Ignition.....

[69 Post Sedan]

Originally Posted by ban617

Isn’t the factory positive wire to the coil a resistor wire ? If so using a resistor would lower the voltage more ...

Yes......the factory distributor wire is a resistor wire which is about 8 volts.....I didn’t know that until yesterday.....lol. The Mallory coil needs anywhere from 6-9 volts.....so the 1.6 resistor was still within tolerance, I believe?

I HAD a Mallory Hyfire CDI box installed at one time. I eliminated it because I was trying to do a process of elimination to locate my issue. So actually, the CDI box was supposed to be getting 12 volts but was really only getting 8 volts.....through the factory resistor wire.

So when I was still having issues, I purchased the new Unilite distributor, I read that it needs a 1.6 ohm resistor.....which I installed. Technically, I didn’t need that as the factory wire was already at 8 volts.....but again, I didn’t know that. So when I bypassed the resistor wire and went directly from the battery to the coil....everything was in normal condition.

I will be reinstalling the Mallory Hyfire CDI box which will need 12 volts. So I ordered a new engine wire harness from America Auto Wire that will have the correct 12 volts to the CDI box. If I need to lower the volts, I can reinstall the resistor directly to the coil.

Kurt