It seems to be an electrical problem...

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ihave67cuda

ihave67cuda

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Hello,

Synopsis:

For the past two months I have been having an issue with idle/slow moving stalls and 'stutters' from the stop or slow movement.
It only occured when HOT.

I then replaced the distributor and the problem continued.

Now, last week I bypassed the balast resistor and aftermarket TAC and the car runs flawlessy when HOT (no stalls or stuttering whatsoever). The only issue is the coil and Mopar's Orange Ignition system are extremely hot to the touch even after several hours.

The engine is a recently rebuilt 340 with mostly new components [spark plugs and wires, carb (deemed ok by a mopar carb guru), distributor]

It apparently seems to be electrical so...

Are there any other ramifications I should be aware of by bypassing the balast resistor?

Is there a coil with a built-in balast resistor?

Any insight on the cuase of the problem?


Thank You for your time it is much appreciated.
 
ihave67cuda said:
Hello,

Synopsis:

For the past two months I have been having an issue with idle/slow moving stalls and 'stutters' from the stop or slow movement.
It only occured when HOT.

I then replaced the distributor and the problem continued.

Now, last week I bypassed the balast resistor and aftermarket TAC and the car runs flawlessy when HOT (no stalls or stuttering whatsoever). The only issue is the coil and Mopar's Orange Ignition system are extremely hot to the touch even after several hours.

The engine is a recently rebuilt 340 with mostly new components [spark plugs and wires, carb (deemed ok by a mopar carb guru), distributor]

It apparently seems to be electrical so...

Are there any other ramifications I should be aware of by bypassing the balast resistor?

Is there a coil with a built-in balast resistor?

Any insight on the cuase of the problem?


Thank You for your time it is much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Are there any other ramifications I should be aware of by bypassing the balast resistor?

You found it. Excess heat due to high coil currents. The ballast resistor limits coil current to reduce heat.

Is there a coil with a built-in balast resistor?

Yes. Try one of the E-core style coils instead of the old style can. Might be an issue only if you are trying for the vintage look.

Any insight on the cuase of the problem

Have you tried replacing the coil and ballast resistor, (OE type pieces)? Could be a failure in one of these items.
 
It might be the coil as it fails when hot, and bypassing the resistor may give it the extra voltage to work again. Running electronics hot is not a good idea. Is it a dual ballast resistor or a single?
 
Replace the coil with a quality coil WITH ONE DESIGNED for the ECU, and DO NOT bypass the resistor.
 
Idle, and off idle are probably the easiest on the coil, the coil works harder as advance and rpm come up..
and generally works, or doesn't work,, (but may crap out at hi rpm), - but at idle,, I think problem is carb related..

How about the accelerator pump, after the choke opens,,

Are your stalls, just as you give it gas from a stop, does it "hesitate" then go??

If you kinda boot it from a stop, does it go "pop" and die, or hesitate a bunch then go like he$$

"Stutters" from stop, but after the stutter, it goes good? accelerates smoothly??
 
I,ve had excellent results with switching to MSD 6AL box,dizzy and SS blaster coil.Not the factory look,but has saved me chasing electrical gremlins.JMO.
 
MOPAR Collegues -- let me explain my challenge a little better.

Our challenge was this:

When the car was warmed up, at the halt, in gear (Forward or Reverse) she tended to stall. To avoid this, I would shift the car into neutral at intersections. After shifting the car into gear and as it accelerated from the halt the car would briefly sag or stumble. Once moving she ran fine.

As the motor heated up even in neutral she would often want to stall.

After we bypassed the dual balast reistor, and disconnected the aftermarket autometer tach, the car seemsto run fine.

The current coil we are using is a MSD Blaster.
 
If you insist on doing that, pretty soon you are going to have a DEAD ECU

Have you made any voltage measurements at idle? That is, what voltage are you getting, at the lowes idle you can manage, at the "blue" "ignition run" wire which is the battery supply for the ign system?
 
Coils can and do go bad with intermittant symtoms.
There is some good info in these replys, and I know it's hard to sort out for someone asking this question.
Here's the skinny.
The people that told you to replace the coil are right, and the people that told you to replace the balast resistor were also right.
Replacing both at the same time would be optimal but,,If your limited on funds to do it or something replace the coil first. (the balast resistor will almost always work or it is burned out). nothing in between.
Your car starts, so available electrical power does not seem to be an issue.
The coil gets hot if that balast resistor is not in the loop because the coil is not designed to take a full 12 volt all the time (only when starting the car) to make a good hot spark.
Note this,
If you replace the coil and the ballast resistor is not in the loop you will be driving along someday soon and the car will die.
You will get out and open the hood to find a smoking coil and cooling oil out of it all over your intake manifold (If it's not doing it already)

Just thought a more clear explanation would help you.
Good luck with your car, and make sure you have a good battery to engine, to body ground.
 
Thank you all, for your advice. It is much appreciated, informative, and helpful.

I will post a current status as we work on fixing the issue later today.
 
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