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RE: [oletrucks] Runnin' happy

To: "'Bruce Kettunen'" <bekett@uslink.net>, <oletrucks@autox.team.net>
Subject: RE: [oletrucks] Runnin' happy
From: "Jim House" <jhouse@ccsolution.com>
Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2001 18:01:09 -0400
For my backfire problem I have found a guy who is going to reset the timing
on my truck.  For now I will not have to buy a gun.  I have done all of the
ingition wires/plugs/cap/rotor.  I did not get new points or a condenser.
Before he will do the job he told me to get new points and they are on order
(over 2 weeks at Carters).  However, he told me NOT to mess with the
condenser EVER unless the truck is not running.  And that I would only be
asking for problems if I switch it unless the old working one is bad.  He
thinks that a good portion of the new replacement condensers are bad or at
least worse than what I have now.  If the old one works do not mess with it.

Is this correct or should I change the condenser now?

Thanks,
Jim House
46 Chevy 3104
Hollis, NH

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-oletrucks@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-oletrucks@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Bruce Kettunen
Sent: Monday, April 02, 2001 6:29 PM
To: oletrucks@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [oletrucks] Runnin' happy


I don't think your problem is done yet.....

Sounds like you forgot to wire in the ballast resistor between the
ignition switch run terminal and the coil.  This drops the coil voltage
from 12 volts to around 6 volts and keeps the coil from oozing brown
liquid and the points from welding together if the key is on, the
engine is not running, and the points happen to be closed.  It also
makes the points last longer.

The ballast resistor is usually a rectangular ceramic block mounted
somewhere on the engine side of the firewall.

There is a bypass terminal off the starter solenoid that provides
pure 12 volts to the coil when the starter is engaged.  This is to
give the truck a hotter spark when it is being started.

I hope you also replaced the condenser (the little round cylindrical
capacitor in the distributor) when you replaced the distributor points.


It's been over 20 years since the manufacturers put a point style
ignition in a car or truck and we sometimes forget (or never learned)
how they work.  These electro-mechanical systems the Ancient Ones
used are a marvel of design from a time when there were no computers
and not much in the way of electronics.

Don't feel bad, I learned this from my dad when these were "newtrucks".

Bruce Kettunen
57 3200
Mt. Iron, MN


At Monday, 2 April 2001, you wrote:

>Over the last few months, my 55 2nd has been running worse and worse.
>Compression was good (350 smallblock), which sort of limited my
problems
>down to either ignition or fuel.  A month or so ago, I basically
put a new




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