Re: coil is hot

Posted by Dan Kelley on April 20, 2002 at 18:54:02 from (216.229.35.118):

In Reply to: coil is hot posted by confused on April 20, 2002 at 18:30:48:

Coils do generate some temp, but I gather yours was very very hot to the touch. Could be many things. Could be a 6v coil. Could be a 12v coil that needs a ballast resistor. Could be an internal fault in the coil. Could be...

Suggestion, forget about what's there. Your system is already 12v. Go to an automobile parts yard and look under a bunch of hoods. 99.99% of the cars in a yard will have a usable coil. The yard should not charge much for any of these.

Try to find a coil that has the ballast resistor already attached to the coil mounting bracket. Be very careful of coils that do not have a resistor visible, because there may be a resistor hidden else in the electrical system somewhere. For example, on most late-60s and 70s Chryslers, the resistor was on the firewall, and has 4 terminals. I've wired these but...too complicated; skip these. Some earlier-60s Chryslers had the resistor on the firewall, and it only had two terminals. That's not a bad setup, but you'll have to find a place to mount the resistor. The resistor will get VERY hot, so that is a consideration when mounting it.

Take your ohmmeter to the yard and check the resistor before you buy anything. No sense in buying a bad resistor. You'd be worse off than you are now. Anything under infinity on the ohms scale should be good. It should almost read a short--almost. Check for cracks. These resistors usually generate a lot of heat--enough to burn your fingers. That's why they're usually made from ceramic. Usually on the back-side of the resistor, there will be some form of epoxy or some stuff holding the guts inside the ceramic housing. Be sure this stuff in the back is not cracked or missing chunks.

When you get it home, hook the hot ignition wire to one side of the resistor and the other side of the resistor goes to the + terminal of the coil. The - side of the coil should go to the distributor.

They do sell coils that do not require a ballast resistor, but expect to pay extra for them. Don't expect to find one of these in the parts yard, either.

Have fun and feel free to e-mail.

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