I think I really scewed up during initial start up...

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If you run a hot wire from the battery to the negative side of the coil shouldn't it start and run? That would prove out that you have an issue with the ballast resistor or the switch. Yes / No ...... Any thoughts???
 
BigSlim said:
If you run a hot wire from the battery to the negative side of the coil shouldn't it start and run? That would prove out that you have an issue with the ballast resistor or the switch. Yes / No ...... Any thoughts???
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That wire would go to the positive side of the coil and the original wire would need to be removed, just incase there is a short to ground in the original circuit.
 
you don't need a 4 pin to run a 2 prong ballast, thats a coil related issue in the 1st place and has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE 4/5 pin BOX!
ballast supplys power to the coil, while the box that connecxts to the - side of the coil tells it when to spark.

Do you have your chassis and engine to fire wall grounds hooked up?
cause it sounds as if it's grounding through the run circuit when you let the off the key from start position. Check the starter switch on the drivers fender too and make sure it's grounded good to the fender.

Advance the timing [counter clockwise] till the starter wants to kick back.
Then back it off a lil so it'll turn over and start, then with timing light hooked up...set it at 32* while at 2500rpm [for now] that will let it run in with out detonating or over heating from retarded timing.
 
The ground is hooked up. Like I say it did run for 2 minutes.

If I don't need a 4 pin ECU, could someone explain how to hook up the 2 pin ballast with the 5 pin ECU? Then I won't have to get a new one.

In the mean time I will play with the timing. my timing marks only go to 10 degrees either way though.

Thanks!
 
yes , ditch the green w/red stripe wire for it's a secondary low voltage wire and is useless.

Just piggy back the wires to the ballast, box power hooks to same 'in' side as keyed + in, while the coil wire hooks to the other side or 'out' side
 
I'm a little confused as I'm sure myasylum is as well . It's been a while since I worked on mopars so I'm wondering why the mention of the 2/4 pin balast resister while also mentioning the 5 pin ECU? . Can someone (wild and crazy since you seem to be knowledgeable on this stuff ) tell me why the # of pins on the BR has anything to do with the # of wires on the ECU? Myasylum, you didn't screw the engine up by shutting the engine off. The reason you run the engine at 2500 rpm on startup is to lubricate the cam (oil splashing on it from crankshaft spinning fast) till the lifters and cam lobes wear in their individual mating wear patterns. Thats why you always keep track of the lifters position if you disassemble an engine and reuse the same cam and lifters. To help you understand the role of the ballast resistor for troubleshooting purposes, when cranking the engine over for starting the battery voltage drops because of the starters current draw. That would make it difficult for the engine to start since thats the time it needs the highest voltage. Your battery when fully charged should sit at about 13.2 volts and when running, the charging system can be around 14 v or more so to keep things more consistent to the coil, the power is run through the ballast resistor when the engine is running to keep the volts lower and not overheat the coil and the ignition power bypasses the resistor when cranking to keep the voltage as high as possible. If you have a worn starter (draws too much current) and a marginal battery(too low volts when cranking) and a new engine (unseated rings, a little stiff, timing not ideal) these are all the things working against you. Hope this helps out a little. Kev
 
Ballast resistors fail. Period. But the classic failure shows up as an engine which starts, and then dies when the key is released. Remember the ballast is bypassed when cranking, giving full voltage to the coil. Sounds more like a bad ignition switch, relay, or dirty bulkhead connector. (You should see 12v at the coil when cranking, and 9v when running with the key released). Replace the ballast anyhow, it's good to have a spare.

How long was the car not running/driving while you had the engine out? Did it sit for a while with the hood off? I think you have another electrical issue, especially given the grief you had starting it the first time.
 
Shutting the engine of at 2500 RPM shouldn't have hurt anything internally. Snort, pop or run-on would have been normal given the fact that the throttle blades were open a fair amount. But a good backfire might have popped a vacuum line, so look around.
 
C130 Chief said:
Ballast resistors fail. Period. But the classic failure shows up as an engine which starts, and then dies when the key is released. Remember the ballast is bypassed when cranking, giving full voltage to the coil. Sounds more like a bad ignition switch, relay, or dirty bulkhead connector. (You should see 12v at the coil when cranking, and 9v when running with the key released). Replace the ballast anyhow, it's good to have a spare.

How long was the car not running/driving while you had the engine out? Did it sit for a while with the hood off? I think you have another electrical issue, especially given the grief you had starting it the first time.
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Thats what i was thinking chief, shouldn't he be able to bypass it all by jumping directly from battery to pos term on the coil or is that only on an old point system. (man am I rusty). Kev
 
Wiring diagram for your viewing pleasure: http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1973/73ValiantA.jpg

Bust out the multimeter, and see where you are (and are not) getting voltage before you go around bypassing stuff (although briefly installing 2 jumpers in place of your ballast should be fine).

Running directly from Bat+ to coil+ works on points, but is pretty dangerous (engine won't shut off with switch). Besides that only confirms there is a problem (which should be obvious due to no-start) but does nothing to pinpoint the location of the problem.
 
RedFish said:
That wire would go to the positive side of the coil and the original wire would need to be removed, just incase there is a short to ground in the original circuit.
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Yep you're correct RedFish. Its been a looooong time since I did anything like that. If its going to start it'll start and run that way. Thanks
 
C130 Chief said:
Shutting the engine of at 2500 RPM shouldn't have hurt anything internally. Snort, pop or run-on would have been normal given the fact that the throttle blades were open a fair amount. But a good backfire might have popped a vacuum line, so look around.
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Yeah, definitely true there......hey, one other thing I've seen (but not often..) is a coil that is internally shorted, which will cause a weak spark and the ballast resistor to run hotter than normal. I've seen it a few times, but not much.....but you'll definitely need a nice hot spark.

Oh, and if you're running a "box"....make sure it's getting 12 volts going to it.....not the "low 9-volt side" of the ballast resistor.....lol.
 
C130 Chief said:
Wiring diagram for your viewing pleasure: http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1973/73ValiantA.jpg

Bust out the multimeter, and see where you are (and are not) getting voltage before you go around bypassing stuff (although briefly installing 2 jumpers in place of your ballast should be fine).

Running directly from Bat+ to coil+ works on points, but is pretty dangerous (engine won't shut off with switch). Besides that only confirms there is a problem (which should be obvious due to no-start) but does nothing to pinpoint the location of the problem.
Click to expand...

Yes you're right, it can be a little risky, I always used an alligator clip so its easily pulled off, at least he would know that it's not fuel or timing related. When you're banging your head against the wall with limited information like this guy, it's comforting to know what you can eliminate for sure. Kev
 
When you've blown a battery up in your face, you tend to avoid alligator clips!

Long story short, the battery says "Avoid Sparks" for a reason.

Anybody who wishes to try such a thing is welcome to it. I just never told them to.
 
FIXED!! Thanks guys!!!

It was the ballast resistor! I took the old one off, and it was fried in the back. it was pretty obvious. I put on the new one (4 pin) from Autozone for $4.00, and it fired right up! I let it run for 20 minutes at 2,500-2,900 rpm and it was perfect! It did get pretty hot but not to the danger level.

I was worried so much about the engine that I forgot about the transmission! EEK! I'm letting the car sit now for 24hrs, and I will go on from there!

Thanks a lot guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
myasylum said:
FIXED!! Thanks guys!!!

It was the ballast resistor! I took the old one off, and it was fried in the back. it was pretty obvious. I put on the new one (4 pin) from Autozone for $4.00, and it fired right up! I let it run for 20 minutes at 2,500-2,900 rpm and it was perfect! It did get pretty hot but not to the danger level.

I was worried so much about the engine that I forgot about the transmission! EEK! I'm letting the car sit now for 24hrs, and I will go on from there!

Thanks a lot guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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That's excellent news myasylum, now you can start enjoying that car! Good luck with the tranny. Kev
 
C130 Chief said:
When you've blown a battery up in your face, you tend to avoid alligator clips!

Long story short, the battery says "Avoid Sparks" for a reason.

Anybody who wishes to try such a thing is welcome to it. I just never told them to.
Click to expand...

Chief, I think you may be getting a little over cautious on this issue. Nobody said you had to take it off the battery end. I agree that doing everything by the book is the way it should be done, but backyard hobby mechanics use backyard mechanic tactics sometimes. I think everyone on this forum is guilty of that from time to time. No need for the big disclaimer. Kev
 
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