coil voltage question

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63dartman

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What is the minimum voltage I should see at the positive side of the coil with the key in the on position and the car not started? I am running the electronic conversion through an orange mopar box. Should I still see 12 to 13 volts at the + side of the coil? I am only reading about 4 volts at the coil. I haven't checked it with the car running yet.
 
stock ignition should be 12 V in start and 6 to 7 V in run.
I dont know anything about orange boxes or aftermarket stuff though.
 
stock ignition should be 12 V in start and 6 to 7 V in run.
I dont know anything about orange boxes or aftermarket stuff though.

RedFish has it correct. approx 12v in crank as it bypasses the resister in crank mode, and when the key is in run, through the resister so it should be 7 - 8 volts. This is through approx 1 ohm resistor which is what the orange box should come with.
 
I checked the voltage going into the orange box on pin #1 and it is right at 11.67 volts. When the car is running I get 7.3 volts at the + side of the coil. Is that acceptable? Thanks redfish and keith.
 
Considering it is a 6V coil, 7.3V is more than acceptable. Welcome to the wonderful world of Chrysler ignitions.
Back in the 50's when everybody was changing over to 12V electrical systems from 6V, Chrysler decided to do things a little differently, compared to GM and Ford. F/GM (can't stand to type those words) took the easy way out and just switched everything to 12V, from heater motors, lights, etc., including ignitions. The Chrysler engineers (who ran the company instead of the bean counters) who did the ignition, did some cold start testing and decided to keep the old 6V coil and add a ballast resistor that could be switched in and out of the circuit. The testing showed that voltage to the coil could drop as low as 6V during starter motor engagement, which did not supply enough current to fire the plugs with a 12V coil and resulted in the same hard starting situation that doomed the 6V systems. By installing a resistor in series with the coil that could be bypassed during starter engagement, and in the circuit during normal operation, the coil would always see at least 6V. Best of all, it only cost a resistor and relay and was almost as cheap to do as a 12V coil. Hope this helps.
 
Hey thanks for the leason grump, I always new it was for quicker cold start when cranking but didn't know the history behind it.
 
Thanks for the ign lesson, that clears up some questions I've always had on Mopar ignitions.Always lots to learn on this forum:read2:thanks again Grump!
 
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