ballast gets boiling hot

[halle09]

i have a Electronic ignition that seems to be mopar with the orange box and all pre installed when i bought the car. i got it home months ago and suddenly it didnt start so i ran a ignition hot right to the positive coil and that fixed the problem i figured it had something to do with the ignition switch. because the coil would only get power for a split second then die when it wouldnt run. Now i replaced the ignition switch and it did the same thing also i noticed the ballast got so hot with key on it was untouchable when it wouldn't start so i reconnected the ignition hot i made and it ran fine and ballast stayed cold. what the heck is going on?? i would really like to remove this stupid ballast due to people saying how much of a pain they are.

[rattlesnake]

Removing your ballast will result in getting too much voltage to your ignition components and will eventually burn things up. They can be a pain but unfortunately are a necessity. Sounds like you may have a bare wire somewhere grounding out to the body and either moving it during the process of driving causing it to short out or while monkeying around with other things on the car.

[halle09]

Removing your ballast will result in getting too much voltage to your ignition components and will eventually burn things up. They can be a pain but unfortunately are a necessity. Sounds like you may have a bare wire somewhere grounding out to the body and either moving it during the process of driving causing it to short out or while monkeying around with other things on the car.

so should i just buy a new ballast resistor and work back from there if the wiring checks out?

[rattlesnake]

Well, as far as the ballast I don't think I would replace it unless it is bad. It is normal for them to get hot as they are reducing the ohms to your ignition otherwise you module would burn up.
I was speaking mostly about the car not running one time then running fine the next. I had a 72 Dodge that did something similar. It would start but when I released the key and it returned to run, it would die. In that instance the ballast in the run circuit was bad and I replaced it and was fine after that. You can test the ballast with an ohmmeter. I am not sure what your ignition needs, its usually around 8 ohms or less, I run a Unilite and it requires a little more than 7, anything more than that would burn the module in my distributor up.
Is the car starting and then dying when you release the switch, is it not turning over at all or turning over and not starting?

[Chryco Psycho]

7-8 volts is normal at the coil when running , it bypasses the ballast & gets 12-13v to start ,

[MEK-Dangerfield]

If you have an Ohm meter, disconnect either end of the ballast resistor, and measure the resistance across it. A stock ballast resistor should be 1.2 Ohms. It's an inexpensive part, but it does fail. Don't be afraid of it heating up, that's what they were made to do. Mine even smoked the first time I used it.   

[halle09]

thx guys tommorrow when the weather isnt so crappy i will check it out and see whats up with an update

[halle09]

i went and just bought a ballast and a voltage regulator because from what i hear its good to keep extras any way. ($30) i read my OLD ballast with just ignition on (not running ) 3 prongs were 10 1/2 volts and the one was 3.5 to 4 volts. i put the new one in and it was the same..?? i also put in the new voltage regulator. it started up and i had to keep it in the gas at about 1k to get it to warm up or it would die...once it was warmed up it was able run on its own. i read the voltage at the coil at 800rpm running it was 6 to 6.3 volts and the ballast was reading 14 to 14.5 on one side and 6 to6.3 on the other. is all that good to go ? (340 stroked to 416)

[MEK-Dangerfield]

My apologies. I was assuming you had a two prong ballast resistor.

Having to keep your foot on the gas until warmed up is normal. It sounds like you are good to go.   

[dodj]

Four prong ballasts should read 4.5 - 5.2 ohms on the run side and 1.2 ohms on the start side.

[Bullitt-]

I'm wondering why your only getting 10.5 V while cranking.....That would cause hard start issues.  Poor connections somewhere int the system or your battery is weak. 

[dodj]

I'm wondering why your only getting 10.5 V while cranking.....That would cause hard start issues.  Poor connections somewhere int the system or your battery is weak.

Bulkhead connector is where i would go after checking batt

[halle09]

Bulkhead connector is where i would go after checking batt

i know i dont understand...it is hard starting..battery is brand new so i can rule that out i dont know where else to look... engine side wire harness ia also new from previous owner..

[rattlesnake]

check all your grounds, especially engine to frame. Check all connections for corrosion. What do you mean by hard starting? Is it turning over slow, or just not firing up? A new battery doesn't always mean a properly charged battery! Just some ideas.

[halle09]

check all your grounds, especially engine to frame. Check all connections for corrosion. What do you mean by hard starting? Is it turning over slow, or just not firing up? A new battery doesn't always mean a properly charged battery! Just some ideas.

its just not firing up starter spins it fast. only fires up really when i take a ignition hot to the coil positive. Mabye ill run a good engine to frame ground and see what happens. i had the float charger on it last two days and it reads 13v i really dont think the battery is the problem.