Electronic Ignition Life Expectancy

[knitchie]

The PO of my C30 installed electronic ignition 5-6 year ago and I don't appear to be having any problems at this time, but...

1) How will I know if my electronic ignition is going bad?

2) What is the expected life of electronic ignition?

Trying to be prepared for the unexpected.

Thanks,
Ken - Obsession
'78 C30 TRBS #0973
Lake Champlain, VT

[Mark S]

Ken,

Others will be able to speak with more knowledge than I. The only electronic ignition I ever had trouble with was in the late 1990's in a 1988 Ford LTD 351 V8 with well over 200,000 miles. The first indication was the engine utterly dying while driving. The engine started again shortly thereafter but remained subject to occasional similar deaths until I replaced it.

Other things about your A4 will cause you catastrophes before your electronic ignition does. Still, I suppose you could purchase a spare for peace of mind.

Mark

[rigspelt]

Good question. I can't find any mean time to failure data for electronic ignition modules. They are so reliable that I may not invest in a spare unless (a) have the budget for one, (b) on a cruise where loss of engine is critical, (c) EIM is over 5-10 years. I don't know whether they fail catastrophically, or show signs of failure first, or both states are possible.

[jhwelch]

Your spare is the plate you take out of the inside of the distributor cap;
it's easy to pop it back in.

-jonathan

[Don Moyer]

I'm not sure if this information is helpful or not, but Pertronix guarantees their Ignitor system for 2 1/2 years. This warranty period is unusually long for any electronic device, which tends to give me a sense of the designer's high confidence level in its product. The Ignitor in my own boat has been operating satisfactorily for just under 10 years.

In talking to the Pertronix tech service folks, once an Ignitor "survives" the installation process (usually meaning an accidental reversal of polarity by connecting the black wire to the positive terminal of the coil instead of the red wire), life expectancy is practically indefinite unless the ignition switch is accidentally left on, which will either destroy the coil or the Ignitor module.

We don't have any credible list of symptoms leading to an Ignitor failure, mostly because there are so few random failures, and also because they (like other electronic ignition systems) tend to either work or not work, meaning that if they fail for any reason, it's usually very sudden and with very little warning.

Don

[Alain Croteau]

I installed an Indigo electronic ignition kit about 10yrs ago and it operated trouble free. In the Spring of '07, I replaced the module, optical sensor and coil with new in preparation for a 3 month trip around the Great Lakes ... but only as a precaution. The old parts are in my spares locker should I ever need them. BTW, the new module has an LED system status light which the older version did not.
Alain
s/v Kemana
Douglas 32
Kingston, On

[msauntry]

I was told by Pertronix that the sticker on the little black plastic box is an indicator of death of the unit. If you see the sticker shrivelled up and melted, its done. Leaving the ignition on could do this.

The unknown quantity is how long you can sail without leaving the ignition on.