Ballast resistors

Mopar Ballast resistor

  • Can't wait to dump the thing

    Votes: 11 39.3%
  • Don't care either way

    Votes: 8 28.6%
  • Must have one, it would be like losing my best dog

    Votes: 3 10.7%
  • What does it do anyhow?

    Votes: 6 21.4%

  • Total voters
    28
  • Poll closed .
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cuda66273

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Hey guy's
been awhile since I've had time to visit. Been kind of busy lately, business is a little slow in case you haven't read a newspaper recently....So we've been in the shop working with "Sparky" trying to develop a few, what we call "Upgrades" to the FBO Ignition System.

Anyhow the main reason for my visit today is to ask you guys a question.....
How would you feel about having a Stock Appearing Ignition that requires NO Ballast resistor, that's right, clip the wires and in the trash.

With the help of Kim Sharp and Mike Coyle (Perfect name for the CEO/Owner of a Coil Company) of Andover Coils we have developed a coil that we can run 14.4V direct to and it has the capacity to operate within the recharge time of the FBO ECU perfectly, in fact too perfectly. Final testing showed it to deliver 4000V more to the plug on a full load and still run to 8800 with no loss of power, no drop cylinders and no backing off of the timing.

We'll have a formal news release soon but I need your very important opinion
 
hmm, already bought my kit, havent installed it though, would be nice to get that ugly thing off the firewall though
 
What is the reliability compared to reliability of the ballast resistor?
 
It sounds good. I've got one of your systems (dist., coil, and ECU) that will go in my Demon. What's the cost? Unfortunatly, I already paid for your coil and ballest resistor, will you except a return of unused parts?
 
what are ya gonna use it on???Iv'e had plenty of good luck with the chrysler factory ignition systems over the years both points and electronic.I have a collection of coils and ballasts and ecu's probably enough of em to last me 50 years or better.there will be plenty of people that will want the new stuff though...
 
You can buy a coil that doesn't need a resistor all day long.

Yup, for some time now. How well they work with a mopar ECU I don't know. Pertronix has been using this set up for awhile now (although their system also eliminates the ECU).

Reliability should be about the same as with the ballast, as these coils typically just have an internal resistor (.vs an external one).
 
What is the reliability compared to reliability of the ballast resistor?

It's always been well known that the ballast resistor is the weak link in a stock mopar ignition system, by eliminating the ballast we eliminate the weak link. As far as the coil goes it's 100% American made out of top quality American made components and I think it's obvious how that compares to the chinese Import coils like Stock Mopar, Mopar Performance, MSD (Yes MSD coils are now offshore) Pertronix and a whole list of others all made offshore and testing has proved their unreliability. This new coil will be backed by our 2 year warranty as with all our electrical components.
 
Will it work with the stock MP orange box and distributor system and approximetely how much $.

Terry

Nothing works with the Orange Box.
The Orange box is a 5.5-6V system made in China, it will start retarding the timing at about 4800 RPM and by 5200 will have retarded it by 8*, the output will drop to about 16KV to the plugs and it start dropping cylinders.

So the answer it yes it will run the motor but it will not cure the low quality and poor performance of an Orange Box. The OB is so poor we won't even be wasting our time testing it, we've tested that box for years with every coil we can get our hands on and it just doesn't cut it.
 
You can buy a coil that doesn't need a resistor all day long.

Yes you can, but it will not come even close to the output of this new coil from Andover. There's a lot more to getting output than simply buying a coil with a built in resistence.
The components in the ECU that give you a performance ignition system that can achieve high RPM, Hold Timing Events, Maintain High outputs and give you excellent service life.

We have tested over 40 different combinations of coils, some off the shelf and many custom wound with various specifications to come up with this coil.

It's been engineered to operate to max output and high RPM to match our ECU.
 
what are ya gonna use it on???Iv'e had plenty of good luck with the chrysler factory ignition systems over the years both points and electronic.I have a collection of coils and ballasts and ecu's probably enough of em to last me 50 years or better.there will be plenty of people that will want the new stuff though...

Pretty simple, the stock ignition stuff all runs on a 5.5 -6V input, more power in more power out.
Gas isn't getting any better, more additives, more Ethanol and lower octane. As these changes continue the fuel gets harder and harder to fire and requires high spark outputs, you just can't efficiently burn today’s fuel without upgrading the ignition.

Today's performance industry continues to make advancements in cam technology and head design and all these things affect the characteristics of the fuel burn in the combustion chamber, you've got to light that fuel properly to get and good clean burn.

If you were to put your stock electronic and old antiquated points systems on a load and RPM tester like our equipment you'd easily see where it fails and how it retards the timing at RPM. Now if your running your Mopars at max of 4000-4500 RPM what your using is probably adaquate but most of us are pushing 6k and higher levels and these motors need an ignition system that can handle that job.
 
Yup, for some time now. How well they work with a mopar ECU I don't know. Pertronix has been using this set up for awhile now (although their system also eliminates the ECU).

Reliability should be about the same as with the ballast, as these coils typically just have an internal resistor (.vs an external one).

There was a time....sounds like a lead in for a C&W tune...when Pertronix used Andover Coils, but as with most American Company's they decided to take the technology to China to get it made Cheaper, we were extremely dissappointed with the test results on the new Chinese coils from Pertronix.

Again Andover designed and engineered their coils and they took that Technology to China "We make sam ting only 50% cheapa"....right.
Did anyone notice a drop in price on Pertronix coils last year?..just asking...

I think we can all agree that ballast is the highest cause of ignition failures, by eliminating this weak link we add reliability and with this new coil nearly double the output of a stock system.

Take that spare ballast out of your trunk and dump it.
 
The ballast resistor is wired to the key switch when you are in the start/crank position it allows full battery voltage to the coil to get quicker cleaner starts. When you release the key to the run circuit the power to the coil is then reduced by the ballast "Resistor" to 5.5-6V.

Again...more power in more power out.
You can bypass the resistor and feed full 14V to the coil but it will overheat the coil fairly quickly and boil the oil inside causing failure. A stock type coil will usually last about 10-20 minutes under load, the current A688 coil can go up to 1 - 1.5 hours before overheating. This is based on testing under a 50% load typically at 3000 RPM as if you were cruising back home on the highway. The harder you push the motor the more Voltage the coil will have to build to jump the spark and quicker the coil will overheat.

Your ignition system will only produce the Voltage required to jump the spark from the electrode to the ground strap. If you have your plugs gapped at .025 it may only take 15KV to create a spark, gap them at .050 and it may take 30KV to make that spark jump. As RPM, cylinder pressures and fuel density within the combustion chamber increases it creates an environment of high resistance, thus requiring more voltage to get that spark to jump to the ground strap.

With this in mind and you have a system that brags 50KV-80KV output, it may only be producing 20-25KV to fire the plug so it really doesn't matter how high it can go, it's what your engine requires. Our testing as well as others like Champion can show you that a conventional Hot Rod, naturally aspirated running pump or race gas with 12:1 compression or lower running at 6500 RPM will only require a max of 34KV to get a good hot spark and light the fuel off efficiently. Even if it's a 50KV system it'll never get there.

You can force your ignition to build higher outputs by increasing plug gaps, or by running excessively rich fuel mixtures this can cause an overloading of the system and achieve no performance gains.
 
The stock setup has always worked fine. i think if someone wants their ballast resistor gone they probably want the ECU gone also?
 
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