Hi James, As far as I know the ballast resistor is there to reduce the voltage at the coil to 6-8V under normal running. When starting up the resistor is bypassed and the coil gets the full battery voltage resulting in a stronger spark and better starting. It needs this because the load from the starter causes the battery voltage to drop below 12V... if the resistor wasn't bypassed the coil would get <6V and so would give a weak spark. However the coil isn't designed to run continuously at 12V so removing the ballast resistor could cause damage!
I think this is right, I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Cheers, David >>> "James Carruthers" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 11/29/02 02:25pm >>> Thanks John, So where does the ballast resistor go to and from? At the minute it goes from the + side of the coil to the bracket where the coil mounts - but this doesnt seem like the right place because this is on the body of the car, and there for grounded, so it should short, if it werent for the paint. I don't have points if I have electronic ignition? But I do... Im confused... do I still need it? James /// [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list /// Send admin requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] /// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool /// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive /// Send list postings to [EMAIL PROTECTED] /// Edit your replies! If they include this trailer, they will NOT be sent.
