ballast resistor

[darren13]

can anyone tell me the correct way to wire the ballast resistor to the coil, ie does the distributor wire go direct to ballast then to the positive on the coil then the one from the neg on the ballast to the neg on the coil, does the ignition wire go direct to the coil or to positive on the ballast first. daz

[Esprit2]

darren13 said:

can anyone tell me the correct way to wire the ballast resistor to the coil, ie does the distributor wire go direct to ballast then to the positive on the coil then the one from the neg on the ballast to the neg on the coil, does the ignition wire go direct to the coil or to positive on the ballast first. daz

Daz,

?? Ballast resistor?
Like, you have a separate, discrete ballast resistor?

A standard Esprit doesn't have a descrete ballast resistor. Instead, the pink wire with white stripe and the funky woven insulation is a nichrome resistive wire... the wire IS the ballast resistor. If your car still has that wire, do not add an additional ballast resistor.

A white wire runs from the ignition switch back to the engine bay. As it nears the coil, the pink/white resistive wire is spliced onto the end of it and that's all that should be visible back at the coil.

The Pink/White wire connects directly to the coil's (+) 12V terminal along with a white/yellow wire from the starter solenoid.

If you have removed the pink/white wire and are adding a ballast resistor, then the white wire from the ignition switch will connect to one end of the ballast resistor. The other end of the resistor connects to the coil's (-) terminal, either directly or with a short length of wire.

Do not run two ballast resistors in series. Don't add a descrete resistor if the pink/white resistive wire is still in place. Don't use an aftermarket coil with a built-in ballast resistor if the pink/white wire is still in place.

Some aftermarket, high performance coils are designed to run without a ballast resistor. If you install one of those, then either remove the pink/white wire, or shunt a wire around it. However, before installing such a coil, read the specs on the Lumenition to make sure it can handle the HP coil's greater current draw. The coil may fry the amplifier.

Good luck,
Tim Engel
Lotus Owners Oftha North