Ballast Resistor, Voltage Regulator and Battery ... oh my .. lol

[marc70challenger]

Went out to start car today to take quick trip to gas station.  Nothing.  Nada. 

Had driven her 200 miles in Canada over 2 weeks, came back ... drove her once ... and had her hook up to Battery Tender as usual (always do .... but didn't in Canada).

Changed ballast resistor (see pic) .... and voltage regulator (had extras as advised here and by Brad) .... checked battery with voltmeter (12.7v) .... only could get dome light ... that's it. 

I'm no electrical expert ... and novice with volt/amp meter .... checked amperage .... 0 ... (not even sure if I did it right).

Put it back on battery tender ... tender read "green"  (battery charged) .... but electrical system was acting like battery was dead or dying .... put accessory on - fuel pump trying to work .... open door - dome light on but would go off when stepping on break.

So .... ran to Advance Auto, got battery ..... and voila .... all better.

Questions:

Is that ballast resistor gone?  It doesn't look like connections totally separated ... but ...?

We had bad thunderstorms with lightning strikes reallllll cloooseee the other day .... could that jell the battery (tender was on during it .. but checked tender on other cars and this car with other tenders - they are fine)?

Can a battery fry a ballast resistor ... car ran fine .. then sat ... then this happened?

Not sure if voltage regulator in it was bad .. but my backup had Mopar logo and looks better .. so .... 

Battery we had was one of the Mopar repros with red caps ... 3+ years old ... maybe it was just time for it to crap the bed.

And aren't the red capped ones for big blocks ... and yellow for small blocks like 340's?

Thanks 

[marc70challenger]

Went out to start car today to take quick trip to gas station.  Nothing.  Nada. 

Had driven her 200 miles in Canada over 2 weeks, came back ... drove her once ... and had her hook up to Battery Tender as usual (always do .... but didn't in Canada).

Changed ballast resistor (see pic) .... and voltage regulator (had extras as advised here and by Brad) .... checked battery with voltmeter (12.7v) .... only could get dome light ... that's it. 

I'm no electrical expert ... and novice with volt/amp meter .... checked amperage .... 0 ... (not even sure if I did it right).

Put it back on battery tender ... tender read "green"  (battery charged) .... but electrical system was acting like battery was dead or dying .... put accessory on - fuel pump trying to work .... open door - dome light on but would go off when stepping on break.

So .... ran to Advance Auto, got battery ..... and voila .... all better.

Questions:

Is that ballast resistor gone?  It doesn't look like connections totally separated ... but ...?

We had bad thunderstorms with lightning strikes reallllll cloooseee the other day .... could that jell the battery (tender was on during it .. but checked tender on other cars and this car with other tenders - they are fine)?

Can a battery fry a ballast resistor ... car ran fine .. then sat ... then this happened?

Not sure if voltage regulator in it was bad .. but my backup had Mopar logo and looks better .. so .... 

How often do ballast resistors go?  If this one lasted 3 years .. is that good ... I should probably monitor the new one - yes .. just to see if car happens to "eat them"?

Battery we had was one of the Mopar repros with red caps ... 3+ years old ... maybe it was just time for it to crap the bed.

And aren't the red capped ones for big blocks ... and yellow for small blocks like 340's?

Thanks 

[Chryco Psycho]

is it cranking over , do you have spark ?

[marc70challenger]

is it cranking over , do you have spark ?

Yes.

I tried new ballast .. nothing .. new regulator .. nothing ... kept new ones in ... tried new battery ... and all runs fine now.

Was just curious if that old ballast (pic of ) looks fried?  And if so - how could I run car into the garage ... it sit for couple days .. then crap out ...lol

[marc70challenger]

Or .. maybe like in other thread ... I roasted it by using Tender on it .... I didn't hear/know about that ... manufacturer saying NOT to use trickler on it ...

[73_Cuda_4_Me]

 

Any time insulation is melted off a wire, it is NOT a GOOD thing... bottom half of ballast resistor in your picture looks toasted!

[dodj]

That ballast resistor is homemade. I would be interested in the resistance values of those two 'resistors'.
There were no insulated wires within a ballast resistor. Just a wire wound ceramic resistor.

[brads70]

You have an MSD box , you shouldn't need/use the ballast resistor .

[Bullitt-]

It appears to me that someone gutted the ballast resistor & re-purposed it as a junction using regular wire I would imagine to keep from having to cut the OE harness & splice the brown & blue wires for the MSD which I believe does not require a ballast.
Pretty clever, but it does appear one connection failed possibly because of using solder and to small a wire

[marc70challenger]

You have an MSD box , you shouldn't need/use the ballast resistor .

Looking at it and harness (and wiring diagram) ... I think Bullitt is right ... they did this to try to keep OEM "appearance" in engine bay

It runs now with a "real" ballast resistor.

I really don't want to start (attempt) to re-wire anything ... I would assume its still ok with the resistor? 

[roadman5312]

Well the MSD needs constant 12 volts, not run thru a resistor   . That resistor is reducing the voltage.  I wish you were down here so I could sort this out.

[marc70challenger]

Well the MSD needs constant 12 volts, not run thru a resistor   . That resistor is reducing the voltage.  I wish you were down here so I could sort this out.

What if I just didn't plug connections into the ballast resistor?

[brads70]

Well the MSD needs constant 12 volts, not run thru a resistor   . That resistor is reducing the voltage.  I wish you were down here so I could sort this out.

That resister is just a shell. Marc  I'd get one of those voltage gauges that go in the cigarette lighter( cheap $5) and keep an eye on the voltage. Maybe the alternator is not charging the battery? Or loose connections?

[marc70challenger]

That resister is just a shell. Marc  I'd get one of those voltage gauges that go in the cigarette lighter( cheap $5) and keep an eye on the voltage. Maybe the alternator is not charging the battery? Or loose connections?

Ive got real ballast resistor in it now ... and it started up ... lol

I found this thread elsewhere .. where someone did something very similar .... shelled a resistor to "bypass" it ... http://cbodydrydock.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?80137.0