Ignition problem? I'm confused, help...!!!

If any owner wished to replace the ballast wire in any P6 that he or she may own, then would you not just bypass it? Find the entry and exit point, cut it at these points and run a new ballast wire on the outside of the loom or as Dave suggested run an ordinary wire and fit a ceramic ballast resistor alongside the coil.

Can a ballast resistor in the form of a length of resistive wire, which as a result of impeding the flow of conventional current through that wire sets up a voltage drop across it, burn out ..(ie..open circuit) without a problem being elsewhere? That is to say, would not the magnitude of current being drawn by the coil have to exceed that which the resistive wire can safely handle? Should that be the case, then the coil would require replacement too.

Ron.
 
darth sidious said:
Dave3066 said:
Check the P6 News index for an article on ballast resistors. Apparently they are very reliable and very seldom go wrong. On my '72 3500S the ballast resistor is built into the wire that runs from the rev counter to the coil. Harvey's suggestion to check voltages is best thing to do. The wire itself is dead easy to replace and certainly does not need a competent auto electrican. <== I beg to differ with you there, Dave! The wire on our old 72 2000Auto (not a V8, I admit, maybe it's different on them!) went into the loom quite "deeply". Even an old hardened mechanic of the P6 era said he would hate having to replace the wire!

Dave
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Where's all this red stuff coming from. Very confrontational IMHO. I stand corrected btw Darth, the force is strong in this one :)
 
Took the car to the garage today in readiness for work to be done this week... The car ran perfectly! Confused? I certainly am...!!!
 
Dave3066 said:
darth sidious said:
Dave3066 said:
Check the P6 News index for an article on ballast resistors. Apparently they are very reliable and very seldom go wrong. On my '72 3500S the ballast resistor is built into the wire that runs from the rev counter to the coil. Harvey's suggestion to check voltages is best thing to do. The wire itself is dead easy to replace and certainly does not need a competent auto electrican. <== I beg to differ with you there, Dave! The wire on our old 72 2000Auto (not a V8, I admit, maybe it's different on them!) went into the loom quite "deeply". Even an old hardened mechanic of the P6 era said he would hate having to replace the wire!

Dave
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Where's all this red stuff coming from. Very confrontational IMHO. I stand corrected btw Darth, the force is strong in this one :)
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LMAO!!! Hey come on, I'm a friendly sith! (Well, as long as you are no jedi! :p)

Seriously though, I was told categorically at the time, the ballast wire was no job for an amateur!

I hope grifterkid gets the car sorted.... and I too am now very curious to know! :)
 
Well the coil has been changed today so we'll have to see what happens...! Right on queue when my trusty mechanic was inspecting it the darn brute was running like a gem...!!! Let's hope this is the end of my traumas...
 
fingers crossed for you.

If it is fixed, (after some period of time....) do come back and let us all know. Otherwise the story hasn't finished and we all like to hear a happy ending ;-)

Bri.
 
Brian-Northampton said:
fingers crossed for you.

If it is fixed, (after some period of time....) do come back and let us all know. Otherwise the story hasn't finished and we all like to hear a happy ending ;-)

Bri.
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Yes, and I am still very curious to know! :)
 
Well I've had a new coil in the car for a couple of weeks now and so far so good...! I think a bit more long term assesment is needed but it's all ok at the moment. apparently it went a bit 'sputtery' on my wife the other day (Tuesday) but I don't think this is an ignition problem as she said when she pulled the choke a slight amount the engine smoothed out and all was well when the choke was returned home... The same thing happened to me the other night (Wednesday) but accelerating a little more smoothed things out and normal service was then resumed (do I need a tune up?!)... Anyhow, at the moment, all seems well but lets see what a weekend of hard use brings to the table...
 
Right...! Further to my last post I believe there may still be a problem... On a good run today it performed beautifully up until a point... The car is showing some very odd characteristics! It'll start to lose power, all sputter chug sputter chug, then re-gain power again... It cut out entirely at one point. Then it'd start up but lose power again then return back to normal again. I've no doubt if I take it out later all will be fine again... It's all rather frustrating as when it runs as it should it's a peach! Somebody mentioned a burning smell and the 'ballast resistor'...? Could this be it? i've replaced...

=Distributor Cap
=Condensor
=Points
=Coil
=Rotor Arm

Basically all ignition based things... Should I look at getting new HT leads? All of this is a pain in the 'arris as I bloomin' love this old beast...!!!
 
Something like this drove me crazy last year in my 1100.
It was the electronic fuel pump. I kept changing new pumps, having faith that they would be OK.
However, they were faulty from new. And the bloody things did not show anything when i was testing the pump for fuel flow with the car stationary.
I have changed everything within the ignition and carburetor, but the problem persisted.
I cured it by fitting a good old SU pump with points.
Interminent faults are just like this, imposible to trace.
 
grifterkid wrote,...
It'll start to lose power, all sputter chug sputter chug, then re-gain power again... It cut out entirely at one point. Then it'd start up but lose power again then return back to normal again.
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Hello grifterkid,

Hmm, that sounds suspiciously like fuel vapourisation. Just to recap, are you running a mechanical fuel pump?

I dare say that this current problem is likely to be totally unrelated to the previous one,..ie the ignition coil.

Ron.
 
As Ron suggests, it could be fuel related (vapourisation, et al)

But, those symptoms do sound very similar to when our 2000Auto's ballast wire burnt through.

Intermittent faults! ARGHHH!!!
 
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