[DeTomaso] Difficulty starting the Pantera...

[Sean Korb]

+1 for Rich's answer.  On start, the voltage will sag at the battery,
less than a volt for a new battery but a half sulfated one will sag to
9V easy.  That's way too low a voltage to run the electronics and
power your coil even if you are getting good starter amperage.

sean

On 8/20/20, Rich Hoppe <richbhoppe at gmail.com> wrote:
> When the starter is driven the voltage drops below the unilite range.  If
> you add the Costco battery jumper it keeps the voltage high enough to not
> happen.
>
> Rich
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Aug 20, 2020, at 5:01 PM, Larry Stock <larrys at panteraparts.com> wrote:
>>
>> The Mallory Unilite ignition was better than most unless it's the one
>> with the ignition module built into the distributor. That one is a dud in
>> Pantera's
>>
>> Larry
>>
>>
>> On 8/20/20, 4:32 PM, "DeTomaso on behalf of Mike Drew via DeTomaso"
>> <detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com on behalf of
>> detomaso at server.detomasolist.com> wrote:
>>
>>    Garth,
>>
>>    Ugh. Unilite.
>>
>>    The stock wiring scheme sends the full 12v to the coil during the
>> starting circuit and then drops down to 9v or so from the run circuit. Is
>> it possible yours is getting only 9v all the time?
>>
>>    Personally I wouldn’t spend much time or effort diagnosing an ignition
>> problem with a Unilite installed. A Unilite IS an ignition problem
>> IMHO.....
>>
>>    Mike (had a Unilite on my Pantera when I first bought it and frequently
>> had starting problems....)
>>
>>    Sent from my iPad
>>
>>> On Aug 20, 2020, at 15:52, Garth Rodericks via DeTomaso
>>> <detomaso at server.detomasolist.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>    Sending this to the brain-trust for some collective wisdom on where
>>> and
>>>  what to check first before I drop $100 on a new battery...
>>>  The Problem:
>>>  The engine will crank and crank and crank, but it won't light/fire.
>>>  Only when I release the key from the 'start' position after 10-20
>>>  seconds of cranking, it sounds like it just tries to light for a
>>>  seconds, but doesn't catch.
>>>  The battery is an Optima Red top, but I'm not sure how old it is. Date
>>>  code is 6033, which most likely means 2/2/2016.  I don't remember
>>>  replacing the battery only 4 years ago, but I must have.
>>>  Battery voltage before cranking = 12.4v to 12.55v
>>>  I believe voltage in the 12.0-12.4v range means it's low.  It also
>>>  doesn't seem to hold a charge long, so I expect it's sulfated.
>>>  If I add my little portable battery booster ($60 from Costo), it will
>>>  usually start.
>>>  The engine doesn't crank any faster, but the engine fires this time.
>>>  I was thinking I might need a new battery, but wanted to see if there's
>>>  something else I should check first before dropping $100 on a battery.
>>>  The ignition is a Pantera Electronics Electronic Ignition System (EIS)
>>>  with a Mallory Unilite distributor (with a newer module).
>>>  Thanks!
>>>  Garth
>>>  #4033
>>> _______________________________________________
>>>
>>>
>>> Detomaso Email List is not managed by POCA
>>> Posted emails must not exceed 1.5 Megabytes
>>> DeTomaso mailing list
>>> DeTomaso at server.detomasolist.com
>>> http://server.detomasolist.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso
>>>
>>> To manage your subscription (change email address, unsubscribe, etc.) use
>>> the links above.
>>>
>>> Members who post to this list grant license to the list to forward any
>>> message posted here to all past, current, or future members of the list.
>>> They also grant the list owner permission to maintain an archive or
>>> approve the archiving of list messages.
>>
>>    _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>    Detomaso Email List is not managed by POCA
>>    Posted emails must not exceed 1.5 Megabytes
>>    DeTomaso mailing list
>>    DeTomaso at server.detomasolist.com
>>    http://server.detomasolist.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso
>>
>>    To manage your subscription (change email address, unsubscribe, etc.)
>> use the links above.
>>
>>    Members who post to this list grant license to the list to forward any
>> message posted here to all past, current, or future members of the list.
>> They also grant the list owner permission to maintain an archive or
>> approve the archiving of list messages.
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>> Detomaso Email List is not managed by POCA
>> Posted emails must not exceed 1.5 Megabytes
>> DeTomaso mailing list
>> DeTomaso at server.detomasolist.com
>> http://server.detomasolist.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso
>>
>> To manage your subscription (change email address, unsubscribe, etc.) use
>> the links above.
>>
>> Members who post to this list grant license to the list to forward any
>> message posted here to all past, current, or future members of the list.
>> They also grant the list owner permission to maintain an archive or
>> approve the archiving of list messages.
> _______________________________________________
>
>
> Detomaso Email List is not managed by POCA
> Posted emails must not exceed 1.5 Megabytes
> DeTomaso mailing list
> DeTomaso at server.detomasolist.com
> http://server.detomasolist.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso
>
> To manage your subscription (change email address, unsubscribe, etc.) use
> the links above.
>
> Members who post to this list grant license to the list to forward any
> message posted here to all past, current, or future members of the list.
> They also grant the list owner permission to maintain an archive or approve
> the archiving of list messages.


-- 
Sean Korb spkorb at gmail.com http://spkorb.org (est 1994)
"Computers are useless.  They can only give you answers." -P. Picasso