In a message dated 97-03-25 19:32:46 EST, Vince J. Pujalte wrote:
<< Strangely, my car will run on just the white wire, indicating a
constant, not switched, flow of electricity.
What do you make of that? >>
Evidently, you have a coil that is designed to operate on 12 volts, with no
ballast, therefore, no need for switching. I am not nearly as familiar with
MGs as I am with T***mps, but early TR6s had no ballast resister, while later
ones did. As I posted earlier, the critical thing is to match the coil with
the need for ballast. If your coil is designed not to use one, don't. If it
is, do. As long as they are matched, I don't think you will have a problem.
If your car originally had a ballast resister, and you replace the coil with
a non ballast type, and you don't keep the car in good tune, you might have a
problem in starting, but otherwise, I think not.
Of course, another possibility is that the coil parameters are not as
critical as we think, and as long as every thing else is ok, it doesn't
matter?
There is much I don't know about coils, but I have made it a goal to learn.
Unfortunately, info of this kind is hard to find. I think most automakers
assume the home mechanic wouldn't understand anyway, so they don't publish
the info. As an Electrical Engineer, this is frustrating, to say the least. I
have read several posts about coils with built-in ballast, but I don't think
that is the case, since there would be no way to switch it out for starting.
I think the difference in internal resistance is a design parameter of the
coil. But, as I said, I WILL find out. Any other Electrical Engineers out
there that can help with this?
Dan Masters,
Alcoa, TN
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