Technical very hot coil

is this essential to have a 12 v regulator?? I did not put on my Ford 1954 with 6 cylinders p***ed in 12v and I have the coil that heats up a lot to make me fall down. Is what would be the cause of all my worries, when rolling she farts very hard as if I was out of gas and then last night she did not want it anymore, the coil was very hot! If this is what it comes from! where to connect the three caps of the regulator? I do not have a pertronix, my ignition is old, coil 12v 3 ohm, do you think I would need a voltage regulator?because it is not normal that my coil gets so hot???Thank you for your help !!

 

Are you referring to the coil resistor?

 

A 54 Ford was 6 volt positive ground stock. So did you change yours to 12 volts? If so you need a 12 volt coil with a ballast resistor.

 

Ok, I don’t know if I have a ballast resistor ??? how can I see it?

 

Most are a white porcelain type material. About 3" long ,1/2" square. Usually mounted on the firewall or engine. You may have burned up the points if there was too much voltage going to the coil. That would explain the poor running.

 

They look like this. Hard to miss. Probably on the firewall, could be under the dash

 

Make sure there is power to the coil ONLY when the ignition is on and when the engine is being cranked or actually running.

This may help you with your troubleshooting...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/hot-rod-technical-library-basic-ignition-systems.983424/