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05-05-2009, 05:48 PM
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#1 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Kansas City, MO
Posts: 22
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ballast resistor?
I was wondering if the ballast resistor on my firewall is really required. The ignition wire comes out of the fusebox on the engine side then runs to the resistor and then one wire goes to the coil and the other goes to the starter.
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05-05-2009, 06:15 PM
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#2 |
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Gone to greener pastures
 Join Date: May 2007
Location: Gateway to the Delta
Posts: 7,354
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Re: ballast resistor?
Check the voltage coming from the fuse block to the resistor.
Originally, on these these trucks there was a "resistor wire" that went directly to the coil that dropped the voltage to the coil to roughly 9 V. If the wire you now have going TO the resistor reads in the 13V range, then, yeah, you need the resistor that's on the firewall.
__________________
'69 Chevy 1/2 T LWB Stepper: Daily Beater '72 GMC 3/4 T Fleet: Another Daily Beater '72 Plymouth Gran Coupe: ? "Ah women. They make the highs higher and the lows more frequent." Friedrich Nietzsche "Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day." Harry S. Truman GUN CONTROL: Never having to say, "I missed you." Always fire two warning shots into your attacker's chest area before putting a bullet between his eyes. Paraphrased from Louis Awerbuck |
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05-05-2009, 07:51 PM
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#3 |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: daytonabeach
Posts: 22,956
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Re: ballast resistor?
what year truck? does it have a points style ignition?
__________________
71c-10 350/2004r/4:11 lowered3/4 longbed/dead by hurricane MEANING OF DEATH::::: SOMEBODY ELSE GETS YOUR STUFF DONT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK TAKE MY ADVISE;I DON'T USE IT ANYWAY |
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05-05-2009, 08:01 PM
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#4 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: colorado springs
Posts: 479
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Re: ballast resistor?
If your using points then ya you need the resistor. The one comming off the starter gives you 12v while cranking and then the resistor nocks it down to 9v while running, if you had 12v full time you run the risk of burning your points, if your using hei then the resistor is not allowing your dizzy to work at its full potential, so if its hei the only wire you need is full time 12v to your dizzy with no ballast resistor or resistor wire. so to make it simple points yes you need it, hei no you dont.
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05-05-2009, 08:15 PM
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#5 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Kansas City, MO
Posts: 22
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Re: ballast resistor?
It is on a stock 68 307 with points. I am going to be adding a conversion kit soon, either a Pertronix or similar. I assume I would bypass the resistor and add a 12 gage wire directly from the fuse block.
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05-05-2009, 11:17 PM
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#6 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Indiana
Posts: 4,859
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Re: ballast resistor?
Check the wiring for the Pertronix, some of them use a ballast resister.
__________________
'70 GMC C1500 LWB Power disc brakes. WooHoo! Posi 6 Lug Dana 60 |
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05-07-2009, 01:48 PM
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#7 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Orem, Ut
Posts: 132
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Re: ballast resistor?
I put a pertronix into my 69 307. It works great and it did require the resistor wire.
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05-07-2009, 01:58 PM
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#8 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Orem, Ut
Posts: 132
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Re: ballast resistor?
Sorry, my bad, I used the Crane Cams xr-i conversion unit. It used the resistor wire and it also has an adjustable rev limiter (that's why I got it).
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