Pamco Pete?

Gee guys,
if you ain't happy with the perfectly adequate stock ignition system and can't wait for Pamcopete to catch up with his backlog, there's always Boyer, eh?
 
DrewMartin said:
The repeated threads on here with issues with Pamco Pete's failure rate, and customer service have sealed the deal with me running a points ignition. At this point he might as well just include a disclaimer in all units that there's no explicitly stated or implied warranty with his products. It'll at least save everyone a bunch of heartache when it does fail.
Click to expand...
Since I've been on this forum, I've seen Pete help literally dozens of members most of whom stuffed up their installs and cooked their Pamco units through their own failure to follow simple instructions. He's always been pretty quick, patient and helpful, and i'd speculate the failure rate of his units is less than old poorly serviced points units. There would be many hundreds of users on here who have had no problems at all. Honestly, Im thankful that there are even people like him catering to these old obsolete machines and giving us the luxury of choice.

Plus keep in mind he may well have been away from here for personal reasons for the last couple of months.
 
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wherearewe said:
Since I've been on this forum, I've seen Pete help literally dozens of members most of whom stuffed up their installs and cooked their Pamco units through their own failure to follow simple instructions. He's always been pretty quick, patient and helpful, and i'd speculate the failure rate of his units is less than old poorly serviced points units. There would be many hundreds of users on here who have had no problems at all. Honestly, Im thankful that there are even people like him catering to these old obsolete machines and giving us the luxury of choice.

Plus keep in mind he may well have been away from here for personal reasons for the last couple of months.
Click to expand...

It just seems like a recent rash of failures associated with recently sold units. Or I've lost track of how many threads there are by the same people on here. It almost makes me wonder if there's be a component change from one mfr to another. After all, Pete has admitted to being swamped with orders recently, I wonder if his suppliers are up to the task of the automation renaissance going on world-wide right now.

I understand that things happen from time to time with businesses and such, heck I was a former small business owner myself. However it would do a lot for him to create an auto-reply message informing those that email him to the status of his responses. To me, personally, no response is worse than a "no". Communication is key for everyone in business, leaving others to derive their own conclusion is dangerous.
 
Only reason I'm in such a hurry is because this is for my chop off bike and I need it done asap so I can get the bugs worked out.
 
"He's always been pretty quick,"

This is the lie. His warranty is tops....if you can find him. As far as I can see, the routine is to contact Pete to no avail, and finally get a response only after calling him out on a forum. It's been this way as long as I've been hanging around this forum. His friends keep up the same old barking, that he's been swamped, and all the buyers are morons who can't run 3 wires. Try not selling more than you can service, then.
 
I believe I'm in the same boat as the others. PM'd Pete for any help and hardly any response. Maybe I should've started a new thread instead but there do seem to be enough regarding Pamcos. Now that I see others are having problems with recent Pamco installs I'm thinking there could have been a bad batch. I know I followed all install instructions very carefully and I'm no newbie when it comes to wiring.
 
Larabejo,

There is no bad batch. Sales have been very active this year, so we have more possible issues, but the percentage is the same. Start by telling us which PAMCO you have, what type of charging system, battery or capacitor if a PMA, year and model of your bike, any recent work, was the engine running OK before the PAMCO install etc. All PAMCO's are tested prior to shipping, so most of the install issues are related to the installation.
 
Thanks for replying Pete. I followed directions very carefully (including inserting 3rd pin in camshaft) and have spent a lot of time reading forums for troubleshooting tips. I bought a full kit from MikesXS including new spark plugs, new ignition coil (#17-6822) , E-advancer and all other components required for install on a stock '81 XS650 Special II. Stock charging system (HHB ready for install after ignition is ironed out). Bike was running fine but charging system was failing. Cam chain and valves are adjusted and carbs were cleaned/rebuilt last year. 1 yr. old Big Crank AGM battery. I have spark on both plugs but the bike refuses to stay running and the kickstarter kicks back hard no matter where I have the sensor plate. I finally decided to reinstall the stock ignition components to make sure I hadn't damaged anything, and it fired up and ran smooth off the second kick. Also I checked to make sure the cam shaft was on the right tooth by checking that the pin added to the cam shaft was at 12 o'clock when the right cylinder was at TDC. Do you have any further suggestions for me? I can repost this on a separate forum if that is the better format for this sort of thing.
 
Larabejo,

Did you try setting the timing when you got the engine running? Moving the plate one way or the other is not going to get it done. You have to use a timing light. Perhaps you have already done that, so I would like to know how that ended up. In any event, you are covered by a two year warranty, so if we can't get it to work it will be replaced, but first lets try a few things.

The E-Advancer starts to advance right off of idle, or 1300 RPM, so it may be that the idle speed is too high and the E-Advancer is already introducing some advance, so set the idle as low as you can when you set the timing at idle.
 
pamcopete said:
Larabejo,

Did you try setting the timing when you got the engine running? Moving the plate one way or the other is not going to get it done. You have to use a timing light. Perhaps you have already done that, so I would like to know how that ended up. In any event, you are covered by a two year warranty, so if we can't get it to work it will be replaced, but first lets try a few things.

The E-Advancer starts to advance right off of idle, or 1300 RPM, so it may be that the idle speed is too high and the E-Advancer is already introducing some advance, so set the idle as low as you can when you set the timing at idle.
Click to expand...
Pete,
I was only able to get it to run long enough to put a strobe (non-adjustable type) on one time, and it wanted to die so I had to have a friend take the reading while I managed the throttle. It was very sporadic (tried switching to other sparkplug lead and no signal) but it appeared to be in the retarded direction. From which point I tried advancing the sensor in small increments but it would start kicking back harder the further I went.
I'll try reducing idle the next chance I get, should be tomorrow.
Thanks
 
No luck playing with the amount of idle. Didn't want to fire at all at lower idle or with any amount of throttle applied. Dug my multimeter back out to recheck connections: 4.4 Ohms between primaries, 12.82V at the battery, no resistance (open) between either primary and coil center or primary and plug cap. Measuring from spark plug cap to spark plug cap was 25.9 Ohms. Have spark on both sides. The interesting thing I found is that I only have around 10.93V at the red/white wire, both at the coil and at the kill switch. I'm thinking this should be closer to or equal to my 12.82V at the battery. Is that right? And could there be too much resistance for the pamco to be firing properly?
Thanks
 
PM'd Pete for a replacement last week but no reply. It's getting old trying to get in contact with him. Anybody have any further suggestions on getting a hold of him?
Thanks
 
I have a 1972 xs650 I just installed a Pamco 14-0913 kit from Mikesxs.com. I installed it on my engine which is on a stand on a bench. Then I go hit the forums to learn more about my new project bike. Specifically to find out what kind of spark plugs I should run, I've heard people run the iridium plugs. Unfortunately during my research I find that the advancer rod that comes in the kit is a 'special' rod for the 80-83. So here I am, long winded and looking for help. I emailed Pete, but also read this forum is the best way to get answers.
So my question is, will this kit work in my 72, or do I need to remove the rod and replace it with the stock one, or do I need to remove the entire system and replace it with the correct kit.... it would suck to have to eat the $300......
And if anyone can answer my spark plug question while I'm here too. ..
Thanks
 

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