| |
Click on image for the lowdown. 
====
| | | Forums66 Topics128,083 Posts1,055,967 Members48,430 | | Most Online14,466
Apr 26th, 2026 | | AD Chevy Trucks  Over 6,000 pictures Brad Allen has an awesome collection of Chevrolet factory pictures that he has set up from film strips. Check them out!
Lots of work on Brad's part ... pure enjoyment (and references) for you!
| | THANKS!
For helping keep this great
old truck web site
on the Internet for over 30 years! and not clogged down
with Ads!  Again, thanks!
| | | | Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 18 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 18 | The coil on my 54 blew the top off, it is new only drove the truck about 8 miles. Put an old one on from my 55 2 ton. So far it is OK. The 54 is 12 volts. Any ideas why? | | | | | Joined: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,644 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,644 | If it's[or was] a 12 volt coil than I would think that it was a bad one from the jump.
Alot of stuff isn't made as good as it was back in my day,mass production and overseas just don't care.
Pete | | | | | Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 238 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 238 | Could it be that the 12v coil that blew up was meant to work with a ballast resistor, or could it have been a 12v coil made for electronic ignition?
Both these coil types will have a low resistance on the primary side which will cause high current and overheating if they're used with an ordinary points setup.
Stuart. | | | | | Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 1,859 Grumpy old guy playing with trucks, cars, and boats | | Grumpy old guy playing with trucks, cars, and boats Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 1,859 | no, ballast resistor is to keep the points from burning out. full voltage to either would work fin, however if there is a bad section of insulation in the winding, add vibration and you let out the magic smoke.
The problems we face today can not be addressed at the same level of intelligence we were at when we created them - Albert Einstein Or with the same level of $ - Me
| | | | | Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 238 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 238 | no, ballast resistor is to keep the points from burning out. full voltage to either would work fin, however if there is a bad section of insulation in the winding, add vibration and you let out the magic smoke. Coils meant to be used with an external ballast resistor have a lower resistance than a standard 12V coil, and would be unlikely to live too long without the ballast resistor in circuit under normal running. Typical resistance of coils intended for constant energy electronic ignition is 1.5 ohms or less. that equals 8+ amps across the closed points. I can't see the points dealing with that kind of current for long unless the coil overheats and burns out first. Stuart.
Last edited by Stuart_Giles; 06/04/2010 9:54 PM. Reason: missing words
| | |
|
|
| |
