Slant six not starting Ballast resistor issues? Ignition switch?

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Mopar King

Mopar King

Beginner / Need of Help
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I have a slight problem with my 1974 Dodge dart. its a slant six auto and its electric ignition. My car doesn't start up and i mostly did everything i remembered reading about electrical gremlins for the slant six but..... I may forget something (Im human mistakes happen).#-o



When you hold the key in "START" position it turns on and stays on BUT when you release key which is to "RUN" it shuts off. I did the test of plugging a long cable from the battery positive terminal to the coils positive stud (ballast Resistor still connected and untouched), turned the car on and IT STARTED normally.



The only thing i notice is that when i leave the key to the "ON" position and i hold a test light from the negative battery terminal to the ballast resistor brown cable and/or blue cable it doesn't light up at all. I did this test to my 1976 Plymouth as well and it lights up; one side brighter than the other





I haven't checked my Ignition switch so im thinking that must be it.



Car ran fine 2 days ago but it was raining very heavy here in New York - Feb 2 2016 and had to go on a 20 mile run to pick up someone


so my question is: what is causing the ballast resistor to not have any power on both sides when the key is turned to the "RUN position"?


I think that's my question but i really want the car on before Tuesday because i need two cars as daily drivers.



Hopefully i was clear enough to describe my situation




What i did is:




-Check ballast resistor and changed with a parts ballast (didn't work). changed with one out of my daily driver (didn't work) and changed with a brand new one and it didn't work

-Changed Voltage regulator with another one i had but that didn't work

-Change my ECU with an mopar orange box ECU but didn't work

-Changed coil to another coil i had but didn't work so i changed it back to the old one

-Changed starter relay with an old one from a 318 but didn't work so i took the new one out of my running dodge demon /6 but didn't work

-Cleaned battery terminals, bulkhead, coil and wires from starter relay

- Got clean gas and it sprays A-ok

- re-timed car but no good

- i believe i do have spark

- changed old starter with a used mini starter but didn't work

- did a wiggle test on most of the wires with the help of my father and it did nothing

- Battery is from my demon and its new and full of charge

-Check rotor and cap looks ok
 
The typical symptom of a bad ballast resistor is It will fire with the key in the start position and die in the run position. I always carry a spare with me.
 
Mopar King said:
The only thing i notice is that when i leave the key to the "ON" position and i hold a test light from the negative battery terminal to the ballast resistor brown cable and/or blue cable it doesn't light up at all. I did this test to my 1976 Plymouth as well and it lights up; one side brighter than the other

I haven't checked my Ignition switch so im thinking that must be it.
Click to expand...
Your diagnosis is pretty good; the '76 shows what you should see on the bue and brown wires to the ballast. The issue could be in the switch OR may simply be in the wiring from the switch to the ballast blue wire. Start at the blue terminal on the ballast and trace back through the firewall connection and on back to the switch. Or, check the switch in RUN and see if the test light is lit off of the blue wire from the ignition switch and if so, work back towards the ballast's blue wire. Note that this blue wire may pass through a junction or 2 on the firewall side; it feeds the ballast and ignition as well as the voltage regulator and one field terminal on the alternator.

BTW, is your ballast a single ballast (with just 2 terminals)?
 
When you did the test with the key in "run" you were on the right track. It's either the ignition switch, the bulkhead connector, or the resistor

Not clear to me if you checked both ends of the resistor in that test?
 
sorry forgot to add that it is a 4 pong ballast resistor. I checked both the blue wire and the brown wire from the ballast when the key is on The "run" position and both didn't lite up. I not sure if this is useful but i also checked it at the bulkhead by sticking the testlight tip inside the bulkhead connector (without unplugging anything) and there is no power on the brown wire or the blue wire either. I'll have to check the blue cable with a test light inside the car tomorrow but i did checked mostly everything in the engine bay. i'll be checking also my ignition switch and my connection wires from the Ignition switch. I'll let you guys know.


To think of how many times i searched and read everyone else electrical problems posts and im still being beated but at least i knew first to check the ballast because of past experiences but i guess it wasn't simple as that.
 
If that's the case it has to be the ballast. Geez don't you have anything to check continuity, etc? You need to get yourself a meter. I'm particularly anal about this, because "when I was a kid" a cheap meter from someplace like Lafayette Electronics was a real POS, and a decent one was EXPENSIVE. Nowadays you can buy a real decent meter for 50-75 bucks, or a better used Fluke for about that much.
 
67Dart273 said:
If that's the case it has to be the ballast. Geez don't you have anything to check continuity, etc? You need to get yourself a meter. I'm particularly anal about this, because "when I was a kid" a cheap meter from someplace like Lafayette Electronics was a real POS, and a decent one was EXPENSIVE. Nowadays you can buy a real decent meter for 50-75 bucks, or a better used Fluke for about that much.
Click to expand...
As I read his tests, he is not getting power to the hot end of the ballast (blue wire) in RUN; it should have approx 12v there. So the problem looks to be before the ballast.

Yes on the meter.....! Very useful in this era of cars.
 
I bought one 6 months ago but when i went to test something out one day and it suddenly stopped working (nothing shows up on the screen), bought batteries but no good so i though it was the fuses so i got factory replacements but it still didn't work so Im out $65.00 in total. It was a Klein Tools MM200.
 
yes, bought it online. i know there are millions of them but what would you suggest for a novice/getting started guy or better yet what brand would you recommend that you swear by? within in the $20 to $60. i need a new one anyways maybe at my next paycheck ;)
 
It doesn't matter much. They are all Chinese except for the stuff like Flukes. For all I know, Fluke may be made in Chineseoated and simply "inspected better."

None of the "brand names" like Klein are made by Klein. Frankly, "that one" in it's price range should have been as good as any. I tend to shy away from "Horrid Freight" quality but guys on here have them and they seem to work OK.

I did a cursory search on your model, and did not find any reviews. It must not have been made for long
 
nm9stheham said:
Plenty of Flukes on eBay. No need for a 'true RMS' one. This is an older for-sure USA made model....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FLUKE-79-Se...942490?hash=item3abca39d9a:g:zJMAAOSwa-dWrno3
Click to expand...

Exactly and I suggested some time ago that Rusy buy one. I should have here. I actually bought a couple of used ones off th'bay. These are very good, very solid meters. Unlike some of the Chineseoated cheaper ones, they have excellent protection. Only downside is the ammeter fuses (ask me how I know) are a bit expensive 5? bucks each
 
I Checked inside the car today by following the blue wire and I disconnected the Ignition switch wiring harness plug AND found my problem right there. The Blue cable was cooked inside (Black and burn) and you really couldn't tell from the outside until you disconnect it. I cut the wire and connected them together (ran it straight). I then tested my ballast with the key on the "ON" position and I finally got light on both sides of the ballast.

After that started the car and ....shes alive!

out of all the years of reading about other peoples mopar electrical problems i never thought or read about a burned Ignition switch wiring harness plug before but i guess its a first time for everything

I'll be looking at the flukes multimeter, missed the auction though

Thank god for my dart finally starting up today. i really needed the extra car because we are expecting a snow storm again here in NY that will last 3 days starting Monday 2-8-16 but I hope they are wrong.
 
Very good. As these girls are getting old, more and more problems are caused from the electrical system. Lot's of people get "wiring" in their head, but it's seldom "wire." It's almost always connections, terminals, connectors, and devices.

And with Mopars the added bonus of the bulkhead connector
 
Great.... it just takes that one spot.

BTW, if a nice Fluke meter is out of the question, even a low $$ unit from a parts store will help. You can check the voltage accuracy of a meter on a 9 v transistor battery; a fresh one out of the pack will read 9.6-9.7 volts.
 
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