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Spit ballast wire

To: triumphs@Autox.Team.Net
Subject: Spit ballast wire
From: tom.omalley@channel1.com
Date: Wed, 03 Sep 1997 23:12:16 GMT
Clark writes:

>Apparently (to make a long story short, after taking various voltage
>measurements...) there is a ballast resistor in the ignition wiring of
>my 74 Spitfire.

Yes!  If your harness is stock, that is...

>It's not a ceramic resistor anywhere in the engine compartment, and I
>need some clues on where to find it.
>Is it a wire?

It'a a pink wire with a white stripe.  Not to be confused with
white/pink used elsewhere in the Spit.  One end of the wire can be
seen emerging from the harness on the side of the engine near the oil
sender.  It's actually crimped and insulated to the white ignition
switch wire at this point.

The ballast wire then travels back along the harness, through the
bulkhead under the dash, loops to the upper harness and finally back
out the bulkhead again where it either:

*Connects right to the coil + terminal or
*Splices into a short white wire with a yellow stripe before *that
one* connects to coil positive.

My '74 has the former arangement and my '76 harness had the latter.

>How do I eliminate it?

WHAT!!?  I spent all this time helping you find it and now you say you
don't want it?  GEESH!

 :-)

Well...you know the deal about matching the correct coil to the
ballast resistor or lack thereof right?

I suppose I'd just go right from the ignition switch white wire to the
coil positive and you're golden.  Not sure if you'll find an available
solid white wire near the coil or not,  but you could certainly splice
into the one at the ignition switch connector up behind driver's side
dash.

>Thanks!
>Clark

Cheers!
Tom O'Malley
'74, '77 Spits

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