ballast resistor / no-start

["Roger Farrar" <tenpalms@xxxxxxx>]

Dick wrote:

 

<<<<<The ignition system bypasses the ballast resistor during
cranking, so if the ballast resistor is bad, the car will still start
normally (if everything else is OK), but as soon as the key is released, the
car will stall.  I thought I put that in my first response, but perhaps I
forgot. >>>>>

 

On the car in question there is no bypass. The ballast resistor is a variable resistance unit, it has about half an ohm cold and 1.5 ohms warmed up. Therefore the poster is correct, if the ballast resistor is open, the car will not start. This was a very common problem on the Mopars of that era.

 

Regards

Roger and Michael