12v coil?

[ian1905]

Hi all, Ive just joined the club and am looking to bend someones ear about replacing my coil.

Car has been having trouble starting and I've traced the problem back to the fact the coil is on the way out. Its a Lucas 6v ballasted coil. I was wondering if I could switch it for a 12v basllasted coil?

[piman]

Hello Ian,

I don't know what you mean by a 12v ballasted coil, 12v coils don't use a ballast. Why not just get a new ballasted coil and retain the ballast system so you get the advantage of higher voltage spark on start up?

Alec

[IVANHOE]

Some of the coils available are marked 12v ballast.      I believe that these coils are marked as such purely because they are to be used on a 12v vehicle.    They are to be used with a ballast resistor and their working voltage is somewhere around the 6 - 8 volt range. So a coil marked 12v ballast is indeed a straight swap for your lucas coil in a ballasted system....... In my opinion........ a check of the resistance would confirm.

[Pete Lewis]

thats correct all done to aid the confusion that seems to follow this cold start  boosted HT concept .

as for resistance

6-8 volt   = 1.5 ohms across the terminals for cars with ballast/dropped ign feed
12v =  3 ohms   for straight no frills 12v ign feed


Peter

[bob dunn]

Short plank dep here , what do you touch with the red and black probe on the multi metre ?

[drofgum]

Bob,
On an original coil it would be the CB and SW terminals with the coil disconnected. Some newer coils would be marked + and -, others 1 and 15 I think.
                                                                Cheers,
                                                                Paul