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OMC Cobra 23 electronic ignition

I used the flame thrower II co

I used the flame thrower II coil with ignitor II and oem coil with the points. I contacted the pertronics support but haven`t heard from them yet.
 
"YEEEEESSSSS!!!!!!
I found th

"YEEEEESSSSS!!!!!!
I found the failure, almost had to get a microscope. The points got grounded from one edge of the insulated cu wire. But still no clue what drops the voltage (missing spark) with the pertronics unit and coil. Thanks guys for yor help.(stupid me)"
 
"Okay, now I got a reply from

"Okay, now I got a reply from pertronix. They say I should go thru the testing procedure, what I already have done.They sent me a "shematic" which isn`t by the way included in the installing instructions (weird).It says ignition ON or cranking it should give 8.0v minimum from coil+ to engine ground with the coil- "jumpered" to engine ground.Engine running a maximum of 16v.Is this ok?
Then it says, all wires disconnected from the coil, measure the resistance between coil+ and coil-. Should be minimum 3ohm. and maximum 4.5ohm. for a 4 & 6 cyl engine.
When I asked about this they said that I should remove any resistance wires or resistors and run with the 0.6 ohm. flame thrower II coil. So they have some instructions that say "this" and they talk "that". Or is there different instructions for the ignitor and the ignitor II? I told what application I have so I guess they should go with that info. I`m going to install the pertronix ignitor and coil once more and see if I can get it work."
 
"Today I installed the pertron

"Today I installed the pertronix conversion back on the engine. I tested it like advises from pertronix. Test results ignition ON 8v, cranking 6.5v and running 16v. Started right up and run good for 30 seconds then it started to miss a spark/ dropping voltage. I had it running for about 20 min. and the longest period without any failure was about 2 min. Any clues anyone?"
 
"You probably already did this

"You probably already did this, but did you use new spark plug wires when you installed this kit? Pertronix says it will work with the old ones, but recommends installing proper ones to handle the increased voltages."
 
"Are you using any kind of a b

"Are you using any kind of a ballast resistor with that .6 ohm Flamethrower, you've got to have something that gets you closer to 3 ohms."
 
"I have high performance supre

"I have high performance supression cables, have run for about 8h so I think they`re good. I don`t have any ballast resistors in the ignition system just the diode fix just like pertronix told me to do. They replyed to me and said 8v. is too low when ignition is ON this is with the jumper wire, coil- to engine ground. Without the jumper wire it fees the coil with 12v. The diagram says it should get 8v. minimum."
 
"I did this test on mine when

"I did this test on mine when I first installed it because it did not work. After doing the test I saw that the mag ring had to be in line with the paint dot. It wasn't. After a call to Pertronix I found out I had the wrong ignitor. They swapped my #1563 for a "1563-A. No problems since.
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"Hi. Pertronix told me I shoul

"Hi. Pertronix told me I should send the ignitor to them. I posted it today, so lets see how it goes. I post here again when I get the ignitor back and "try" to install it. I have sent them a wire diagram of my engine and how I had it wired. Still waitig for a reply from them."
 
"Okay now it seems kind of int

"Okay now it seems kind of interesting, another guy from pertronix told me that over 6 volts measurement is enough when doing the "low voltage test". John when you did measure the voltage did you have a jumper wire from coil- to engine ground (that`s the test)? Why are they giving me different advises and instructions? When I get the renewed/new ignitor I`m going to test it and if it doesn`t work I`ll go with a MSD box. Thank you."
 
"I never did any tests. The on

"I never did any tests. The only time I used my voltmeter was to find what terminal on the back of my alternator gave me 12V with the key turned on. That's it, I never had any problems, so I didn't need to do any tests."
 
"OK, I finally had a little bi

"OK, I finally had a little bit of time and I've always said a picture can say a few more words than my wife (stretching that one a bit). Here's a few pics of my setup, I hope they will help you in the future.
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Electronic conversion pics"">
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Electronic conversion pics"">
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Electronic conversion pics"">
285622.jpg
Electronic conversion pics
 
"Did you see all 4 pics? They

"Did you see all 4 pics? They came up spaced out strangely on the web page. The top 2 pics are way over to the right, you have to use the scroll bar at the bottom of the page to see them."
 
"Okay, I`m here again. I got a

"Okay, I`m here again. I got a new module from pertronix sent to me. I haven`t installed it yet. Today when I was starting the engine that had been sitting for a few weeks, was very hard to start. When I got back to points from the pertronix it seemed to work great. Didn`t have much time to test it properly, now it seemes to miss/stumble with the points too, but the stumble was more "powerful" with the pertronix kit. I think it`s because the pertronix use more current than the points. The engine can run smooth for 30 sec. then a stumble and it runs smooth again and the next stumble can come after 5 sec. or 30 sec. and so on.
Now I have new points, condenser, plugs and 9hrs old plugwires and dist.cap and rotor.
I`m going to install the pertronix kit when I get clear with this problem.
Do you have any idea where to look for failure?
Thanks."
 
"I'm assuming there is no

"I'm assuming there is no diode fix right now, it's just plain basic points and condenser? I would disconnect the ESA to see if that is intermittently engaging causing your stumble."
 
"Well I'm heading up to th

"Well I'm heading up to the cottage in Northern Ontario for a month, I know my pertronix set up is working fine, hopefully you can figure your's out. If I can actually get the engine to run like it will, when it's cold, it idles so low, I could troll with it for walley *S*. Hopefully the weather up there in Kapuskasing gets hot!!"
 
"Yes, there is no diode fix ju

"Yes, there is no diode fix just basic points and condenser. I`ll try to disconnect the esa and put new plugs and see how it goes but it`s raining so heavily so I have to wait for awhile."
 
"I can`t belive this. I change

"I can`t belive this. I changed the plugs again (one at the time) and when I changed the #2 plug the engine runs/idles good. Could this have been the problem with the pertronix too? I have heard of new plugs that have a failure but..., when the engine was running on all four cylinders and the plugs looked ok I thought they were good. And they only had 9 hrs. on them. Worked good at the first start up. I`m going to drive along some time to be sure this setup is working ok, then I try to install the pertronix again."
 
"Now I have driven it for a fe

"Now I have driven it for a few hours and it works great. Tested the esa by engaging the interrupt switch by hand for several seconds and it stumbles but not stalling, good. I installed the pertronix and it seems to be working good. The only question I have, should the esa cut out the engine so it stalls when engaging it by hand for several seconds or should it just stumble like it used to do with the points setup?"
 
"I've been reading this di

"I've been reading this discussion with great interest. I too have a 1988 OMC Cobra 2.3 with points and after reading this discussion I bought the Pertronix IgniterII ignition upgrade and the Flame ThrowerII coil. I am thinking of going with the CDI ESA instead of the diode fix. I have a question, I have three gray wires on the negative side of the coil and two on the positive side. If I have read correctly, I only need to keep the one on the positive side that goes to the starter and the red from the new coil and a clean 12v from the alternator? The three on the negative side only the tach wire and the black from the coil? Thanks in advance and this has been a very interesting discussion. -Jeff"
 
"I started a new tread with my

"I started a new tread with my new problem about spark plug failure or something else.
Someone who is using the new type of esa (cdi repair) should answer to you how to connect the wires
"
 
"I just returned from a month

"I just returned from a month at the cottage in Northern Ontario, just a little east of Kapuskasing. The weather was crappy, but the old boat performed perfectly. It started on a dime and we trolled for hours without a hitch. Fishing was lousy, but we managed to get dinner every time we went out. The area we generally fish is about 7 miles from the dock, and it was just a nice smooth run, at 30mph@ 3900RPM. WOT if needed was about 37mph@5200, nice and smooth, not a miss or pop. Electronic ignition sure made this boat a keeper."
 
"With the direct 12V to coil I

"With the direct 12V to coil I bet the Flamethower was getting hot and causing the missing/shutdown. The Pertronix instructions above say "Note: Remove or bypass all external resistors when using the Ignitor II"
The key here is bypass. If you connect your 12V alternator source directly to the red ignitor the problem will be solved with the stock coil and resistor wire in place would bet that the diode fix isn't required for the ESA if hooked this way. You say you got an OEM ESA for a couple bucks, it wasn't a CDI one that doesn't require the fix was it?
Now, if you go to the Flamethrower without additional resistance you will burn out the ESA. See Bob's comments above. With an additional 2+ ohms resistance it will run great."
 
"I need to be sure I've do

"I need to be sure I've done this correctly, I have a 1988 OMC 2.3l Ford. I added the CDI/esa plugged into the exsisting wirirng harness. I ran the r/pu resistor wire to a 1.2ohm ballast resistor mounted under the alt. bracket. On the other side of the ballast resistor a ran a 12 gauge wire to the + side of the Flamethrower2 coil. I ran the red wire from the Ignitor2 to the switched +12v on the back of the alternator. I then have the black - wire from the Ignitor2 going to the - side of the Flamethrower2 coil. There is also two grey wires on the - side of the coil, one goes to the tach and the other back to the CDI/esa. The boat started fine but needed a slight adjustment to the timing by slightly adjusting the distributor. It runs good now and starts right up. Before I put the boat in the water, does this sound correct? I don't want to fry my CDI/esa module. Thanks in advance!"
 
"Jeff,
You have about 3.3 ohm

"Jeff,
You have about 3.3 ohms resistance which should be OK. When running for a while check to see if coil gets warm. If so need more ballast. I put a 2.2 one in plastic strapped right to the coil. Is it a Marine rated ballast? Way to tell is it should have a sealed back. If not NAPA has them. With the CDI you don't need the diode fix. Also, with that setup you can increase plug gap .05 for better perofromance/mileage.
Happy boating"
 
"Glenn, Thanks! It's a NAP

"Glenn, Thanks! It's a NAPA resistor but not marine, they didn't stock any. I will check West Marine to see if they have any. Thanks again!"
 
Where's the ESA Module?

Okay, now I too am switching to electronic ignition on my 2.3. I read all the posts, and instructions, but I’m not sure what the E.S.A module looks like, where it is, or where I should connect the shift interrupter fix to it once I find it. Could you help me out?
Also, concerning the shift interrupter fix, I know I have the two diodes wired correctly, but I’m not sure about the resistors. Do you know if it makes a difference which direction they are wired in?
 
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