Starfire Electric Ignition

[Chambers]

When I bought the car (76 Spitfire 1500) I was told it had a little immobiliser switch which the guy thought was just a three way switch I was told left and right were on and middle was off.

From looking under at the switch and looking in the Haynes manual where the owner before last has left a hand sketch it shows that middle is off (immobilised) left is back to normal points and right is electric on (run)

My question is, from what I have seen if you put on of the E-bay electric ignition kits on Im told you "never need to replace your points or condenser again" but with this kit seemingly having the option to use both electric and standard points, will they still be there to change?

Also can someone explain what the advantage of electric ignition is?

[greenbonnie]

hi chambers. the eloctronic unit you have seen on ebay. replaces the points and the condensor. whitch fits inside the distributor. then connects to your coil. thats it. makes the car a lot more reliable. i can recomend this unit having had it on my spitfire for a fer months now. im using the more reliable petronix system. in my delko distributor. pete

[Chambers]

Thanks for the reply, do you happen to know any details about the system that is currently installed on my car? Is it an electric ignition or just a bit of nothing?

[greenbonnie]

hi chambers. dont know anything about your system. but im sure someone will know on here. pete

[esxefi]

chambers,

it sounds as though your starfire unit is a points assisted ignition system,where the points are still used but they are for switching on and off the starfire unit electronics and do not take the high loads of the conventional points setup,the points 'should' therefore last a lot longer as they will have no arcing/sparking causing points errosion.
the switch i suspect just bypasses the starfire and returns to conventional points setup,handy if the unit fails.

the main advantage of electronic ignition is mainly for long service intervals as there is almost nothing to wear out,and it is supposed to give better mpg and reduce emissions by enabling a better quality spark.

with the self contained'in distributor'type,it's almost worthcarrying a spare set in the car as they are as easy to change as a set of points.