63 413 ballast

["Christopher Middlebrook" <delamothe@xxxxxxxxxx>]

The ballast resistor has nothing to do with voltage.  It is strictly for 
current limiting so that you don't overload the charging system and burn up the 
points, or power darlington transistor in the modern case.  5-8 Amps is the 
nominal current depending on what type of ignition system you have.  Fancy 
ignition systems that tout performance put out a little more current, but in 
all actuality, unless you are running a very high compression ratio, 6 amps is 
ideal.  Anything more than that just puts more load on your motor from the 
alternator as it reacts to the additional need.
Modern electronic ignition and distributorless ignition systems have built-in 
current limiting resistors (.1 - 1 ohm depending on the design).  This is why 
you seldom see ballast resistors or resistive wires any more. 

An inductive ignition system (coil) is efficient for up to 4000 RPM's.  Beyond 
that, there isn't enough time to create an adequate field in the coil, and 
consequently the current limit begins to drop as RPM's increase.  That's where 
capacitive ignition takes over.

Chris Middlebrook
62 Custom Southampton  




 --- On Sat 02/28, Bill Watson < wwatson@xxxxxxxxx > wrote:
From: Bill Watson [mailto: wwatson@xxxxxxxxx]
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 09:37:35 -0800
Subject: Re: IML: 63 413 ballast

<br>Actually, all North American manufacturers adopted a resistor of some 
sort<br>when they switched to 12 volts.  Some Studebakers had a resistor 
wire<br>running from the ignition switch to the coil.<br><br>When the key is in 
the "Start" position, power is sent to the coil directly<br>from the ignition 
switch - a full 12 volts.  Once the car is started and the<br>key put in the 
"On" postion, power runs through the resistor, giving about 6<br>volts at 
idle..  Which is why when your ballast resistor goes, the engine<br>dies when 
you turn the key to "On" from "Start".<br><br>During the start procedure, the 
resistor should show 0 volts as no power is<br>running through it as i8t is 
bypassed,.<br><br>Bill<br>Vancouver, BC<br><br><br><br>----- Original Message 
----- <br>From: IMP7T@xxxxxxx<br>To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<br>Sent: 
Friday, February 27, 2004 11:48 AM<br>Subject: IML: 63 413 ballast<br><br><br>I 
assume that Chrysler is the same set up as GM. I believe that all ig
 nition<br>coils are 6 volt. Your ballast resister knocks the 12 volt to six 
volts<br>while the car is running. During cranking you have a wire that runs 
from the<br>starter circuit that goes to the coil and gives the coil 12 volts 
during<br>cranking only. This way you get full spark during cranking. I could 
be<br>wrong, but don’t think so. Anyone see a 6 volt car with a resister? 
Sooo!<br>After all this, I would say if you are questioning the resister, 
bypass it<br>for a test. Don’t let it run to long. If it starts and runs, you 
have a<br>problem in the resister. If it still does not run, something else is 
the<br>problem. You could also test the resister with a volt meter. 12 volts 
one<br>side, 6 volts the other. During crank 12 volts on both 
sides.<br><br>1970 Imperial<br>and a couple of street 
rods<br><br><br><br>-----------------  http://www.imperialclub.com  
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