At 08:14 AM 3/10/99 -0500, Jay Heaman wrote:
>
>Just a question on the ignition circuit. I've recently replaced the
>distributor, wires etc, and cleaned up some of the grounding circuits.
>Everything has been fine for the past couple of weeks. I ended up finding
>another issue (this was spooky considering all the group discussion on fire
>ext.) The ballast resistor started overheating and eventually smoking when
>the ignition was turned on. Other than replace the clutch master last night,
>I did nothing else to the car. Does this indicate a short in the coil? I
>have a strong electrical background, but not much experience with this type
>of wiring.
Ignition resistors are used to drop the voltage of points/contact
distrubutor systems from 12V to 8V on average. When you crank your engine
over, 12V is supplied from your key switch directly to the coil during the
startup. When you release the key, the coil receives 8V from the resistor
instead of the key switch.
The purpose of this is to reduce the amount of sparking at the contacts
and to help prolong the ignition coil's life as well. Generally the
resistance of these ceramic resistors is 10 ohms or so. GM and Ford
products use a resistor wire of the correct value, while most Chrysler
products use a physical resistor of the type found on Spitfires.
If your resistor is smoking, then it's likely there is a short somewhere
down the line after the resistor. With a voltmeter, turn on the ignition
switch and check the voltage across the terminals of the resistor while
it's connected. Yes, it'll be hot, but you're only checking the voltage
drop at that point. You should get 4-6 volts or so. If you have 12 volts,
then check down the line for a short in the wire against the chassis.
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