THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

It's December! Are you expecting more stock soon ?

McCall, that must have been a large honey-do, indeed! Glad to hear the results and I think I'm hooked (though still debating about fuel injection).

I should have some next week. I'll active the "Purchase Now" link on the web site at that time.

I have several in stock now, ready to ship out! The web site order page is also active- http://www.pinzssi.com

You may want to re post this in the classified now. More exposure.

Watching the video about installing the conversion from military ignition. Very interesting...I noticed on my dizzy, that the cap is secured by the opposite holes mentioned in Scott's explanation. Not the ones farthest left but, the ones farthest right. It has been this way since purchasing the vehicle and all through the replacement of caps and rotors.
What problems could this be this giving me? Or since the timing is set up for 5000 feet above sea level or at 8 degrees per the timing light are there no adverse effects really to be noticed.

I recently installed the gear reduction starter (really helps), changed to Castrol 20/50 but have yet to set the timing and adjust (balance) the carbs. New plugs were installed and after doing that, am about to increase the idle from 550 to 900 per post by Jim, to keep the plugs from showing black rather than grey.
I understand that the vehicle should be at operating temps to set timing and adjust carbs, but what is that exactly? How long to run it or idle for optimum temps?

I would love to have the 2.7 conversion done but am hesitant to do this myself as my mechanical skill set does't extend that far.

well I decided to give this unit a try. I was very impressed with the system. EVERYTHING needed to do the install was included, except the tools and time. The detailed directions made installation about as straight forward as could be. The only issue I had was not getting the unit seated all the way down the first time. I found using a phillips screw driver and slowly turning the timing wheel hold down screw made it seat fully without any issue. Once installed and timing set according to directions a simple push of the started button and it was off and running. After checking things over I took the truck for a spin. very smooth acceleration. I was reminded of the difference the pertronix unit made to my truck when I did that conversion so many years ago. this conversion is as big or bigger step above that. Idle is incredibly smooth and emissions smell oh so much better, you can tell there is a lot less unburnt gas coming out of the tailpipe.
A few trail trips will be the true test.

Well, I've gotten my SSI system up and running. I like it a lot, the truck starts much easier than it did. For those of you who have installed this system (and those who will in the future), here is some information I've found:

1. The average current draw IS ~0.7A. However, the system draws peak currents of roughly 6-7 amps, for a short duration during each spark output. This is probably why some 24V to 12V converters do not power it well, even if the converter is rated for more than 7A - the converter just can't support that short duration amperage. Many converters will work fine for more continuous loads of 10 or 20 amps, or more, but they just can't deal with almost no load, then the need to supply the SSI with 7 amps as quickly as the SSI needs it. The solution is to add a capacitor to the output of the converter to act as a buffer between the converter and the SSI. To do this will, the capacitor needs to be rated at 16V or more, and realistically needs to be 2,000 to 3,000 uf (micro farads, the unit of capacitance) to store enough energy to supply the SSI. Some lower end converters will not start with this much capacitance connected to the output. Just put the "+" of the capacitor to the 12V "+" terminal, and the capacitor's " - " lead to the 12V " - " terminal of the converter. Using a converter will prevent premature battery death.

2. The SSI instructions show to get the 12V power from the battery interconnect, saying that the current draw is not sufficient to damage the batteries. Depending on the particular type of batteries that you have, you might have rapid battery failure(s) in a few months or you might have a few years of life before the batteries fail. What happens is this: the Pinz charging system recharges the two batteries by feeding both with the same charging current; both batteries get the same amount of current since they are in series. The "lower" battery, the one that connects its negative end to the chassis, is supplying the ~3/4 amp that the SSI system uses, while the "upper" battery does not. So the lower one gets discharged further than the upper; this results in the lower battery having a lower voltage than the upper. If we take this to an extreme, for the purposes of discussion, then the upper might be at 15 volts while the lower is at 12 volts (together they are at 27V which is about right for the Pinzgauer's voltage regulator). The upper battery is getting overcharged, while the lower battery is getting undercharged. Depending on the type of battery you are using, the overcharging may not be much of a problem -- wet cells just evaporate more water during overcharge. If you have the stock type wet cells and keep the electrolyte level up then overcharging is OK. But some sealed batteries (AGM types) and some maintenance free types do not do well with excessive over charging. Most all battery types do not do well when undercharged (they sulfate, and rapidly fail) but before they get to that level of undercharging you will see a reduction in cranking capacity. Eventually, you might cause the upper battery to fail due to overcharging and much more likely see the lower battery fail from undercharging.

What can you do to prevent this? If you are pulling power from the battery interconnect to get 12 volts, then definitely put a 12V charger on the lower battery, probably once a month if you use your truck more than a few hours each month. Doing this will bring the voltage of the lower battery up, preventing the upper battery from receiving too much charge. Remember, power equals voltage times current - so if the batteries are getting charged with 10A (for example) and the upper battery is at 15V then it has 150 WATTS being put into it (that it probably does not need at all as it is overcharged) while the lower battery, at 12V, is only getting 120 WATTS (and it needs more than this to get properly recharged). Not only is the imbalance bad for the batteries, it also amplifies the situation into an even worse situation.

A voltmeter in the truck that monitors the charging voltage not only keeps tabs on the overall charging system but can also start to identify a weak battery, where the total cranking voltage starts dropping lower than normal (lower than 20-21 volts). Better still, use two voltmeters - one on each battery. They should run within just a couple of tenths of a volt of each other. Then they will tell you when it is time to charge the batteries independently.

The Pinzi SSI system is a wonderful device, but just understand what tapping power from the lower battery does (and why it has NOT been recommended on this forum in the past).

My experience:

I installed the SSI system on my 710K about 4 weeks ago. I had spent quite a bit of time corresponding with Rick regarding running the system on the truck 24 volt system. At first we tried to engineer a resistor but the variability of the current draw made this unworkable. Next I gravitated to 24-12v converted. Rick advised against this. He has tested several and only one worked. He feels that the cheep systems are not steady enough to run the SSI reliably. I wanted to try it and I want a key switched 12v power at the dash so I plunged in.
I spent an evening reviewing 24-12V converter specs. I decided to try a 240 watt BUCK converter / regulator

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F5T ... ailpages01

The specs for this device show output ripple: 50mV (MAX) 20M Bandwidth. Rick felt that the problem with other converters has been voltage stability. Anyhow I have this converter feeding a 6 circuit fuse box. I have a two circuits (each with a 10 amp fuse) powering two cigarette outlets each with a cabin fan or a GPS. The SSI circuit is fused with a 5 amp fuse. When I first set up the SSI I used a 2 amp fuse. One blew but I'm not sure it was from the SSI system. At the time I was removing and replacing all of the existing non OEM wiring in the front. I may have shorted it inadvertently.

I have put about 200 miles on the truck since the conversion. 3/4 of these miles have been on the interstate at 60 MPH. I have not had any problems. The truck does start better, has better low end performance and better gas mileage but the carburetors need to be rebuilt and the valves adjusted so while it does idle better it is not where I want it. Until I get these tasks complete I won't have a full report.

The SSI system is well worth the $. Rick knows his product and is a class A+ guy to do business with. I do carry a spare converter, primary wire and alligator clips just in case!

just crossed the 5000 mile mark since install and all is running great. Went to the mountains this weekend. A little 250 mile round trip where I left an elevation of 1200 ft and ran up to 7600 ft. Truck ran fabulous. I was thinking about the way it was running on the way home and how nice it sounded as I climbed the steep grades at a blistering 27mph purring like a kitten all the way. Needless to say I am still very happy with the way the SSI system is performing. I have played in the water crossings for the first time since I switched to civilian ignition (not something I have been able to do in the past). No issues at all to report, still very nice idle, great starts and runs smoother then I ever expected a pinz to run.
time will tell how it holds up but so far very good.

Cost aside...since I am not sure of the total cost of either of these mods. Which would be more cost effective, the SSI or a 2.7 conversion for the gain I think I want?

I can probably, with guidance, do the SSI by myself but the 2.7 issue would require professional help.
I live at 5000 ft and above and a trip over the mountains to Moab or anything in between is a struggle for the pinz. More power would be a great help but I am unsure of the direction I should take.

Anyone with similar altitude issues or having done the mod(s) would be welcome to respond.

no experience with the 2.7 upgrade but the SSI system works very well. I don't think you are going to get the increased performance for hill climbing that would expect from the SSI system. SSI is a Very easy install and makes the truck run great. A fresh top end or a 2.7 upgrade would be a better choice if you are looking for more power but even that would be minimal. Unfortunately with the stock motor we are never going to get the "over the road" performance of a modern vehicle.

The 2.7 is a nice but expensive upgrade, at least $4K+ if you do the heads. More power, that's for sure- I have driven one. But if you do the 2.7 you would also have to do the PinzSSI, and I'm not saying that because I sell them. It would be the perfect combination, and possibly resulting with the fastest Pinz in existence.

Just pulled the trigger on the PinzSSI.
Do I understand correctly in earlier posts, when people mentionned measuring some advance at the pointer to have the red LED light up some degrees before TDC, that this was related to earlier versions of the module having several advance curves built in (to be selected with a dial or switch)? So now with the current version and no curves to choose from, all there is to do is have the LED light up when the pointer is right on the TDC mark.
Correct? Or did I just reveal (actually, confirm) that I should never be near a combustion engine unsupervised?

The second one

You still need to align the red light with the rotation of the crank.

But it is dead easy, just read the manual a few times.

Easier than a normal engine because of the wasted spark you don't need to worry about which stroke the engine is one, you just want TDC.

ako wrote:The second one

No real surprise here...

ako wrote:You still need to align the red light with the rotation of the crank.

But it is dead easy, just read the manual a few times.

Easier than a normal engine because of the wasted spark you don't need to worry about which stroke the engine is one, you just want TDC.

I get that I need to align the red light. But I was reading in earlier posts guys were measuring degrees so the red light was "on" a few degrees before TDC instead of right on TDC.