nu-rex ignition failure

[fordman67]

Hello,i am helping a friend on his A.It is having an intermitent no start issue.Has anyone got any experience with this system? I am not familiar with it but have a feeling I may have more than i want soon...thanks!

[Mike V. Florida]

Loose connections are what i would look for first.

http://www.nurex.com/archive.asp

[1931 flamingo]

Also, they seem to need a "fully" charged battery.
Paul in CT

[harleyjj]

Is it the ignition system with the box mounted up on the firewall inside the car? If so i had this same issue with the nurex system a previous owner installed on my car. the intermittent no start and occasional loss of spark while driving was just the prelude to the module completely quitting on me while out driving one day.

My advice is switch back to points before it leaves you stranded far from home! The small gain in less maintainance is not worth the risk of being stranded.

[Jason in TX]

I had one that wouldn't start. The battery ran down, and even after charging it wouldn't start. I blamed the NuRex. I called them and asked about it and they said to try a new battery in the car. I did and the car started right up.

You have to have a good fresh battery for them to work.

[pat in Santa Cruz]

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I worked on one that had failed once. The ground wire on the firewall had rusted to the point it was poorly grounded. The truck was always parked outside, so the humidity got to the inside.

[steve s]

Searching the archives will show that lots of folks have had intermittant starting problems, no matter which ignition system they use. There are many possibilities. Can you give more details? like, do you still get a spark at the plugs? I'm assuming the motor turns over but doesn't catch, right?

My personal favorite response to your problem--out of the blue--is a bad ignition switch. I've replaced four of them in my career, and they can make you crazy.

My understanding of the NuRex ignition is that most of their failures can be traced to a poor ground--they absolutely require their own ground wire rather than relying on the distributor body ground. However, I thought that they tended to fail in a sudden and total manner, not intermittant.

Steve

[ford1]

LOL, i set here and laugh at all the problems you guys have with all the new electronic ignition systems that you are unable to fix, the old point style points might be a little incovient to set every 5000 miles or so but at least you can fix them, mickey kouse them when necessary, exacatly what is your reasoning for going to that stuff? its a good bragging rights stuff i guess, but is it worth all the trouble trying to fix it when it wont work? a coil , condensor and new points and your on your way, worked excellent for 85 years

[jerry shook]

I have a nu-rex on one a an a electronic dist on anoyher a , and one with original points on one a . I have more trouble with the origional then the other. Mabe they should go back to points and condensor on all the 2012 cars and trucks.

[ford1]

no the new cars have electrical ignition that was engineered for that year, what you are doing is using an after market part that i dought is quality controled, new car ignitions will run for hundred thousands of miles with no trouble, can you say the same for any after market eletrical dist control? if you have trouble with a simple set up like points and condensor then maybe you dont know enough about them

[Logan]

I have electonic ignition, and have never had a problem. My brother has one in his car and hasnt had a problem either. Theyre so simple to understand, and i think their even easier to understand and diagnose than an original set up. I know people that have had the same electronic ignitions in their cars since the early 90's without a problem. The key is having a good ground, a clean & dedicated power source, and an understanding of how it works. We put one in my car, because no matter what we did, we couldnt get a set of points to last longer than a 1,000 miles or so. they would either burn up, wear out, or become un adjusted. I love my new ignitions system and wouldnt change it for anything. I dont worry about it failing.

[fordman67]

I have charged the battery thinking system voltage low when cranking.did not seem to change anything.did not start.sometimes it will start when lifting off starter button rather than when cranking.That also had me wondering about battery.but then I wait and go back a few hours later and and it starts right up and I can drive it all over.I did not install it nor have I ever fooled with one.I have installed many pertronix but not on an A.

[Purdy Swoft]

I agree with ford 1, both posts. I prefer points and have used them for over fifty years. I'll be the first to admit that I know nothing about electronic ignition. the only points that I ever had problems with were the so called modern points. I use an epoxy filled Pertronix flame thrower coil and get as good or better performance as electronic ignition for about forty dollars with none of the quirks that electronic ignition can cause on a model A. I get instant starts, clean spark plugs and a performance boost that I can feel.

[jerry shook]

Mabe i am wrong i though all ignition system were electrical. An i agree that if it is not installed right no matter what you use you will have problems.i have talked to a lot of people that are running electronic ign with no problems. Thank the lord we can all run what we wont to.

[steve s]

Originally Posted by ford1

LOL, ... exacatly what is your reasoning for going to that stuff? ...

Could it be the countless stories I've seen on boards such as this over the years about folks who were stranded, baffled, or otherwise inconvenienced by condensers that either failed, came unsoldered or weren't tightened in just right, or maybe it's the all the times I've pulled over to the side of road while one of the cars in our group that suddenly started losing power has had to reset its repro, fast-wearing points, or maybe it's the stories about that little pigtail wire in the distributor bottom shorting out and making people crazy? not a lot of LOL'ing going on then, as I recall. Or, maybe it's the fact that never once have I personally seen a problem such as the above involving someone using the more modern system?

Steve

[mrtexas]

Originally Posted by jerry shook

I have a nu-rex on one a an a electronic dist on anoyher a , and one with original points on one a . I have more trouble with the origional then the other. Mabe they should go back to points and condensor on all the 2012 cars and trucks.

yup,

[Jason in TX]

Points are just a switch.
Pertronix is just a magnetic switch. Nothing much to it. No electronic brain. It's 40 year old technology. Install it and forget it.

[Kevin in NJ]

Down to an us vs them thing again.

The important points to understand.

The electronic ignition need certain voltages to work. The silicon no worky if the voltages are not high enough. Where you run into trouble is when something is not right. Either the battery is having an issue with life or the wiring has a high resistance point. In either case, during crank the voltage will drop below the point where the electronics can work.

So if you understand the above you will do fine.

Now for the old vs new argument. Well it comes down to what you feel comfortable with in life. Used to be with the old points you had the ability to limp home somehow. With the modern cars they work great until they don't and you then hope your cell phone still works to call a tow.

With the old points odds are pretty good you can somehow limp home. They also need maintenance once you have them installed properly. They need some adjustments as the point block wears. After the initial install and wear in, you should go years between needing points adjustment, unless you are one of the few who put thousands of miles on your car. Condenser failures??? Get the modern burn out proof ones. One for your car and one for when the guys who is too cheap to buy one has a failure on the road.
My brother 31 coupe has had the same points since he got it in 1969. He stopped having condenser problems in 1986 when he put the burn out proof A&L condenser on the car.

Lastly, Remember that thing called a hand crank?

It really does work.

[fordman67]

The problem is when a car is "modernized" for dependability vs. A poorly executed attempt at making an old car modern....I think I will just my old car have its god given attitude.I think I am going to take the battery tester with me first.I just want to get him on the road!

Also,we have 3 a's and 3t's....none have anything other than what henry gave em except one t has a dist....with points.but also 3 mustangs and a tri 5 chevy.....ALL have pertronix!....no failures! Just a matter of opinion and experience...

[Milton]

I used to run an A distributor with a Pertronix module installed. No problemo, zip, nada. But I just couldn't leave well enough alone. Now I have a Mallory Unilite elecronic with centrifugal advance. What a difference, now I can hand signal, and confuse those not in the know, while turning, down shifting, grabbing my drink before it falls over and flipping off the average idiot that didn't know the difference between a hand signal and a digitus impudicus, all without messing with the spark.