Ballast resistor hack ?

[Filthy Filbert]

I used an MSD Blaster coil with a mopar "orange box" electronic ignition without a ballast resistor and had no problems.

[Red70340Cuda]

Does anyone know if the coil that you get from fbo can be placed horizontal ? An if it will fit in the stock bracket.  Oh an what size wire need to be use inside the Ballast resistor .
           An I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who replied to my thread it has all be helpful

[chargerdon]

I used an MSD Blaster coil with a mopar "orange box" electronic ignition without a ballast resistor and had no problems.

I also have a Mopar Orange box, and an MSD Blaster coil.   So, i ask this question, you say you "used" meaning past tense no ballast resister with that combination.   Might i ask how many miles you put on the car in question without a coil failure??   

[tparker]

I used an MSD Blaster coil with a mopar "orange box" electronic ignition without a ballast resistor and had no problems.

I once bought a pair of Hemi Leaf springs and was transporting them in the back seat while in heavy traffic. I stopped short and they fell of the seat and hit the console which wasn't bolted down. This knocked the shifter into reverse. Car skidded and killed the engine. No problems. LOL. Though I don't recommend doing that. 

[Brads70]

I've been using this one for over 10 years now with no BR ,with no issues... You could remove the label to make it look more " stock"  if you wanted?

https://www.jegs.com/i/MSD-Ignition/121/8222/10002/-1

[Skdmark]

Does anyone know if the coil that you get from fbo can be placed horizontal ? An if it will fit in the stock bracket.  Oh an what size wire need to be use inside the Ballast resistor .
           An I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who replied to my thread it has all be helpful

IIRC I used 12awg wire.
As long as the wire is the same or bigger than the factory wires going to the ballast resistor you're good.
I'm running a Sniper EFI setup in my car and am also using the Holley Sniper canister coil.

[Filthy Filbert]

I also have a Mopar Orange box, and an MSD Blaster coil.   So, i ask this question, you say you "used" meaning past tense no ballast resister with that combination.   Might i ask how many miles you put on the car in question without a coil failure??

I'd guess it was somewhere around 5000 miles.  It was on a big block that I put in a 98 Dakota.   I eventually parted that truck out, as it had a lot of very expensive custom one-off parts that I was not excited to having to replace if anything broke or wore out.

[chargerdon]

Thanks, i actually called MSD's customer support line and asked that very question, which was how long would a Blaster II coil last, if i didnt cut back the voltage with a ballast resistor.   

Their answer was classic...  "probably not as long as if i did use the ballast resistor".   So, then i said ok, how long should a Blaster II last, and was told their are warranted for 90 days.   

I know that lately the descriptions says that ballast resistor is required with points/condensor use, but says nothing when used in Electronic Ignitions.   So, my guess is that a resistor can be safely bypassed.   

[Racer57]

How do you determine whether you have a 12v coil that can do without the ballast ? I have the chrome box.

[Duodec]

Its possible that the Chrysler electronic ignition module power transistor can safely carry and switch more power/amps than a point's contacts can and since there's no physical wear component to worry about, its 'good enough' to run without ballast.  It would be interesting to compare the 0.7 ohm primary resistance of the MSD coil to that of the OEM or the many universal replacement coils that don't provide internal ballast resistance.

@Racer57 presumably that would be in the specs for the coil.  It certainly used to be in the description for the universal coils many years ago.  The Standard Blue Streak coil I used to use (UC12X) on the Challenger I can't find the formal spec for but Summit once said 1.3 - 1.5 ohms, and it is supposed to be used with an external resistor.  The MSD ballast resistor is 0.8 ohms so the total resistance on a point system using their coil and resistance would be 1.5 ohms.  The numbers I see online for the factory resistor are 0.7 to 1.5 so the total resistance with the UC12X would be 2 to 3 ohms.  Ballast resistance changes as it heats up also. 

So I guess you can't guess by the coil's primary resistance value either.  You need to check and go with the coil specs and instructions based on your ignition system.

[Racer57]

Its possible that the Chrysler electronic ignition module power transistor can safely carry and switch more power/amps than a point's contacts can and since there's no physical wear component to worry about, its 'good enough' to run without ballast.  It would be interesting to compare the 0.7 ohm primary resistance of the MSD coil to that of the OEM or the many universal replacement coils that don't provide internal ballast resistance.

@Racer57 presumably that would be in the specs for the coil.  It certainly used to be in the description for the universal coils many years ago.  The Standard Blue Streak coil I used to use (UC12X) on the Challenger I can't find the formal spec for but Summit once said 1.3 - 1.5 ohms, and it is supposed to be used with an external resistor.  The MSD ballast resistor is 0.8 ohms so the total resistance on a point system using their coil and resistance would be 1.5 ohms.  The numbers I see online for the factory resistor are 0.7 to 1.5 so the total resistance with the UC12X would be 2 to 3 ohms.  Ballast resistance changes as it heats up also. 

So I guess you can't guess by the coil's primary resistance value either.  You need to check and go with the coil specs and instructions based on your ignition system.

Duodec let me put it this way..... If I replace the ballast with a wire and the system doesn't like it, what will happen ?

[dodj]

Its possible that the Chrysler electronic ignition module power transistor can safely carry and switch more power/amps than a point's contacts can and since there's no physical wear component to worry about, its 'good enough' to run without ballast.  It would be interesting to compare the 0.7 ohm primary resistance of the MSD coil to that of the OEM or the many universal replacement coils that don't provide internal ballast resistance.

@Racer57 presumably that would be in the specs for the coil.  It certainly used to be in the description for the universal coils many years ago.  The Standard Blue Streak coil I used to use (UC12X) on the Challenger I can't find the formal spec for but Summit once said 1.3 - 1.5 ohms, and it is supposed to be used with an external resistor.  The MSD ballast resistor is 0.8 ohms so the total resistance on a point system using their coil and resistance would be 1.5 ohms.  The numbers I see online for the factory resistor are 0.7 to 1.5 so the total resistance with the UC12X would be 2 to 3 ohms.  Ballast resistance changes as it heats up also. 

So I guess you can't guess by the coil's primary resistance value either.  You need to check and go with the coil specs and instructions based on your ignition system.

Duodec let me put it this way..... If I replace the ballast with a wire and the system doesn't like it, what will happen ?

Coil failure.

[Filthy Filbert]

Its possible that the Chrysler electronic ignition module power transistor can safely carry and switch more power/amps than a point's contacts can and since there's no physical wear component to worry about, its 'good enough' to run without ballast.  It would be interesting to compare the 0.7 ohm primary resistance of the MSD coil to that of the OEM or the many universal replacement coils that don't provide internal ballast resistance.

@Racer57 presumably that would be in the specs for the coil.  It certainly used to be in the description for the universal coils many years ago.  The Standard Blue Streak coil I used to use (UC12X) on the Challenger I can't find the formal spec for but Summit once said 1.3 - 1.5 ohms, and it is supposed to be used with an external resistor.  The MSD ballast resistor is 0.8 ohms so the total resistance on a point system using their coil and resistance would be 1.5 ohms.  The numbers I see online for the factory resistor are 0.7 to 1.5 so the total resistance with the UC12X would be 2 to 3 ohms.  Ballast resistance changes as it heats up also. 

So I guess you can't guess by the coil's primary resistance value either.  You need to check and go with the coil specs and instructions based on your ignition system.

Duodec let me put it this way..... If I replace the ballast with a wire and the system doesn't like it, what will happen ?

Coil failure.

And if running a points ignition, possible points failure.