FOOD FOR THOUGHT.....Bosch Coils are no longer. Once your coil is bad your done. Pointless need the resistance from that coil. Points and CONDENSERS are total crap quality. I am seeing failures more and more often. Rotors and distributor caps Bosch are $$$$$. for less you can go to CB Performance Magnaspark. New wires coil, distributor, and buy a second pickup coil (really the only part that goes bad.) Also Pat Downs who designed the system for CB started his own company Called Shockwave. They are exactly the same. So you can upgrade when your old system fails to the new one for about $200 roughly. Comes with everything. Then regap your spart plugs to the new larger gap. Be sure to buy a second pickup coil. (5 minute job to change) if yours randomly goes bad. Unfortunately guys this is the reliable future. The old points and CONDENSERS are just DEAD.....
IMO because Petronics and Compufire use .009 and the Bosch caps and rotors are $$$$ and probably not going to be made much longer those are not good options to me. for less you can have a whole new system that is pretty reliable. Especially with dual carbs. Plenty of space in there for the slightly larger cap.
I've had all the same issues with bosch condensers and modern points on my classic air cooled fiat 500. I bought new old stock condensers on ebay for a couple of pounds each. They have lasted and lasted! They don't go wrong! The Bosch points say made in Turkey on them and they are terrible! Had seen some new points have the heel part melt on them because they are made of cheap plastic when originals had a tufnol heel that you put a drop of oil onto.
Thanks for sharing yea the bake-O-lite has been replaced with plastic that wears out with the heat of these air cooled engines. and the condensers as well. NOS ones are good. Just use them till they totally die
I had the best results from traditional points mated with an electronic ignition kit, using the original coil. The current switched by traditional points with a standard coil, is the original design, but it relies on the condenser ‘suppressing’ the spark at the points to some extent. The condenser and coil will have some ‘resonance’ to it because the primary of the coil discharges through the condenser when the points open. The ‘dwell angle’ of the points can be electrically affected if the wrong condenser is used. I think that’s why electronic units being used with the traditional points were the best set up. The electronics needed a low current to ‘sense’ the points opening and closing which greatly reduced the ‘burn out’ of the points contacts. The electronic unit was ‘in series’ with the primary of the coil, switched by the points.
For an aircooled VW, I love points and all usually, BUT I can't get more that a year or two TOPS out of a Condenser these days - and I only run a weekend or two a month in the summer in a buggy. I don't know who's making these things today, but they overall suck.
Future for me......Magnaspark. all the old stuff is just fading away. Bosch coils No more.....they are now gone. when I do my next engine it will be Magnaspark.
yea then the attendant would have a pin between his fingers and call you out to show you the leak. LOL those were the days. Utah with was the worst place. My dad would not let them open his hood. EVER....He was like Michael.....lets check the oil at the rest stop.
I run MSD pro billet distributor, MSD 6AL box, MSD Blaster 3 coil. Had 0 problems for 20+ years. I keep an extra cap n rotor just because they are not common. But just like other parts in the video, MSD quality has tanked.. if I would build another bus/bug I'd run the HEI all in 1.
I had the dreaded "Dead Spot" on my 009 distributor.. I tried everything to get it to fire without issues,, and I failed.. I upgraded to a Magnaspark and problem solved.. it's feels as if I have gained 10 HP.. and even on cold starts, it fires right up.. Additionally, the Magnaspark also comes with an electronic coil.. Switching out the distributor, coil and fuel pump going electronic basically eliminated 80% of the common aircooled motor issues.
I have had bad luck with pointless and generators. So I have a spare condenser in the glove box, and the modern "junk" points and condenser It has worked for 4000miles now, and still runs good. Check the points every autumn when I change oil and do service, and I have not had to adjust the points yet. In my daily driver I have an alternator and pointless.
mine have all lasted except when the coil goes bad. Now no more Bosch Coils. you need a Bosch coil or the pointlesses just fry up or dont last. If your coil is good they are pretty much maintenance free. Just dont have a short in your wires like my bus. that little bit of arching kills them. That is why I buy 2 empi ones and put one in my glove box just in case.
@@TheDasbull points? probably. the coils dont work with pointless really. They might work for a while but they will burn out. needs less than 3 ohms resistance the Beru is 3.5 Bosh is 2.97 or something like that.
The resistance from the Beru condenser doesn't seem to kill the points I switched over to. I don't "love" them, but running NGK plugs with this rest Beru seems to be working (for how long?) 😉
Hey Mike ! its been years since I bought points . I got NAPA Echlin HD points and they were 10.99 and that was 6 years ago and maybe 10-12 K miles . their cheaps N-O------G-O-------O-D .......
At one time Bosch manufactured top tier air cooled ignition parts. They make really "iffy" air cooled parts now. Beru ignition parts are better quality at the moment - there condensers last longer than Bosch...
That's the perfect video Mike !! I was just considering all of that, pretty sure my Svda dist is worn out, running the pertronix so not worried about the crappy points and condenser. I'm going to check out the Shockwave & Magnaspark. Thanks for explaining that to us !!
I had an empi points replacement last till my ignition wire on the back side of my dash burnt up. Over 10,000 miles. I'm reading about the next one I'll try out now, not sure yet but compufire or pertronix because I'll run that svda till it drops. 😂😂
Personally I run a 009 distributor for had no problem changing points are always use genuine boch points the capacitor of easy lest you a set of three points. Which stores are hotter spark are you using a good plug wires and my VW would only run good on NGK plugs. And the Bosch blue coil is a no-brainer it's got the best firepower. You can actually build a electronic ignition system out of a GM module. Look it up on the internet it will throw a lot of firepower.
I prefer points. It's no trouble checking the gap when mileage builds up. Every thing for classic cars is being made in China. Bosch in the 70's, 80's,90"s was brilliant for electrical components for cars. Also I don't know best to have a reconditioned distributor or try a after market distributor from china.
quality of the condensers from Wolfsburg west for 6v cars is decent. Just keep an extra set in the glove box. I think Petronix make a 6v system one of those too.
@@Mikefngarage It was all Pertronix and bought together as a set. On the other hand I have been running an SVDA EMPI 9440-B with Bosch points and a resistor coil from Rural King for the last 40k without any issues.
@@randall1959 no more bosch points they stopped making them for future reference.. I dont use pertronics. only empi which is an exact China copy of amercan made Compufire. with Bosch coil 4 cars no issues. Only problems I have had is when I had a bad connection wire or bad coil. which I just had the first one I have ever seen Bosch. I have 30 year old coils that were outside and even they were good. but this one had a bad resistor side. Never seen that before.
@@Mikefngarage That's cool but on a stock engine I just prefer the old school stuff. If a module goes out there's no warning. With points you normally start to get plenty of warning before they go completely bad.
@@randall1959 yea It just happens a lot less for me. I have never had one go bad other than when I had a bad wire. and it took a long time for it to finally go bad. I got a lot of backfiring before it finally went out. wire to the ignition switch was on and off.
watch out. the problem is not the points it is the condenser and you cant just fix that. you need to have another one handy. We are having problems with the condensers just going out. Not the points as much which the rub blocks are horrible. but the condensers just fail.
since the quality is terrible now I dont agree no more bosch coils anymore too. Even pointless are going by the wayside. Pat downs Shockwave or CB Magnaspark is the future unfortunately
My cars love that advance coming on early. The only time you might be better with vacuum is when your trying to put a lot of advance in a high compression engine. or stock cam which wont rev up fast enough for the advance coming on that fast.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT.....Bosch Coils are no longer. Once your coil is bad your done. Pointless need the resistance from that coil. Points and CONDENSERS are total crap quality. I am seeing failures more and more often. Rotors and distributor caps Bosch are $$$$$. for less you can go to CB Performance Magnaspark. New wires coil, distributor, and buy a second pickup coil (really the only part that goes bad.) Also Pat Downs who designed the system for CB started his own company Called Shockwave. They are exactly the same. So you can upgrade when your old system fails to the new one for about $200 roughly. Comes with everything. Then regap your spart plugs to the new larger gap. Be sure to buy a second pickup coil. (5 minute job to change) if yours randomly goes bad. Unfortunately guys this is the reliable future. The old points and CONDENSERS are just DEAD.....
IMO because Petronics and Compufire use .009 and the Bosch caps and rotors are $$$$ and probably not going to be made much longer those are not good options to me. for less you can have a whole new system that is pretty reliable. Especially with dual carbs. Plenty of space in there for the slightly larger cap.
Bosch Coils down here if you can find them are now $400!! Its crazy. Whats going to happen to the parts game in the next 10 years I wonder?
I've had all the same issues with bosch condensers and modern points on my classic air cooled fiat 500. I bought new old stock condensers on ebay for a couple of pounds each. They have lasted and lasted! They don't go wrong! The Bosch points say made in Turkey on them and they are terrible! Had seen some new points have the heel part melt on them because they are made of cheap plastic when originals had a tufnol heel that you put a drop of oil onto.
Sorry meant to say Bosch condensers say made in Turkey on them. These are the ones that go bad straight away.
Thanks for sharing yea the bake-O-lite has been replaced with plastic that wears out with the heat of these air cooled engines. and the condensers as well. NOS ones are good. Just use them till they totally die
Agreed !!!!
I still have afew pieces laying around. Will be building a few engines & installing those to use them up & move em down the road .
I had the best results from traditional points mated with an electronic ignition kit, using the original coil. The current switched by traditional points with a standard coil, is the original design, but it relies on the condenser ‘suppressing’ the spark at the points to some extent. The condenser and coil will have some ‘resonance’ to it because the primary of the coil discharges through the condenser when the points open. The ‘dwell angle’ of the points can be electrically affected if the wrong condenser is used. I think that’s why electronic units being used with the traditional points were the best set up. The electronics needed a low current to ‘sense’ the points opening and closing which greatly reduced the ‘burn out’ of the points contacts. The electronic unit was ‘in series’ with the primary of the coil, switched by the points.
For an aircooled VW, I love points and all usually, BUT I can't get more that a year or two TOPS out of a Condenser these days - and I only run a weekend or two a month in the summer in a buggy. I don't know who's making these things today, but they overall suck.
Future for me......Magnaspark. all the old stuff is just fading away. Bosch coils No more.....they are now gone. when I do my next engine it will be Magnaspark.
back in the early 70s this gas station had off brand dist. tune up kits points , condenser , rotor for 2.99 for Ford , GM and Chrysler .
yea then the attendant would have a pin between his fingers and call you out to show you the leak. LOL those were the days. Utah with was the worst place. My dad would not let them open his hood. EVER....He was like Michael.....lets check the oil at the rest stop.
@@Mikefngarage when my mom told one guy to check the radiator it took him a min. it was a joke 1965 Monza
I got a vintage MSD 6ALN box with 034 distributor, with points and no condenser in my bug. Works great.
oh yea those are good. does it have a different distrributor cap? the .009 ones are getting pricy Bosch that is. The china garbage is total crap
@@Mikefngarage
I have spare nos Bosch ignition parts for 034 and 019 distributors.
I run MSD pro billet distributor, MSD 6AL box, MSD Blaster 3 coil. Had 0 problems for 20+ years. I keep an extra cap n rotor just because they are not common. But just like other parts in the video, MSD quality has tanked.. if I would build another bus/bug I'd run the HEI all in 1.
I had the dreaded "Dead Spot" on my 009 distributor.. I tried everything to get it to fire without issues,, and I failed.. I upgraded to a Magnaspark and problem solved.. it's feels as if I have gained 10 HP.. and even on cold starts, it fires right up.. Additionally, the Magnaspark also comes with an electronic coil.. Switching out the distributor, coil and fuel pump going electronic basically eliminated 80% of the common aircooled motor issues.
GREAT INFO.....hope this helps people who are sceptics
Learning. Thx Mike! Glad someone touched on it.
I have had bad luck with pointless and generators. So I have a spare condenser in the glove box, and the modern "junk" points and condenser It has worked for 4000miles now, and still runs good. Check the points every autumn when I change oil and do service, and I have not had to adjust the points yet. In my daily driver I have an alternator and pointless.
mine have all lasted except when the coil goes bad. Now no more Bosch Coils. you need a Bosch coil or the pointlesses just fry up or dont last. If your coil is good they are pretty much maintenance free. Just dont have a short in your wires like my bus. that little bit of arching kills them. That is why I buy 2 empi ones and put one in my glove box just in case.
I trust the points a lot more. But who makes a better quality set of points now?
nobody and all the condensers are total crap. I am going to Pat Downs Shockwave with an extra pickup coil. Better spark and more reliable.
Beru is slightly better than Bosch (at the moment 😕)
@@TheDasbull points? probably. the coils dont work with pointless really. They might work for a while but they will burn out. needs less than 3 ohms resistance the Beru is 3.5 Bosh is 2.97 or something like that.
The resistance from the Beru condenser doesn't seem to kill the points I switched over to. I don't "love" them, but running NGK plugs with this rest Beru seems to be working (for how long?) 😉
Hey Mike ! its been years since I bought points . I got NAPA Echlin HD points and they were 10.99 and that was 6 years ago and maybe 10-12 K miles . their cheaps N-O------G-O-------O-D .......
NO GOOD....anymore
At one time Bosch manufactured top tier air cooled ignition parts. They make really "iffy" air cooled parts now. Beru ignition parts are better quality at the moment - there condensers last longer than Bosch...
That's the perfect video Mike !! I was just considering all of that, pretty sure my Svda dist is worn out, running the pertronix so not worried about the crappy points and condenser. I'm going to check out the Shockwave & Magnaspark. Thanks for explaining that to us !!
I had an empi points replacement last till my ignition wire on the back side of my dash burnt up. Over 10,000 miles. I'm reading about the next one I'll try out now, not sure yet but compufire or pertronix because I'll run that svda till it drops. 😂😂
check out CB performance Magnaspartk or pat downs shockwave. honestly it is the future.
I needed to see this…. Thank you very much
Personally I run a 009 distributor for had no problem changing points are always use genuine boch points the capacitor of easy lest you a set of three points. Which stores are hotter spark are you using a good plug wires and my VW would only run good on NGK plugs. And the Bosch blue coil is a no-brainer it's got the best firepower. You can actually build a electronic ignition system out of a GM module. Look it up on the internet it will throw a lot of firepower.
Another great video. Thans for sharing.
I prefer points. It's no trouble checking the gap when mileage builds up. Every thing for classic cars is being made in China. Bosch in the 70's, 80's,90"s was brilliant for electrical components for cars. Also I don't know best to have a reconditioned distributor or try a after market distributor from china.
Hi Mike, I’m new to all this electronic ignition, any chance of a timing of a video on setting up timing?
yea its the same as a stock one though. they are super simple.
The distributor shaft wear more with points then the hall effect electronic ignition.
Any electric setup for the 6 volt cars
quality of the condensers from Wolfsburg west for 6v cars is decent. Just keep an extra set in the glove box. I think Petronix make a 6v system one of those too.
I've never had to walk with points and condenser but I've had 2 modules quit.
either your coil resistor was bad or you had the wrong coil on there. you should never have that issue with pointless.
@@Mikefngarage It was all Pertronix and bought together as a set. On the other hand I have been running an SVDA EMPI 9440-B with Bosch points and a resistor coil from Rural King for the last 40k without any issues.
@@randall1959 no more bosch points they stopped making them for future reference.. I dont use pertronics. only empi which is an exact China copy of amercan made Compufire. with Bosch coil 4 cars no issues. Only problems I have had is when I had a bad connection wire or bad coil. which I just had the first one I have ever seen Bosch. I have 30 year old coils that were outside and even they were good. but this one had a bad resistor side. Never seen that before.
@@Mikefngarage That's cool but on a stock engine I just prefer the old school stuff. If a module goes out there's no warning. With points you normally start to get plenty of warning before they go completely bad.
@@randall1959 yea It just happens a lot less for me. I have never had one go bad other than when I had a bad wire. and it took a long time for it to finally go bad. I got a lot of backfiring before it finally went out. wire to the ignition switch was on and off.
I prefer points as I can fix them anytime.
watch out. the problem is not the points it is the condenser and you cant just fix that. you need to have another one handy. We are having problems with the condensers just going out. Not the points as much which the rub blocks are horrible. but the condensers just fail.
use what works good for YOU //I drive a 1996 Mercedes E class diesel I make my fuel from FRY OIL //l and love 40 M.P.G.
yea that is great. I use Bio and have converted my late models to cp3 so it will run on that. In ca they have less gas tax on B20 or more
me and my friends tried those Reds but they couldn't get a fly high ?
Points are more stable
Incase of a electric fried system old school will keep going
We just wish the quality of points were good as it was before. Less and less the case.
@@vayabroder729Yes exactly! The quality isn’t as good
@@SladesVWBeetle forgot to say points AND CONDENSERS!
since the quality is terrible now I dont agree no more bosch coils anymore too. Even pointless are going by the wayside. Pat downs Shockwave or CB Magnaspark is the future unfortunately
@@vayabroder729 yea that is the straw that broke the camels back for me.
lol you never run the right distributor //all your engine are set up for boat engines do to no vacuum //so its great for 1 set speed and no shifting
ran those before I prefer the 009 but in the future it will be the pat downs shockwave
My cars love that advance coming on early. The only time you might be better with vacuum is when your trying to put a lot of advance in a high compression engine. or stock cam which wont rev up fast enough for the advance coming on that fast.