For Aaron's '74 Dart Sport, I just bought a new stock ECU and voltage regulator through our local Chrysler dealer. I am about to order some ACCEL plug wires from Mancini and was considering ordering the ACCEL 8140 coil while I'm at it. Is this one a good choice, or should I consider something else? It's priced at $29.95. Are there others for a stock set-up that cost less and do just as well?

Jerry

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There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

Jegs has a coil that will work just as well if not better(it is rated at a little higher voltage) for around $17 www.jegs.com

One thing to watch for when getting an Accel SS coil: There is one for points ignition, and one for electronic, just like stock Chrysler coils. I used a points Accel coil with my electronic ignition for about a year before I found this out, and went back to a stock electronic coil. Yes, the Accel coil worked fine, but I felt it was a "time bomb", waiting to fail. I believe Accel's site explains this and gives the proper part numbers.

I've seen more then one failed Acccel SS coil topics on moparts.... MSD blaster2 coils are in the same price range.

Is the stock Mopar coil still available, and are they still just as good as anything else? Not looking to do any racing, just Aaron's daily driver.

Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

You mean from the dealer? Not sure. I know there are mopar performance coils and you can get generics at parts stores, but if your using EI on a nonEI car make sure you tell them an EI car application to get the proper coil if your going to a parts store.

I went from a kragen coil to a Blaster 2. I upgraded to an msd6a box and needed a non resistor coil so I chose a blaster 2 because it wasn't much more then a parts store brand one, and its a tried and true combination.

Here's the run-down...

What we have:
'74 Dart Sport - an original electronic ignition car
New ECU - black case from Chrysler (only 4 pins - is this a problem?)
New voltage regulator - chrome case from Chrysler
Original 4-terminal ballast resistor (what is the resistance in this one?)
New distributor cap - tan from Chrysler

What we need:
Coil (how about the $16 - $18 ones from Jeg's or Summit?)
Plug wires (want yellow - probably ACCEL 8mm Super Stock)
Ballast resistor - just cause I don't know if the old one is still good
(what resistance should I look for?)

This is Aaron's daily driver, and there better not be any racing going on So, I'm just looking for a good quality coil that isn't going to cost a lot.

Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

Not a problem. Only a problem if you wire for a 4 wire ECU and then try and use a 5 pin unit.

The secondary side of the balast resistor is not required with the 4 pin ecu. It can be used as a 'spare' (in an emergancy)

I suggest a stock coil and balast resistor will get you running on the cheap and should run reliably.

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1980 Aspen 225 super six

When I picked up my new ECU at the Chrysler parts department, I compared it to my old one before I left. Sure enough, my old one had five pins, so I asked the counter man if that was the correct one. He took it back to the service department to ask and was told it wouldn't matter, because back in the 70's they were probably all made with five pins so they would universally fit whatever application. Since this part's number supercedes the old one, it should be just fine.

This morning, before I left for work, I checked the old ballast resistor. It has four prongs, and each one of them has a wire connected to it. Yesterday, I was going back through some old articles and came across the schematics of how the ECU, ballast resistor, and coil are all connected. [url]slantsix.org/articles/elect_ign_wiring/elect_ign_wiring.htm[/url]
Apparently, mine is similar to the top sketch.

So, if my new ECU has only four pins and my old ballast resistor has wires to all four connectors, which wires are not necessary? Furthermore, if I buy a new resistor to keep as a spare back-up, could I get one with just two prongs? What are the resistance values on the four prong vs. two prong?

So many questions, so little time.
Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

On the wiring diagram, prong #3 doesn't exist on a 4 wire ecu. Prong #1 gets 12 volt +, but doesn't loop back to #3. Eliminate the wire from prong 3 to the balast resistor and that half of the balast resistor. The wire from prong #1 gets spliced into the wire from ignition #11 before the balast resistor.

No wires must be physically eliminated to make the 4 wire work. Just plug it in and the unused part of the system will just be idle. This allows someone to still plug a 5 wire ECU in the future. (not that anyone ever would)

Yes you could then buy a single balast resistor, but I don't know the specifics for resistance values. Anybody can chime right in.

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1980 Aspen 225 super six

...just go with the wiring that you already have, that way you can use either control unit in an emergency or to troubleshoot. With the 4-prong, the high resistance side of the ballast will not be used.

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

Even if you change the wiring, the five prong will still work. I changed my wiring this same way after I installed a high voltage coil to eliminate resistance to the coil; and it works fine with a five-pronged unit.

I think we've hashed that out here before, and I honestly can't remember what the final verdict was, but all I have ever learned and understood about Chrysler Electronic Ignition tells me that a five pin box will not work without the dual resistor and extra wire... I could be wrong, and since I keep all my stuff wired up for the five-pin "just in case", I have no (easy) way to verify or disprove this assertion. Anybody else with single resistor wiring want to plug in a five pin box and report back?

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

When I got my junk yard electronic ignition set-up (thanks again Reed), it came with the complete wire harness, including the dual ballast resister and 5-pin ECU. I pluged the blue w/yellow tracer wire to the run side of the (existing) 2 prong ballast resister, the black to the coil, and the two wires with the male/female connections to the distributer. The remaining green w/red tracer was not used and cut. The only time it failed was because I didn't change from a points coil to an electronic ignition coil two weeks after I installed it. Since then, never a problem, never a failed start or hiccup.

Then it sounds like we're in good shape, regardless, because I still have the four-prong resistor, and I just ordered another one with my plug wires for a spare. One reason for this post was to confirm that the four-terminal ECU would not pose a problem. If I understand what you have described, we plug everything up just like it was. The wire coming from the #3 terminal will just not have a place to go. Right??

For a minute, let's go back to the question about the coil. Aaron decided he doesn't want the yellow ACCEL coil I was considering. I'm guessing you can get coils from any parts store, if you know what to ask for. Are there any that I should shy away from that might be notorious for giving problems. Is the only main thing to specify the fact that it is for an electronic ignition? Will voltage be something to consider, or does it really make that much difference (40,000 vs. 45,000)?

Thank you guys very much,
Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.