ballast resister

[geraldchainsaw]

1st forget my spelling,  very bad,      now since i'm not a electrician maybe someone esle knows,  is there a way to check a ballast resistor?,   the one that sits on top of the motor block,?,   do we  just check for polarity?,  or going in one end to the other is there a voltage drop?,    will someone explain it to me?,   before i go buy a new one,   thanks    jerry

[Partsman]

The ballast resistor cuts down the voltage going to the coil so the points will last longer.  Polarity has nothing to do with it.  If the motor is running the resistor is working.  Measure the resistor with an ohmeter to see what the resistance it.  You could also check voltage with a voltmeter on the engine side. The stock one have a tendancy to break in the porcelan and the the wire will also break.
Hope this helps.
Bill

[JimNolan]

Jerry,
   I hate to ask, but did you buy a new coil by chance. Jim

[geraldchainsaw]

to Jim,    no i didn't buy a new coil,    the car runs with the "all it needed was a tuneup",  the usuall, cap coil rotor and points,  but i wanted to make sure the ballast res was working  before i put a electronic egn back in,   but like the post before yours,  says if the car is running, everything is fine,  i'm still going to check out the res   to c how its working or what vol is etc,     thanks for the help guys,    jerry

[JimNolan]

Jerry,
   On your 57 they have a wire that comes from the solenoid that will deliver 12 volts to your coil while you are cranking the engine. Once the car starts you have another wire coming from your ignition switch that goes through the resistor, drops 3 volts and then delivers 9 volts to your coil. The coil on your car will say "use with resistor".
   You probably already know this but with some electronic conversion units for the distributor, they will tell you to use a coil that isn't used with a resistor. They want the whole 12 volts going to your electronic ignition module. Anything less than 12 volts causes these ignition modules to give up the ghost.
   I use Pertronix ignition modules on my cars and I've had real good luck with them. They do have their drawbacks though. For instance, if you leave the ignition key on for over 30 seconds without the engine running the module may go bad. I've never done it but they tell you that in the instructions that you get with the module. The coils I use are coils that don't require a resistor. Good luck, Jim

[geraldchainsaw]

thanks Jim,  now i have a few things to check out,