Helpful tips

Can I remove the ballast resistor?

Can I remove the ballast resistor?

In either type of ignition system, points or electronic, the ballast resistor can be removed to increase secondary voltage to the spark plugs, but the long-term effects of removing the resistor differ between the two systems.

Can you bypass resistor?

A quick and easy way to diagnose ballast resistor failure is to bypass it by running a temporary jumper wire from the battery to the coil. If it starts and remains running, you’ve found the problem. The ignition points are not designed to take full battery voltage for long.

What does the ballast resistor do?

A ballast resistor is a device in your vehicle that limits the amount of current in an electric circuit. The ballast resistor is commonly found in older vehicles, because they did not have the benefit of circuit boards found in most of today’s vehicles.

Does a ballast reduce voltage?

Once the arc is established, the ballast quickly reduces the voltage and regulates the electric current to produce a steady light output. Thus, some ballasts have a separate circuit that provides a low voltage to heat the lamp electrodes during lamp starting and typically during lamp operation (Hammer, 1995).

How do you know if a resistor is faulty?

How to Know If Resistors Are Good or Bad

  1. Turn off the power running through the circuit containing the resistor you need to test.
  2. Look at the color bands around the barrels of the components for the code to determine resistor values.
  3. Check resistor values with the color codes.

What happens if a resistor is shorted?

For calculating an equivalent resistance, a shorted resistor is one whose both ends are connected to the same one node. A shorted resistor (1) makes zero Ohms of contribution to the equivalent resistance and (2) can be removed from the circuit when calculating the equivalent resistance.

Does a ballast resistor reduce voltage?

The ballast resistor, supplies the needed voltage during the start up, and then immediately after the arc is established, it reduces the voltage in addition to regulating the current flow.

How do you test a ballast resistor?

Mopar Ballast Resistor Test. Using an electrical multi-meter, check the resistance between the noted terminals of the ballast resistors. Do this with all of the wires to the ballast resistor disconnected. Any significant deviation from these numbers would indicate that the ballast resistor is defective.

What is the purpose of an ignition ballast resistor?

Definition WordNet Search defines a ballast resistor, most commonly found in an automobile ignition system, as a device “inserted into a circuit to compensate for changes, [such] as those arising from temperature fluctuations.”. A ballast resistor helps regulate voltage flowing in an electrical system to avoid overloads or battery drainage.

What is a coil ballast resistor?

A Ballast Resistor is an extra electrical “load” which is installed in the electric circuit providing power to the ignition coil for the purpose of reducing the voltage that the coil receives. This may seem somewhat counter-intuitive as one would think that the higher the voltage to the coil,…

What is ballast resistance?

A ballast resistor is a resistor inserted into a circuit to compensate for different changes. A resistor that has the property of increasing in resistance as current flowing through it increases, and decreasing in resistance as current decreases.