bad ballast resistor???HELP

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gniknayrb18

gniknayrb18

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ok i cant start the car not getting any spark...started fine 2 days ago...i grabbed my test light and checked everything. what i came up with was i had full power to the top of my ballast resistor and only about half power if that to the bottom...the wire that connects to the bottom one goes to my distributor. is that the resistor working or not doing its job
 
Stick a cotter key in it and crank it if it starts you need anew resistor. We are old school at my place. To dumb to learn how to read ameter.
 
when you start your car the ballast is by passed and 12 volts is applied to the coil.When in the run position the circuit to the coil flows through the resistor and only 8 or 9 volts is applied.
..sounds like your ballast is working o.k.
 
Always tell us what car, engine, and year you have. You can run with the full 12 V on the coil for about 5 min. After that, the coil will get too hot and the engine will mis-fire at higher speed. It is OK to jumper 12 V straight to coil for a short time to check if the engine can fire. If a small block, I wouldn't waste a lot of time fooling with an old points ignition before getting the $45 HEI distributor on ebay. If you have the Mopar electronic ignition, verify the box is getting grounded.
 
ok exactly what i was just thinking about doing...getting tired of my points system. and im working a 72 demon with a 340/727...i have replaced the intake and carb but like i said it was running fine then all of a sudden was backfiring and now nothing doesn't seam to be getting any kind of fire. is there any good hei upgrades besides just off ebay? like anything specific you can point me in the right direction
 
backfiring does suggest a problem in the distributer. Could be as simple as rotor button failure. Have you had the cap off ?
 
gniknayrb18 said:
... is there any good hei upgrades besides just off ebay? like anything specific you can point me in the right direction
Click to expand...
Probably 200 posts here on HEI in the last few years if you bother to search. If ebay is an issue, you can still search for info there and buy direct from the vendor. I would feel a bit scurilous doing that, and it is so easy to click "Buy it Now", PayPal, and a box shows up at my door in a few days.
 
We always had them laying around again just for a fast check or emergency to get you home, I said I am old school. mopar dizzy with trailbeast up grade is very good.
 
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