How to test ignition components.

[Bee1971]

Sounds like you've become or becoming a "hoarder".....buying stuff just to buy it, not knowing whether it's good, bad, functional or not. Have a spare or two ok....having 10-12 of the same thing.....????
BOB RENTON

I have a refrigerator out in the garage full of beer like that

 

[Bee1971]

ABSOLUTEY NOT......why can't I express my thoughts the same as you??....not in the same details or minutiae but in a more comprehensive manner......my thoughts are knowledge based based on real time occurrences.....
BOB RENTON

So Mr Expert

Explain how Kern Dog is not having real time occurrences

Based based , what ever the hell that means

 

[hunt2elk]

Will you just go the heck away?
All I read from you is your perceived superiority complex.

And for heavens sake, don't forget how proud he is of his checking account balance. Bob likes proof, but we haven't seen any proof of that yet.

 

[Kern Dog]

It used to be that many people tossed out slant 6 and 318 parts when they stepped up to 340s and 440s.
Then some people started to appreciate the cars for more than just the power, some wanted a classic car that just ran good and got decent mileage.
At that point, people with slant 6 and 318 cars needed replacement parts to keep their cars going. With that, the parts that many people threw out became harder to find.
If newer ECMs and Ballast resistors are junk, it would make sense to collect old American made stuff, right? Nobody here is a cheerleader for Chinese parts as far as I can tell.
My hobby is fixing up and driving these old cars. The people that I am friends with are car guys too. EVERYONE that I deal with is a hands-on dude. We ALL have classic cars and tinker with them. I like it when someone needs some obscure part and I have it. It is not about the money either. I have given away as much as I have sold. That is how it should be.

 

[kiwigtx]

I wonder if Soap Boxes get worn out from excessive use.

Only if you get all lathered up.

 

[Kern Dog]

Only if you get all lathered up.

 

[kiwigtx]

View attachment 1703292

 

[ckessel]

Here is a challenge for the "Expert". Walk us lesser individuals through testing procedures, in English, so we can benefit as many of us, me and others, are clueless.

 

[Kern Dog]

I just bought this from HalifaxHops...

Maybe it will shed some light on this subject.
Today I bought a ballast resistor from the local NAPA store, a 2 pin unit like this one on the bottom:

That 2.7 number is unusually high. The new one is .8.

 

[Kern Dog]

I took several ballast resistors and dunked them in a tank of Evaporust. All but 2 of them had corroded segments that I thought might have added to the resistance numbers. I'll clean, test and report the findings soon.

 

[RJRENTON]

Here is a challenge for the "Expert". Walk us lesser individuals through testing procedures, in English, so we can benefit as many of us, me and others, are clueless.

A lot depends on exactly who you refer to as the "expert" and just how much fundamental knowledge or principles does your "others, us, me" think they'll understand? Nobody likes to "preach to the choir" or have explanations falling on deaf ears.......please reiterate.....
BOB RENTON

 

[Canadian1968]

I recently took my 68 charger out for some ice cream with the family. Car had been running great giving me no problems at all. We finished up and went to leave. Car would crank but not fire. Tried about 5 time before i declared it dead. Pulled out my emergency kit ( spare , ecu, ballast , coil ) first tired the ballast , nope would not fire . Put old one back in and tried new ecu . Car fired up, figured hey I finally cooked my orange box! Went home , put the orange box back in just to confirm. Guess what... damn thing fired right up! These are the problems I hate ! Don't know what the original problem was and no real way to figure it out , unless it happens again !

 

[Kern Dog]

I recently took my 68 charger out for some ice cream with the family. Car had been running great giving me no problems at all. We finished up and went to leave. Car would crank but not fire. Tried about 5 time before i declared it dead. Pulled out my emergency kit ( spare , ecu, ballast , coil ) first tired the ballast , nope would not fire . Put old one back in and tried new ecu . Car fired up, figured hey I finally cooked my orange box! Went home , put the orange box back in just to confirm. Guess what... damn thing fired right up! These are the problems I hate ! Don't know what the original problem was and no real way to figure it out , unless it happens again !

This EXACT thing has happened to me in this car:

...Numerous times. It is extremely frustrating. I've wondered if the parts just get hot, fail then once they cool down are fine again? That is hard to tell because sometimes I go for months with no issues at all, then the car cranks and cranks with no spark and I'm troubleshooting again.

Here is a challenge for the "Expert". Walk us lesser individuals through testing procedures, in English, so we can benefit as many of us, me and others, are clueless.

A lot depends on exactly who you refer to as the "expert" and just how much fundamental knowledge or principles does your "others, us, me" think they'll understand? Nobody likes to "preach to the choir" or have explanations falling on deaf ears.......please reiterate.....
BOB RENTON

I'll lay it out for you, RJ.
Nobody that I know of is jealous and spiteful of other people that have knowledge and are willing to share it.
What I and others find annoying and offensive is others that talk down to people as if they are unworthy of help. We don't like it when someone puts out an air of perceived superiority like they know everything and we are just idiots that are beneath you.
Whether you intend to or not, whether you realize it or not, this is how many members here see you.
I respect those with knowledge. I respect them even more when they take the time to share their skills with others.
I suggest that you try a more friendly approach here. Instead of a response like the one that I quoted... (Which in other words basically says I can tell it in my regular way or I can dumb it down so you understand it)...just respond like you would to a waiter, a cashier, the guy that delivers the mail. The majority of us are just regular people that love these cars.
In some of your responses that I have read before, you do have skills. You just need to improve your personal skills when dealing with others.

 

[Cojohnso1]

I guess without spending the money on testing equipment, putting stuff on a known good running car is the cheap and easy way.
I have at least 10-15 coils, maybe 50 ballast resistors mostly 4 pin, maybe 8 ECMs, numerous distributors...I've picked up parts from all over.
Having all this stuff here has made me lazy though. I haven't developed the diagnostic skills since it is so easy just to start swapping parts.

I too used that method. Most recently with a buddy's orange ignition box. Hooked to my B-body and car ran just fine. We thought about it if a bad box could surge to hurt other components? It turns out it is possible, but not likely.

If you come across some cool and easy testing discoveries? Please share with us electrical dummies. There has to be a simple and safer way than using good to test suspect components.

 

[Kern Dog]

Once this book arrives:

I'm hoping that it helps me understand things better.
What I lack in knowledge, I make up with optimism.

 

[ckessel]

This EXACT thing has happened to me in this car:

View attachment 1704211

...Numerous times. It is extremely frustrating. I've wondered if the parts just get hot, fail then once they cool down are fine again? That is hard to tell because sometimes I go for months with no issues at all, then the car cranks and cranks with no spark and I'm troubleshooting again.




I'll lay it out for you, RJ.
Nobody that I know of is jealous and spiteful of other people that have knowledge and are willing to share it.
What I and others find annoying and offensive is others that talk down to people as if they are unworthy of help. We don't like it when someone puts out an air of perceived superiority like they know everything and we are just idiots that are beneath you.
Whether you intend to or not, whether you realize it or not, this is how many members here see you.
I respect those with knowledge. I respect them even more when they take the time to share their skills with others.
I suggest that you try a more friendly approach here. Instead of a response like the one that I quoted... (Which in other words basically says I can tell it in my regular way or I can dumb it down so you understand it)...just respond like you would to a waiter, a cashier, the guy that delivers the mail. The majority of us are just regular people that love these cars.
In some of your responses that I have read before, you do have skills. You just need to improve your personal skills when dealing with others.

Thank you for that Greg. Hopefully RJ, you see that there are plenty of fellow Mopar brethren that would love your informed input. Just without the grief that makes people walk away from you. BTW, tell us about your project/s. I for one would love to see what you're working on.

 

[kiwigtx]

I took several ballast resistors and dunked them in a tank of Evaporust. All but 2 of them had corroded segments that I thought might have added to the resistance numbers. I'll clean, test and report the findings soon.

Corrosion or build-up on the outside of a solid metallic object will not lessen or increase its resistance.

What WILL change the resistance is any build-up of foreign matter between the test-meter probes and the surface of the metallic object when measuring.

You could smother the ballast resistor in tar & feathers, and the resistance will not change.

 

[Kern Dog]

Corrosion or build-up on the outside of a solid metallic object will not lessen or increase its resistance.

What WILL change the resistance is any build-up of foreign matter between the test-meter probes and the surface of the metallic object when measuring.

You could smother the ballast resistor in tar & feathers, and the resistance will not change.

SEE ?
Info like that HELPS. I appreciate the correction there. I obviously didn't know.

 

[kiwigtx]

SEE ?
Info like that HELPS. I appreciate the help there. I obviously didn't know.

You just wasted your time with the Evaporust - unless you wanted it clean of course.

 

[Kern Dog]

Remember the other time that I did something stupid and pointless?