter and think i made a gig mistake.my ms has always been a hard starter after it gets warm and ran alittle,but never left me starnded till this year.after runnin awhile,it cranks over very slow,like a dead battery.any ideas?

my second ??? is has anyone hooked up one of these pertronix?i bought everything they told me even the coil.but with this commander i dont see a resistor.there is a resistor wire,not sure how this is wired or what to do with .im kinda stumped and really would like to get this thing runnin.talked to pertronix but they really didnt help much.

also what is the diffrence between the commander model 250 and 300?is it hp rating?

[dirtracer27x]

anyone,plz?

[JasonK]

I did just the Pertronix points conversion years ago. No problems.

My friend just did the conversion and got their coil too. It lasted less than 1 outing and he was having problems. He switched back yesterday (and got a new cap and rotor because his looked bad after using the coil). I'd suggest not using the coil. Us an OEM coil.

[nbeihl]

I had a Petronix on my 87 American Skier. It worked well and then after about 3 years I was having a problem that no one could figure out. I called Skidim.com and they told me to remove a resistor and BAM... worked like a champ for the rest of the time I owned the boat. I would suggest pulling up your engine cover and calling skidim.com while you are looking at the engine. They will be able to tell you everything you ever wanted to know.

Skidim: 803-345-0996

[nuttyskier2002]

I had a Petronix on my 87 American Skier. It worked well and then after about 3 years I was having a problem that no one could figure out. I called Skidim.com and they told me to remove a resistor and BAM... worked like a champ for the rest of the time I owned the boat. I would suggest pulling up your engine cover and calling skidim.com while you are looking at the engine. They will be able to tell you everything you ever wanted to know.

Skidim: 803-345-0996

Did your Pertronix come with an instruction sheet. I believe you are supposed to measure the resistance across the primary coil winding. If it is .6 ohms or less,.... use the resistor. If it is ~1.2 ohms,... you don't need the resistor. The resistor is to limit the current to the coil and is required if you use your original coil and it came with one. The red wire on the Pertronix ignitor should go to the ignition switch side of the resitor. Then the other side of the resistor goes to the + side on the coil. If you buy their coil you don't need the resistor.

Some boats may have come with a resistor wire instead of the resistor. Here's a simple test to see if you have a resistor wire. With the ignition on engine off, ground the - (neg) side of the coil (with a jumper wire) and quickly measure the voltage on the positive side in reference to ground. If voltage reads about 8 - 10 volts there is a resistor wire. If voltage reads 11.5 to 12.5 there is no resistor. Do this with a fully charged battery for voltage accuracy. As soon as you get your reading,.... turn the key off and remove the jumper wire (neg on coil to gnd). If you do have a resistor wire,... follow it back into the harness and remove the resistor part and splice in a length of 20 AWG wire long enough to reach the coil.

Reply back if you have more questions.