Normally a charging system either generator or alternator will put out enough Amps to power the ignition awhile charging the battery. Watch your volt / amp gauge the next time you start your truck, the charging system should overcome the amp draw to battery it took to start the engine in just a mater of a few seconds. If the battery has a weak or dead cell it will continue to bleed off power and the battery will never become fully charged. So the charging system keeps trying to charge a battery that will not take a full charge.

Now add to this the amount of amperage it takes to power an HEI ignition at full capacity, the charging system just can not produce enough to fully power the ignition while the battery has a constant current draw.

Once an engine is running with a good battery the battery is effectively removed from the system and the generator or alternator provides power to run everything.

Last edited by TUTS 59; 09/29/2021 4:22 PM.
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1958 Viking 4400
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