Electronic ignition

[moparmal]

I'm currently changing from Points to a factory 5 pin Electronic ignition.

I am currently running a two pin ballast resistor with the points system.

Can I use the same ballast with the ECU and if so which wire attaches to which post on the ballast. If not How do i wire the existing leads with the current ballast to the new 4 pin one and where do the extra leads from the ECU plug attach?

I'm Mr Thicky when it comes to auto electrics so I'll need it spelled out in laymans terms thanks!!

And a Merry XMAS to all!

[PRO]

you can use the points ballast if you want,to properly wire it only use 4 pins/wires,disregard the Green wire and associated pin at the ECU,2 wires got to the dist,usually the grey one and the brown one(sometimes orange)and the black with yellow stripe goes to the coil negative,the light blue goes to the resisted side of the ballast resisitor,this also feeds the positive side of the coil,be sure to have a good ground at the ECU,you can leave the resisitor out and run a direct 12 volts for a hoter spark just be sure to mount the ECU in a place where it gets plenty of airflow,...............PRO..........

[moparmal]

Thanks Pro, that's what i was hoping, so the unresisted feed won't burn the unit out? I'd rather go with the two pin ballast for convenience.

[jelsr]

The resistor is for the coil and should have no affect on the ECU. You can run an internal resistor coil w/o the ballast if preferred but the 2 pole ballasts are not trouble prone like the 4 pole units were.

[cageman]

I bought a Mopar coil, (msd blaster) and my race car ran like crap so I put a Msd Blaster II on it and it ran good, Was the mopar one a internally resisted one and if so would it hurt to have two resisters on it, would that be why it ran bad with that. And Im going to use a HEI module and wire it in to the electronic dist on a small block, would I need a resister on this setup as a GM doesnt, and will it ruin the coil if I dont run one, Im trying to get my circle track car as simple as possible by going this route, I lost four races this year due to the resister burning out and the box going bad, all new units in the garbage and Im frustrated at this setup as It has proved unreliable to me. I copied the hei dist that performance dist sells for 8 million dollars, All they do is splice the hei unit in there and tadaa.

[jelsr]

Cageman-If you were running an internal resistor coil and a ballast resistor at the same time it would really cut the voltage output. You didn't say what ign system you are running so here is what I am doing. I have all my electrical components (ECU, Voltage Reg, Ballast Res, and terminal strip) all mounted on a 12" square piece of .055 aluminum which is fastened to the roll cage, not to sheet metal. I have ground straps at both ends. The ECU is a Chrome box, the reg. is the constant voltage unit that keeps it at 14v. Been using this setup for years without any problems. Keeps the vibration to acceptable limits. I'm running a stock coil by the way.

[cageman]

I was using a orange box mounted to a metal plate WELDED to the cage and body, I was thinking of getting the constant output voltage reg too but Thats why Im asking now, As for the Mopar coil is it internally resisted or do I have a bad coil.Thanks
Also who made your gears for the 8 3/4 , the 5.57's Do they make a 600 or 620 maybe or am I dreaming.

[jelsr]

Welding the plate is good too, mine is riveted so it can be easily (?) removed. I do engine & chassis for my brother and my oldest son, they run Hobby Stock and use the Orange box. The constant voltage unit is not temp. sensitive and has been trouble free for us. OEM Mopar coils are not internally resisted, they use a "ballast" resistor. The gears I'm running are "Zoom" and are for the "489" case. Someone bought them out years ago and now the lowest you can get for the "489" is 5.38. You can get 5.57 gears for the "742" case but that is as low as it gets. Anything lower is the 9" Ford. Your coil is possibly bad, you can check it with a digital volt/ohmeter for shorted or open windings to be sure. Don't know how many R's you're turning or how long the tracks are, but we use 14" wheels and 80-81" rubber on some of the shorter track with their Hobby cars. I can run the small ones and the 1/2 miles with the same setup.

[goldduster]

I also copied the DUI HEI style igniton. You can see how to make your own @ http://www.liquid2k.com/duster318/tech/hei.html

Works pretty nice, and is easy.

[Jims451]

Pro, I think using only 4-pins only works on the new MP Orange/Chrome ECU and some replacement ECUs. The Factory 5-Pin ECU needs the dual ballast resistor to power the internal circuitry of the ECU.

[jelsr]

Can't say about the ECU using the dual ballast for internal use, but the 2 sections on the ballast were for start, and a section for run. The common failure was in the start side. They would run if you push started the unit but would only start on their own when the engine was still turning after you let up on the key. With the gear reduction starter they don't spin very fast so that didn't happen often. I assume the difference was to allow more voltage to the ign. when cranking.

[Jims451]

That's not correct.
The two sections of the dual ballast resistor:
One section goes to the ECU, the other section is for the ignition coil.
The "Run" position supplies +12 volts to one side of both resistors in the dual pack. The "Start" position supplies +12 volts only to the ignition coil side of the ballast resistor, but current also will flow back through the ignition coil ballast resistor, which is fairly low in resistance (about 1-ohm) and since both sides are connected on the "Run" side of the resistor, there will be power that also goes through the ballast to the ECU.

[moparmal]

JIMS451: Can you tell me then, what wires connect to the coil side of the Ig Coil ballast?

eg. Does a wire from the Pos. side of the ig. coil attach to the coil side of the Ig coil ballast section ? And does the link to the start circuit attch at this pin also?

And on the other (bridged) side of the coil ballast section, does the run wire attach to this side?

What I'm having to do here is rewire to a 4 pin ballast from a two pin. I've got a handle on the ecu section, but it's the wiring tom the Coil resistor thats got me a bit stumped!

[Jims451]

The only wires connected to the Ignition coil side of the Ballast resistor are the "Start" wire that only supplies power when cranking the engine, and the wire that connects the Ballast resistor to the ignition coil.

I will try to scan a schematic and post it if it will help?

[moparmal]

Yep, that would be a big help.

What i have so far on the "coil" side is a wire from the start circuit to the "coil" side of the ballast pin, but no wire from the coil + to this pin. Is this normally a light blue colour on a dual ballast system? As i have this going spare and I wondered if it should be connected!!

On the other "run" or "bridged" side, along with the wire to the regulator, the run wire attachs here right?

And here's the doozy, what would be the effect of not having a coil + to Ballast wire? As I've had the car running without this wire, but it seems to make the ballast run very hot.

Thanks for your input