Could it really be?

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hawkgoalie31

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I recently had a big problem with my 74 duster. My problem was the car would start for half a second and die instantly. If I held the key over however it would still run. My Dad and I looked at it and after messing with some wires it started up and ran good for a little over a week. Then I was driving and all the sudden it died and would not start doing the same thing it was doing. So we replaced the ballast and it started right up, but I only drove it for a little because I don’t trust it. My question is would the ballast really make the car do this and how come it worked for a while and died again. Also it was a new ballast with only 4,000+ miles on it. Any ideas? Please help.
 
Uhhhhh.... if memory serves correct, there is some sort of bypass wire in the ignition where *i think* the ballast is bypassed during the vehicle cranks over, and a full 12 goes to....the distributor? or something like that? there's something hokey going on for sure... do you have a shop manual??? could be the ignition switch...
 
but the car has no problem turning over and the ignition switch is new
 
Judge Mills said:
Uhhhhh.... if memory serves correct, there is some sort of bypass wire in the ignition where *i think* the ballast is bypassed during the vehicle cranks over, and a full 12 goes to....the distributor? or something like that? there's something hokey going on for sure... do you have a shop manual???
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thats wat i heard but the car runs fine now I am just wondering if thats what a bad ballast will do.
 
Yeah can be the ballast or ignition switch.

I had to replace my ballast for this reason.

I'm almost certain that the "start position" and "on position" are completely different wires inside the switch. So a bad switch could do the same and only work during "start".
 
72Plymouth said:
Yeah can be the ballast or ignition switch.

I had to replace my ballast for this reason.

I'm almost certain that the "start position" and "on position" are completely different wires inside the switch. So a bad switch could do the same and only work during "start".
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They are because we pulled it apart tested it and replaced it. so you guys think its for sure the ballast
 
you have two different circuits on a mopar...start and run...

voltage from one side of the ballast resistor provides juice to the ignition to start..then the other side provides juice for the run...

starts...let go of key..it dies...run side is not getting juice...normally ballast resist is it...

my 73 duster does the same thing but it is the wire going into the bulkhead...bad connection....
 
Yes, the stock dual ballast will do exactly what you've described. The juice flows through one side during the start circuit, and the other side during run. With one side bad, it will start, but not have power to the coil when in the run position.

As far as it not working, and then working for a while, the Chrysler ballast doesn't go out like a fuse, it is more of a "break" in the metal that can sometimes fall apart and come back together after it's "burned". When you guys were doing your testing, you probably rattled the ballast enough to complete the circuit for a while, but it eventually rattled loose again.
 
Ok thanks a lot guys that make sense I replaced the ballast and it runs fine if I have any problems ill come back. Thanks agian
 
hawkgoalie31 said:
Ok thanks a lot guys that make sense I replaced the ballast and it runs fine if I have any problems ill come back. Thanks agian
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Classic bad ballast story and always carry an extra in the glove compartment cuss at some point in time (a day or 10 years) out of the blue, it'll crap out again
 
My neutral safety switch is going, so half the time it won't start in park but will in neutral, have you tried that?

Also, I know a ballast resistor can cause your car not to start at all. I'm not the best to troubleshoot stuff but this is from my experience.
 
You can always check the resistance across the ballast to see if it is nfg although it might vary from cold to hot. It should be around 0.7 to 1.2 ohms IIRC.
 
It had been over 20 years since I last owned an old Mopar. The very first thing that I bought when I got my Dart, was a spare ballast resistor. Once you've had one go, you know to always keep a spare in the glove box.

And come back any time. :-D
 
comoxian said:
it had been over 20 years since i last owned an old mopar. The very first thing that i bought when i got my dart, was a spare ballast resistor. Once you've had one go, you know to always keep a spare in the glove box.

And come back any time. :-d
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8)
 
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