I was looking over the pertronix system and the directions just say, if you have a ballast resistor, to wire the positive into the ballast side going to the ignition switch.
On my ballast resistor that's the same spade connector that coil positive is also connected to. So what's actually the correct way to do that? Do you add a new spade connector to the resistor with all three wires? Splice into the ballast --> switch wire somewhere along the way? Something else altogether different?

Yes I'm aware that the resistor can be bypassed altogether with a 3 ohm coil but I'm just trying to get a better understanding of the wiring in general.

Thank you!

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<i>D'Artagnan</i>
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/stephaniexchaos/dart/th_IMG_0326_zpsumhhfxi0.jpg">

I didn't quit follow what you're saying...

Wire it so the pertronix unit gets the full 12 volts, and the ballast is only for the coil.

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

So where exactly do you hook the positive side wire into? That's what I'm trying to figure out. Black wire goes to coil negative - that's easy - but with the ballast resistor in play, where does the red wire get hooked into? I know you can't just put it on the coil positive post, it seems like it has to be spliced in somewhere. Where is the ideal place for that?
Electrical was always my weak spot with cars, which is odd given that I'm a stage electrician by profession. I just understand the physics of light waves better than wiring at this point. I'm trying though!

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<i>D'Artagnan</i>

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/stephaniexchaos/dart/th_IMG_0326_zpsumhhfxi0.jpg">

There's 1 wire from the ballast to the coil.

Attach the pertronix to the OTHER side of the ballast resister.

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Ahhhhhhhh ok. My viewings of the wiring diagram made it seem otherwise which confused me, but it's good to have confirmation!

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<i>D'Artagnan</i>

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/stephaniexchaos/dart/th_IMG_0326_zpsumhhfxi0.jpg">

Unless your running a Pertronix III, just hook the bastard directly to the coil. Shut up and drive!

If I had a 3 ohm coil then yes, I could. But I don't, it's stock, so I'd prefer to wire things correctly.

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<i>D'Artagnan</i>

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/stephaniexchaos/dart/th_IMG_0326_zpsumhhfxi0.jpg">

$#!+, just wire it directly to the coil like I've done on my 2 vehicles. Screw the directions! Works fine for the last 16 years.

Nope.

Perhaps if you decided to give me any sort of logical reason why that would work, rather than "works fine for the last 16 years" then maybe I'd take your suggestion under consideration. But I don't know you, at this point I don't particularly feel like looking up your posts to see what you're driving and what the specs are on your systems, and really I have no reason to trust your word the way I would with people like Ceej, Joshie, Lou, Dan, Doug, or any of the other members who have taken the time to explain what's happening so I can learn about and understand my car. That's the whole point for me. I couldn't care less about "having a cool car" or "I don't know, it just works." I'm fascinated by the workings and do want to know the why. If I choose to break with how things are supposed to be done, I'll do so only after having a full understanding of why things are done that way in the first place.

Telling me to "shut up and drive" is straight rude, and whilst I could cuss a stream of sheer invective to melt your ears off, I tend towards trying to treat my slant fan peers with a bit of respect and keep things mild here - and your symbols did not in any way convey a sense of any kind of humour in the way they're normally used here. This isn't the place.

Until you decide to have a real discussion about this and post with a little more thought, please just stop.

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<i>D'Artagnan</i>

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/stephaniexchaos/dart/th_IMG_0326_zpsumhhfxi0.jpg">

I initially did not have directions for my Pertronix I and tried going directly to the coil leads. It worked when I first started it, but after heating up a little it would backfire like crazy.

This is not a "screw it and go" situation, but likely it will work in some situations.

I also do not understand the strong attitude statements here, and they appear rude in the way they were typed.

Best wishes,

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines

Whatever make your Yankee Doodle Dandy. Like you I had the same problems wiring mine. I called Pertronix to get some intel. The voice on the other end of the phone said, and I quote. "I don't know why they tell you to wire it that way, they will run fine with no problems hooking it directly to the coil. Like I said, 2 vehicles have been wired this way for over 16 years, and like I said, no problems.

I have only convened one mopar to Pertronix. If I remember correctly, I just wired the pertronix to the coil. - to the coil - and + to the coil +. The coil + is the terminus of the wire on the engine side of the ballast resistor. It worked great for the eight or so months I used the car to commute, until a little old lady turned in front of me and totaled the car.

The term "electrician" is used differently in stagecraft than it is in most other industries. In my experience as a stagehand, "electrician" essentially means lighting tech who knows how to hang and adjust lights. Everywhere else an electrician is supposed to know more about electricity. I remember one job I worked with another stagehand where they sent us out to a horse racing track to set up the lights in a tent to show off some art. No problem. Got that done in about an hour. Then the guy who hired us wanted us to hook up his industrial sized three phase 120 volt generator. Us two stagehands puzzled over the schematics and tried to get it working for another hour, then the guy came out and puzzled with us for another half hour, then we gave up and called it a day. I might have been called an electrician, but I certainly wasn't what most non-theater folk considered an "electrician."

I had a great conversation last night with a friend which cleared up my confusion, as I did not have a rather vital piece of information that I needed. Now I do, and when Tuesday rolls around and I have more time to work, I will.

I never claimed to be an industrial electrician, hence why I tend to emphasize the phrase "stage electrician". I'll refrain from getting into the discussion about what IATSE determines electricians to be and what career theatre electricians are required to do. Having worked both sides of that, there is a wide world of difference, but this thread isn't the place to hash that out.

I've only ever mentioned the stage electrician thing to acknowledge that I've come a long way from where I was the last time I was a regular here in my knowledge of electrics, and to further recognise that I still have much to go in understanding these systems when it comes to automotive as opposed to stage. In the same way that I won't assume just because I can throw pass-through circuits into a T3 cyc means I can wire up a house, I won't assume that the same knowledge suddenly makes me an expert in automotive electrics.



I've the answer to my original question now, thank you.

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<i>D'Artagnan</i>

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/stephaniexchaos/dart/th_IMG_0326_zpsumhhfxi0.jpg">

Not trying to start anything or jump on anyone. I was just noting my observations as someone who never studied stagecraft in school and kind of fell into the industry and as someone who has observed how the general public thinks of "electricians." Stage electricians have a very skilled and technical job, it is just different than a home construction "electrician" or lineman "electrician", etc....I suspect it is because stagecraft was a thriving industry long before electric lights cam into use, so the people who worked the electric lights became "electricians" in the stage world.

Just noting that often the same word has different meanings in different industries or connotations. Heck, even in the same industry a word or phrase can have different meanings. When I was working stagehand jobs I must have been shown four different ways of "west coasting" a drop to fold it and put it in a hamper.

I had the great fun of working in some really old theaters. Theaters that were so old that there was no counterweight system (hemp houses!) on the battens and the battens and even the grid (!) were made of wood. Some of the battens had developed quite a sag from supporting the loads of electric lights over the years. Working the fly floor in those theaters really made me appreciate how closely related stage rigging is to sailing ship rigging, even using many of the same terminology. One industry bleeds into another, especially in industries as old as stagecraft.