ignition ballast wire

PJtheRat · Post by **PJtheRat** » October 11, 2007, 8:00 pm

I am looking for the ignition resistor wire, the pink wire, for my lil' red pick-em-up. A little story behind it, I'll probably get into that in another post, but mine was cut this weekend ( as well as a bunch of other stuff) in a failed theft attempt. The local parts houses (when I have the time to slip in & talk to those in the know) have yielded ballast resistors in various values, 1.3 ohms to 2.3 ohms, with the suggestion to bypass the origional, but no plug-in replacement wire. If I knew what the origional value was, I could probably get one fabbed. Anyone have suggestions?

PJ

Uncle Skip · Post by **Uncle Skip** » October 11, 2007, 8:12 pm

PJ
Go to your local parts house and get a coil resistor.
Almost any brand ceramic ignition coil resistor will do what you want. (You just need to drop the voltage from 12v to about 8v to the + side of the coil).
Cut out the old pink wire as close to the switch as you can, splice in a regular 18 ga. wire and run it thru the ceramic resistor in series to the coil.
You're golden.
U@ss

blackagatha · Post by **blackagatha** » October 11, 2007, 8:24 pm

Glad it was a FAILED attempt to steal... I'm surprised though. Anybody that knew jack shit about these girls could hot wire it with a couple of gator clips and a 14ga wire on the switch...

I had a strange encounter with the pink wire when I installed my Pertronix unit...
The Pertronix recommended running it off of 12v. SO, I ran a 12v wire to the coil, and disconnected the pink resistor wire from the switch.

I went to start it, and it DID start, but it turned over real slow and I think something made a weird noise-(it's been about 2 years ago, don't remember what it sounded like)... I was like "what the hell?" and plugged it back in... Started just like normal, ran good, with the hotter spark, and a brand new Pertronix.
SO, I bandaged the end of the resistor wire and tucked it into the wire loom, so it's still live, because it freaked everything out when I deactivated it...

Does anybody know why this happened/ where the pink wire disappears to before turning into the coil wire?

My dad was like B.S. there's like 20 wires on the whole truck, trace the wire.... but it disappears into 43 year old electrical tape looms that I don't feel like hacking open, and goes somewhere else... I could never find the other end.

PJtheRat · Post by **PJtheRat** » October 11, 2007, 9:43 pm

Uncle Skip

I figured that would be the route I'd have to take, I just had to know that was going to work. About 8V is what I want then... Peck**(()$) cut the switch plug as well as everything else he could reach, I was hoping to rebuild stock. But, hey, it's all open(s) now.

Black Agatha

Yes, you know, I know how to jump these things off, but a crackhead at 2:30 in the morning, well... I think the pink wire terminates at the bulkhead plug, I'll be finding out for sure this Saturday.

Another saving grace, the general populace doesn't know about chokes or gearshift patterns... I have had a few try & drive the floorshift convert who didn't know where 1st was... straight backwards they'd go. But then again, it's not asthetically appealing to put a shift pattern on a grenade.

Thanks fellas,
PJ

Post by **Greg D** » October 11, 2007, 10:16 pm

Like Skip says & a cheap fix. The resistor wire was (is) bad in my 62, picked up a resistor for a Dodge P/U (had a convenient hole molded into it). Works fine, I can remember my parents having a Volare though that would occasionally blow the resistor & wouldn't run, carry a spare in the glove box, lol. I left my stock resistor wire in place just in case I can find a replacement someday, I just ran a jumper wire. The local parts stores didn't even know what I was talking about when I was looking for resistor wire (go figure). I also checked with some electrical supply houses here in town. The ceramic resistor will at least keep you running til we figure this one out though. Let us know if you can find some. Sorry to hear of your misfortune, "fight crime = shoot back" they say.

blackagatha · Post by **blackagatha** » October 11, 2007, 11:14 pm

haha chokes and shift patterns... yeah. I was upset when my dad talked me into NOT reversing the shift pattern on my crappy old 3 speed.... In the pattern it was in, the knob had to go clear smashed into the seat to hitting the dash. Reversed, it was about 8 inches throw. Don't matter anymore... I haven't seen that infernal heap in over 2 years....

Hate to hear about your newfound wiring mess. These trucks are bone simple, but they still have a halfway gnarly wad of wires to deal with. I guess my main problem was trying to figure out what goes on inside the electric tape. If I was sarting out fresh, it woulda all been pretty simple. I'll tell ya though, having your head jammed up under there (especially having to deal with the clutch pedal) and soldering overhead is torture. The guys at guantanamo should get some old trucks and demand the prisoners to re-wire them.... The soft-bellied whiners would be pissed about that...