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#85205 12/03/2003 6:26 AM
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94
M
'Bolter
'Bolter
M Offline
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94
I finally got the clutch problems solved and she was running fairly decent until.....

After a day of running errands about town, I went to start it and she started OK, but wouldn't run right. It acted like it was way to rich. I figured that the float was stuck or something carb related. It also backfired a little too. Anyway, it was dark out so I called my son and we pulled it home. The next day, I popped the hood and there was black goo sprayed all over the engine compartment! The source appeared to be the coil. The top of the coil was covered in black crud and goo, and it had also dribbled down on top of the starter. The smell of burnt rubber was very strong.

I pulled the coil and it said (under the crud) "To be used only with an external resistor". Well the PO apparently never put in a resistor, because I can't find one! Did this coil fail because of there not being a resistor? I've never heard of anything like this happening before. I guess I need to get an internal resistor coil to make things right. Or, are there other things I need to look at too?

By the way, it is a '59 235 engine, if that makes any difference.

#85206 12/03/2003 11:52 PM
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 264
S
Member
Member
S Offline
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 264
There are some that say the external ballast (or ignition) resistor protects the coil and I think the ballast resistor definitely protects the points, speaking from experience. I'm surprised the coil blew up just because you didn't have a ballast resistor...you may want to check your points. Is it possible you were running a 6V coil in a 12V system? That could mess the coil up good.

If I had to use points, I would favor the external ballast resistor set-up. That way, you replace only the component that is bad (coil or resistor).

#85207 12/04/2003 8:08 AM
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94
M
'Bolter
'Bolter
M Offline
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94
The coil is (was) a 12 volt. The points don't look so hot either. But, I was going to get a rebuilt distributor with new points and condensor already on it anyway. I was just suprised to see a coil fail like this. It looked like "Old Faithful" had erupted a load of tar underneath the hood! eek

The PO apparently just dropped this engine in and didn't know that you needed a ballast resistor. The gas gauge is fried too, because there was no resistor put on it. But, I've got another one ready to put in. I'm just too lazy to crawl under the dash! grin


Moderated by  Jon G, Rusty Rod 

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