Preparing for initial start up of 1960 290hp engine. Engine is mounted on chassis (no body around motor). Is a ballast resister recommended or needed for coil supply wire feed? When installed between battery and coil the resister gets very hot. Can I do a start up without ballast resister in coil supply? Thanks
Engine start-up
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Re: Engine start-up
When the engine is running, you can get by with a lot less current at the points. That's the purpose of the ballast resistor. If the points were to receive full battery current/voltage at all times, they would only last a few hundred miles before needing replacement.
At the time of cranking (when the starter is operating), a separate wire gives the points the full 12 volts, bypassing the ballast resistor. When you release the key from "start" to "on", all the power to the points now has to flow thru the ballast resistor, preserving the points. If the BR fails, it fails "open" causing the engine to shut down....meaning no juice gets to the points"
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