Slant Six Forum :: Ballast resistor / idle miss question

Is this the orig engine? If so, it should be a mechanical (adjustable) lifter engine. The hyd. setup didn't start til '81. I have had 2, 80 Volares and an 80 Aspen, all slants and all had adjustable valves. On the ballast, I don't know how many times Ive answered this one, but if the engine stays running upon releasing the key from "start", IT AIN'T THE BALLAST RESISTOR causing the problem The resistor heating up as the car runs is normal. Any where you have resistance, you have heat. It could be the coil breaking down when heated up and shorting out. Pull the wire to the dist and see if there is any oil in the wire cavity. I have seen many coils crack around the small wire connections, and as they heat up the crack widens and they arc out to ground. This will cause degraded perf, as the engine (and coil) heat up. On the plug wire resistance, I don't remember the exact number but the spec is usually expressed as so many ohms per foot of wire, so longer ones will read higher.

Author:	SuperSlant [ Fri Dec 23, 2005 5:05 pm ]
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Nope they say Autolite 26. I checked two plugs, first one from cylinder #4 the second from cylinder #6 both plugs have the grayish tan color to them so i am sure my mixture isn't to bad. I turned the engine over a few times while my friend held the distributer end of the spark coil cable about a 3/8th of an inch from the vehicle chassis to check the condition of the spark, it wasn't blue but a thin yellow/orange color is this normal for electronic igniton? is my spark coil or ei module giving up the ghost? Bin kinda busy today (christmas preperations and all) but as soon as time alows i will continue on by checking the distributer and coil, is there any thing i should know about checking the coil? other then what i discribed above?

Author:	volaredon [ Sun Dec 25, 2005 5:46 pm ]
Post subject:
Is this the orig engine? If so, it should be a mechanical (adjustable) lifter engine. The hyd. setup didn't start til '81. I have had 2, 80 Volares and an 80 Aspen, all slants and all had adjustable valves. On the ballast, I don't know how many times Ive answered this one, but if the engine stays running upon releasing the key from "start", IT AIN'T THE BALLAST RESISTOR causing the problem The resistor heating up as the car runs is normal. Any where you have resistance, you have heat. It could be the coil breaking down when heated up and shorting out. Pull the wire to the dist and see if there is any oil in the wire cavity. I have seen many coils crack around the small wire connections, and as they heat up the crack widens and they arc out to ground. This will cause degraded perf, as the engine (and coil) heat up. On the plug wire resistance, I don't remember the exact number but the spec is usually expressed as so many ohms per foot of wire, so longer ones will read higher.

Author:	emsvitil [ Sun Dec 25, 2005 6:00 pm ]
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The original equipment type carbon core wires were 20,000- 30,000 ohms (might even be per foot). The wires are way below that, so I think the wires are fine. The overheating coil could do it, or the ignition module failing. Sometime the modules don't fail outright, but have heat related symptoms, the hotter they get, the flakier they get

Author:	SuperSlant [ Fri Dec 30, 2005 5:17 pm ]
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Well i hope everyone had a very nice christmas i sure as hell did.just got my computer back up and running so i'll update you guys a bit on whats up. I got a chance to check the distributer cap,rotor e.t.c and all seems fine as far as that goes(no wear on the contact points) for good mesure i also checked all vacuum ports and squirted soap water were the intake runners meet the head as well as the carb base and throttle shaft bushings but all seems well. Quote: Is this the orig engine? If so, it should be a mechanical (adjustable) lifter engine. The hyd. setup didn't start til '81. I have had 2, 80 Volares and an 80 Aspen, all slants and all had adjustable valves. On the ballast, I don't know how many times Ive answered this one, but if the engine stays running upon releasing the key from "start", IT AIN'T THE BALLAST RESISTOR causing the problem The resistor heating up as the car runs is normal. Any where you have resistance, you have heat. It could be the coil breaking down when heated up and shorting out. Pull the wire to the dist and see if there is any oil in the wire cavity. I have seen many coils crack around the small wire connections, and as they heat up the crack widens and they arc out to ground. This will cause degraded perf, as the engine (and coil) heat up. On the plug wire resistance, I don't remember the exact number but the spec is usually expressed as so many ohms per foot of wire, so longer ones will read higher. Yep i checked the rocker arms several times and none have the adjusting screws,plus the push rods are hollow,so i take it some one prior to me has either swaped in a newer slant or converted the original block to a hydrualic lifter setup. As for the coil leaking oil i checked but didn't find oil leaking from any of the connections.

Author:	SuperSlant [ Fri Dec 30, 2005 5:22 pm ]
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Quote: The original equipment type carbon core wires were 20,000- 30,000 ohms (might even be per foot). The wires are way below that, so I think the wires are fine. The overheating coil could do it, or the ignition module failing. Sometime the modules don't fail outright, but have heat related symptoms, the hotter they get, the flakier they get Yeah so far the wires,distibuter,ballast resistor and plugs all seem to be good. Next i'll have to check the coil and ignition module, is there any feasable way of checking these two components myself?

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Ballast resistor / idle miss question https://slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15482	Page 2 of 2

Author:	emsvitil [ Fri Dec 30, 2005 5:25 pm ]
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Quote: Yeah so far the wires,distibuter,ballast resistor and plugs all seem to be good. Next i'll have to check the coil and ignition module, is there any feasable way of checking these two components myself? Switch them from another car and see if the problem is solved (and if the problem goes to the other car, you'll have confirmation)

Author:	SuperSlant [ Fri Dec 30, 2005 5:40 pm ]
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Providing i could find another ei slant to check em out on that wouldn't be a such a bad idea(they wouldn't work on v8;s huh?), but unless i could get some garage to check them out i guess i'll have to spend a few bucks at the wreckers and get some replacements. P.S. I am aware that the replacements from the junkyard could be bad too but i guess i am stuck unless some one wants to drive over here in thier slant and try on some old ei stuff.

Author:	emsvitil [ Fri Dec 30, 2005 6:25 pm ]
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Coils are pretty universal, just measure primary resistance and if the new coil is equal to or greater you're good for testing. The ignition modules should all be the same (5 pin connector). The only difference should be the teeth count on the reluctors. The ignition modules need to be grounded good. Check this out on existing module.

Author:	SuperSlant [ Fri Dec 30, 2005 7:18 pm ]
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Will do. Thanks dude.

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