AQ151 Ignition

I have installed a Pertronix ignition module and a flamethrower coil, all fairly new. After sitting all winter the engine would not run; it fired, briefly, now and then at first but not enough to keep running. Then not at all. It ran well last summer. I checked the spark from the coil and it seemed to be ok. I checked the spark plug wire spark and it was not a bright blue flash. I cleaned the dizzy cap inside and the rotor and all spark plugs. Still no go, not even a cough. With the key on, I measured the voltage on the + side of the coil and it was about 8.45v. So I wired the + side of the coil directly to the + side of the battery, tried to start the engine and it fired. Disconnected the jumper. I finally got it running smoothly. Tried it again after a 10 minute shut-down and it started and ran well.

I think I expected the V at the coil to be 12 volts when I checked as there was no current flow to cause a voltage drop across the ballast resistor. Where am I going wrong here?

Anyone with an opinion as to what happened here, I'd be pleased to read!

Thanks, Tom

For starters, why do you use a ballast resistor? Since you don't have points any longer, you are better off with a 3 ohm coil and no ballast resistor.

What kind of coil do you have installed? I hope you don't have a 3 ohm coil AND a ballast resistor....

You got me thinking Eduardo, maybe I don't have a ballast resistor What I have is what was there when I had points and I just assumed there was a ballast resistor. I'll check tomorrow but the more I think of it, there is no resistor. A bigger puzzle to me as to why I only see a little over 8v on the coil? However, as long as it starts and runs........The coil is a 3 ohm 'Flamethrower'.

Thanks for your feedback!

Tom