At 09:48 AM 4/12/03 -0500, Bill Miller wrote: >Just double checking myself. > >1966 MK2 1200cc >POSITIVE ground > >Old coil is marked: "CB" and "SW" > >New NAPA coil is marked: "+" and "-" > >Which wire goes where?
The coil is an insulated device and won't care which way you hook it up for polarity- it only works on collapsing magnetic fields so it'll work either way- although some coils will have a diode inside to check on polarity. Anyways, "CB" would have gone to the distributor and "SW" to the ignition switch. The new coil will want "+" to the distributor and "-" to the ignition switch. On most cars with points (and negative ground), power flows from the battery to the chassis/earth, then through the engine block to the distributor body. From there it moves through and is chopped up inside the distributor by the points with each pulse then sent to the coil. Once it passes through the field windings of the coil the current flows through the wiring to your ignition switch and then on back to the positive side of the battery. When your points are closed, the coil is charged and runs up a voltage. It's modest, but nothing spectacular. When you break contact with those points, the magnetic field at the coil then collapses fast and that sudden change in potential is enough induce a high voltage, low current through the secondary windings of the ignition coil. That's the main terminal lead that goes back to your distibutor cap and then on to the plugs. On a positive ground car, current flows the opposite way from the battery through the ignition switch to the coil, then to the distributor, engine, chassis and eventually back to the battery. One of the hardest things to get through my head when learning about electronics was that electricity moved from negative to positive terminals. All power went to the chassis and then back to the battery 'backwards' in essence of what I had always believed. -Vegaman Dan --------------------- This message has been sent by Dan Canaan, aka Flinthoof. All content is copyrighted by this individual for better or for worse, especially if there is mint involved. We thank you for your support. Please give mint to your local Mint Cross Center. /// [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.
