Electronic ignitions have been used in automobiles for over thirty years. They have proven to be completely reliable and to offer a significant improvement in performance over the traditional points and condenser ignition which was created in 1910.  Electronic ignitions were originally designed to deal with ever increasingly stringent emissions laws, and as an unexpected side benefit they proved to offer very significant gains in horsepower and torque.

For the owners of vintage Italian cars, there are significant gains to be made by converting to an electronic ignition system. In addition to torque and horsepower gains in the 10-15% range, there is also far superior starting, increased gas mileage, and reduced engine wear due to a more complete combustion which reduces carbon and unburnt fuel in the motor oil.

Marelli Service has extensive experience with both OEM electronic ignitions and aftermarket conversions.There are five general types of electronic ignitions that have been used over the years: (1) Capacitive discharge control boxes for use with points (2) optical triggers with external conrol box to replace the points (3) Magnetic triggers with external control box (4) Hall effect self-contained triggers (5) Crank fire triggers with external control box.

In addition there are many control boxes that can work with the various electonic triggers. These fall into three general types: Electronic advance units, multiple spark units, and capacitive discharge units.

 

For many years there were very few electronic ignition options  for the owners of cars using Marelli distributors. Many were converted to the older Crane optical system, with one trigger in each distributor, and others were adapted to magnetic triggers from U.S . made cars. The drawbacks to these systems is that they use outdated technology, and they also require an external control box.

For the early 12 cylinder cars of any make, the best system for use with a Marelli distributor is the Hall effect type. Hall effect ignitions use a transistor that switches on in the presence of a magnetic field. Hall effect ignitions in OEM applications have universally replaced optical and magnetic triggers. This is due their outstanding reliability and compactness.

 

After a significant amount of demand the Pertronix corportation has created a complete Hall effect conversion kit for use with the large body Marelli distributors covering 6, 8 and 12 cylinder applications. Pertronix is the leader in this field, and worked with many owners of Italian exotics to create this much needed conversion.

The Pertronix triggres are completely self contained and fit very well into the Marelli distributor body with two wires exiting the distributor instead of just the one as used in the stock points application.

It is important to realize that you cannot simply install the Pertronix trigger without re-curving the mechanical advance in the distributor. This is due to the fact that Pertronix unit will self advance up to one and a half degrees due to its internal electronics. This internal advance characteristic pushes the entire advance curve out of the specified range, but is easily corrected with proper distributor calibration. In addition, the friction from the stock points setup has an effect on the advance curve, and removing the points changes the curve as well.

The majority of owners, up to this point, have done simple conversions with one electronic trigger in each distributor. This will completely eliminate the four sets of points and offer significant performance gains.

The ideal system however, utilizes two triggers in a single distributor with the other distributor being used only for spark distribution. This puts both triggers on a single mechanical advance curve which  results in significantly more  performance gains than using one pickup in each distributor on separate advance curves.

 

Marelli Service can perform any type of electronic ignition conversion desired and complete the necessary distributor re-calibration after the conversion.

Whether you use your car for occasional use, regular driving, or for concours display, an electronic ignition conversion is highly recommended to ensure rapid, consistent starting and improved performance.