ok im running a small block in my 56 chevy ..now my question is . on the coli it has a positive on one side and a negitive on the other .. the disrtibutor has one wire coming off it ..what goes to what ...anyone have a diagram.. i thought ignition from key went to positive on coil and negitive on coil goes to distributor..help i for got ... oh distribut..or is not hei..
The porcelain ballast resistor is needed if the coil requires it. If so, it will go in the 12v feed wire from ign. sw. to one side of Ballast resistor, from ballast resisitor to "+" side of coil. The coild should say on it if it requires a resistor or not.
i'm thinking you need that ballast resistor. green wire from harness goes there then the dis ties in. look up a diagram and i think that will help you.
Howdy, well the ballist resister takes 12 volts and turns it down to 8.5 volts due to that is what the car runs on it only starts on 12 voltes. You can run a resister wire that reduces 12 to 8.5 volts instead. The condensor absorbes excess energy caused when points cycle open and closed. This keeps the points from getting burned. With a side benefit of reducing radio noise.
the condenser does not suppress radio noise, it helps the coil build a charge, i believe... OK ignition "start"+ to the starter solenoid AND coil side of ballast resister. THEN ignition "run"+ to the ballast resister on the other side. so that way you have full 12 volt punch to start the car then when you let off the key its running on the resistor.
the condensor is there to keep points from being burned, the excess energy it absorbs is dicharged every time a spark plug is fired but doesnt help the coil build a charge. The effect of absorbing excess energy or arcing at the points stops the static on the radio.
He is talking about a condenser "attached to the COIL" that is there for radio noise suppression and not the ignition condenser which is inside the distributor. They actually look the same but are used for 2 different purposes in 2 different places. If you bought a radio from the Ford parts department it came in a box with several grounding straps and condensers with instructions for where to mount them strictly to keep noise out of the radio. Cars not factory equipped with radios may not have them. Most hotrodders didn't know what they were for and threw them away.
my distributor does have a resistor inside the cap..and my coil is one of those chrome aftermarket ones . i figured i would run it like this from ignition switched 12v to coil + than - on coil to distributor .. than run a 12 volt from ignition start to sylinoid on starter .. alt one wire ..and done.. now on the harness of the 56 there is a voltage regulator and horn relay im not gonna run regulator cause it was supposed to go to the generator ..so how can i byp*** all that ..i was just not gonna use it at all just leave it for the look..
just run the horn + in from the same as your main line into the car. also if you aren't going to use a ballast resistor you are going to burn up your points.
Just disconnect them and hide camoflage the ends..........Something might still be 'hot' so tape the terminals. With all the arguin' you might have missed the need to put the ballast resistor, (that porcelean thingy) in series from ignition switch to the + on the coil.
newer cars dont usually have points either lol. and a lot of people dont know they should have one if they do have points.
Personally, if I had one in hand I'd hook it up. If the car starts easily and runs good with one installed, I'd leave it on there, spark plugs will last longer. With ballast resistor installed, pull a plug wire and check how far the spark jumps. If the spark appears weak, take the ballast off.
ok so i got a battery and new terminals today .. went outside in the freezing cold and worked on the 56 .so i hook up the terminals to the cables make shure everything is snug on the battery grab the battery charger hook that up to the battery so it doesnt drain while trying to fire up the small block ..so double check everything 1st i check to make shure the motor is at TDC and the distributor is at TDC everything checks out ..so i give the carbs a squirt of starter fluid and crank it over nothing no pop nothing at all ..so i go and pop off the distrib cap and pull the points they looked old so i took them out went over to the parts place pick up a new set of points and a new condensor ..fly home install points and condensor put the cap back on give the carbs another squirt of starter fluid ,crank the car over, still nothing. i cant figure out why i have no spark from the distributor..i checked the coil for power it gets power from the key to the coil than from the coil to the distributor ..but not to the wires ..what could be wrong ..i checked the wires,cap,rotor,points ,condensor im stumped..
i bought the coil at a swap meet ..but i will check tomorrow to see if there is voltage there ..seems easy enough to figure out if the points are new and condensor is new im shure its something with the coil i shoulda bought a new one instead of a swap meet find....
GM hid the ballast resister in the wiring harness in the mid 60s. It is a special section of wire that does the same thing as a ballast resister...reduce the voltage to the coil. You can't see it unless you unwrap the harness. Then you will see the very odd looking section of wire that is the ballast resister. If it has points it needs a ballast resister of some kind. The old ones were the ceramic type usually on the firewall. Some are in the harness and some of the coils come with the resister built right into the coil. This is why you have to match the components.
i didnt use any of the stock 56 chevy wire harness i ran the wires seperate myself i ran a 12volt constant to the ignition than i ran a switched 12volt to the coil than ran from ignition a 12volt start postion to starter solinoid than again from the igniton a accesories to fues panel ... i was going to try to mess with it today but its started to snow and theres almost 2 iches already ..soo ..this is on the back burner for now until the snow melts ...
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