DeTomaso Mailing List: July 99, Message #334

  Dave, the theory about this is that starting an engine puts a severe draw
on the battery, typically 300-400 amps. So, while the cranking is going on,
the battery voltage naturally drops to about 9 volts.
  In order to get the coil to perform successfully during the start, the coil
is designed to work on this lower power. So, during the crank, the ballast
resistor is bypassed.
  But after the start, the ballast resistor now maintains the 9 volts to the
coil, even with the alternator charging the battery at about 13.5 volts.
  Eliminating the resistor works the coil outside of the design max power
limits. What fails depends on the weakest link.
  Hope this helps,  Al.
-------------------------------------------------------

David Doddek wrote:

> I am not sure what would burn up first, the Coil or the Points, but it is
> for sure, one of them will.  You will get hotter spark, but at a price.
>
> Dave "had a tractor do this when converted to 12 volt" D
>
> At 03:38 PM 7/8/99 -0400, you wrote:
> >a simple question... ?
> >
> >If some one would remove the bypass resistor of the ignition what
> >would happen ?
> >(except the coil getting hotter)
> >
> >Would i get more power ?
> >Better cumbustion ?
> >
> >Would i get this then if i increased the sparkplug gap ?
> >
> >( Or would it be better to simply change the coil ? )
> >
> >
> >The charcoal pice (in the distributor) would it get "eaten up" by
> >this?
> >
> >why this questions....
> >yep have two cars one eats distributorcaps and runns alot better...
> >and the other runs as they usally do, and are not as hugry on caps...
> >
> >
> >
> >/Gunnar
> >
> >
> >
> >