XR3000 Problems

[JimVillers]

OK ..... I have had a Crane Cams XR3000 installed in my 230SL for a couple of years and had been happy with it.  Recently I had a miss that I tried everything to track down, including swapping coils, plugs, alternator, checked fuel pump etc.  It seemed voltage related as I could turn on my lights and make the missing worse.  It also appeared that I had a high electrical load somewhere in the system.  I used a digital voltmeter to understand more of what was happening.  If the voltage was above 12.5 volts, everything ran fine.  With the lights on, even at speed, the voltage would drop to 11.8 and it would miss on acceleration.  At the Northern Virginia Gathering this weekend, I tried swapping regulators with no change.  

The solution was to replace my XR3000 unit with my old points and condenser.  

Has anyone else had difficulty with this unit or the XR700?  Mine used the red Bosch coil with the ballast resistor bypassed.  Does anyone have experience with the Pertronix points unit? Do you need to modify the distributor to install the Pertronix?

I want to go back to electronic ignition but I want to make sure that it is a reliable unit.

Jim Villers


Jim Villers
190SL, 230SL 5-Speed, 190E 2.3-16 Kompressor

[rwmastel]

Jim,
Another person (or was it you?) had problems with the XR3000 and discussed them on this board.  I used the search to find the following posts.  Try it, it's fast and easy!!

http://index.php?topic=662
http://index.php?topic=679
http://index.php?topic=626
http://index.php?topic=710


Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[JimVillers]

Thanks Rodd .... I had looked at those threads (and almost posted to the end of the first one).  None of these threads touched on what appears to be a failure of the unit and the strange symptoms when the unit fails.  

While the XR3000 was designed for and will handle a high power coil, it should work well with the stock coil (Bosch red) without the ballast resistor.  The elimination of the ballast resistor is the reason that I chose the XR3000 for my 230SL over the XR700 that I have used in my 190SL for many years.

The purpose of this thread is to gain additional information from members on the reliability of the Crane Cams and Pertronix electronic ignition systems.



Jim Villers
190SL, 230SL 5-Speed, 190E 2.3-16 Kompressor

[hands_aus]

Jim,

If you do a search on the Yahoo site for "electronic ignition" you will see many posts about the Crane and Pertronix units.

Bob (Brisbane,Australia)
early 250 SL, RHD

[Cees Klumper]

Please note - there are at least two other makes of electronic ignition on the market that can be used. I have a Newtronic unit (optical pick-up inside the distributor and an external module in a sturdy aluminum box) that has operated flawlessly so far and was relatively easy to install. I did have to tap one bolthole in the plate. It cost about $120 and is available through AI Motors (see vendor database) and though EDS.classic@worldonline.nl. Then there is also the "Luminition" brand that I don't personally know but has been reported on.

Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[Ricardo]

Hey Jim
I too have an xr3000 that was installed by the PO. He had to have the unit replaced under warranty, when it failed due to water getting inside somehow. I've had the car about 3 1/2 years since and it seems to have functioned well in that time. I say "seems" because I have a slight miss at idle that Dan Caron (Benz Dr.) thinks may  be due to the module. Dan doesn't prefer these electronic ign. " it'll leave you on the side of the road one day and then what?" is the way he put it to me, and even with a new red coil, Dan didn't think it was putting out a very hot spark. Neither of us knew how the unit might vary the spark under different conditions, but he feels that the xr3000 may be the culprit in my occasional hot start problem as well and when he gets time to rebuild an 051 for me, I'm going to switch back and see what happens.
Don't know if this helps but thats my story
Richard V

[Tom]

Jim,

This may stir a debate like dino vs synthetic oil but here goes...

I have the Pertronix and have never had any issues.  I had an old Alison (predecessor to Crane) that I switched out for the Pertronix as I felt (perhaps incorrectly) that the Hall Effect approach used by Pertronix was more durable compared to the optical trigger used by Crane.  The shutter of the optical trigger arrangement seems delicate and the light component, well, light bulbs burn out, right?

The concern that one can break down on the side of the road with electronic ignition and be stuck is a valid fear.  There are certain things that one should keep with them on a long drive.  John Olson mentioned some at the Backlick Tech Session, including a fuel pump.  I bought another Pertronix unit and distributor for that reason and carry the extra distributor with me on long trips.  If I have a problem with my electronic ignition, I can just pull the old distributor (Pertronix is all contained within the distributor), put the replacement distributor in, adjust my timing and I am back on the road again.  Looking for a fuel pump at a reasonable price.

Best,

Tom

[George Davis]

Jim,

I also had an Allison (pre-Crane) XR-700; in a Brit car for about 15 years before it died completely.  The wires to the box were a bit fragile and one broke once, but that was repairable.  Still, it stopped the car.  I also had to modify the rotor because the trigger wheel raised it too much, but don't know if that's necessary with the 113 distributors.

The Pertronix units require a small modification to the bracket for the vacuum control rod inside the distributor, basically one corner has to be filed off for clearance.

I'm probably going to stick with points; making sure the dist. shaft bushings are in good shape should help extend points life.

George Davis
'69 280 SL Euro manual

[JimVillers]

Thanks all.  As I suspected, I was not alone.  

Tom ... Yes, I had everything with me to switch back to points if my module had failed completely.  That is my hesidency of installing a pertronix, by modifying the distributor, I might not be able to just  reinstall points.  I also had a fuel pump rebuild kit and a couple of hoses with me for the same reasons; "I gota get home".

George ... When removing my unit, I noticed that the optical unit was dirty.  You might try cleaning the optics and see if it cures your problems.

For now, I will stay with points.  Thanks for the comments.


Jim Villers
190SL, 230SL 5-Speed, 190E 2.3-16 Kompressor