My plan was to use these connectors and then wrap everything inside the plastic sheathing and then tape everything close once and hopefully for all once I know everything is as it should.

I have wasted already alot of rolls of friction tape because I thought I had everything there but later found out I was missing something like a resistor wire.

Are you saying than that a mid eighties pick-up will have this wire. I am clear on how the harness runs up the column to the switch, that is no problem, just want to clarify the application you are thinking of and location. Thanks

 

Thanks, couple of questions though, maybe I am just missing something.....I dont understand what you mean when you say .......it runs from the ignition switch on the column to the connectors on the wheel cover..............what is wheel cover.......Ok never mind, you mean it runs from the ignition switch all the way outside the cab on top of the plastic wheel liner.


Is it really that long....and this is an 86 pickup.....Do I need to have that much wire, how long do I need it to be?

Next picture year of vehicle I do not see given, I dont see a clue on its length but I am guessing long.

I am also seeing a wire that looks to be quite a bit of a heavier gauge than what my # 20 pink wire is.

This looks like its going to be a challenge wading thru all of this.

 

Yes, the plastic cover (what you call a liner) under the hood, covering the tire and wheel.

The resistor wire is lots thicker than a 20-gauge wire, but it's mostly a sort of rubbery insulation as I recall. And, it's labeled as a resistor wire with printing.

As far as length and such, I'll let Gary answer to that as I'm sure he has it down to the nanometer by this time... You need a length that will reduce your voltage down to ~7V in RUN (using a wire of a given impedance). In 80-86, that was from the column switch to the wheel cover using the impedance of wire they supplied.

Gary I'm sure will answer in excruciating detail....

 

I think I'm gonna backtrack some. Correct myself.

I *think* that red wire on the ignition-switch connector leads to a splice, into which it splices into the resistor wire. Not positive, but I think.



Also... I'm surprised Franklin hasn't brought this up - or, maybe he has and I missed it. Isn't there an externally-mounted resistor available at parts stores, intended for Chrysler vehicles?

 

I believe it was brought up but I mentioned that I would rather stick with all Ford products if possible. Here is a Chrysler product ballast resistor.

I guess that it would seem that this may be the way to go. Id rather have this little guy hanging somewhere out of site than have ( potentially at this point ) 12 feet of Ford wire coiled up somewhere in the loom. Makes no sense to do it that way.

Hard to believe that Ford did not offer an external ballast resistor at any point but I have googled the heck out of it and nothing.

I have done everything I can to stick with all Ford stuff in my truck, I have not used so much as a clip off anything else that was in the scrapyard but I am a Dodge guy anyway so this would not be too bad.


I need to correct something myself, I said that I had run this truck for years without one of these, well this is true but I had forgotten that when I was running this engine in the 68 I was running the original 68 harness, not this harness that I am using now and when I was running the fuel injected 302 in this 52 with this harness I guess I just did not need one according to a previous post so I was jumping the gun by stating that.

Thanks to everyones help though I understand where I am at with this thing now, on my way today to find one of these little doohickeys ( I cant believe spell check didn't try and correct that one ) and maybe by the time I get back there will be some more info that will help on this whole mess. Thanks again guys

 

Details are a huge help, for guys like me that are detailed oriented it gives us a chance to learn something new and interesting and we still have the choice on just how **** we want to get with it.

I hate the one liners.

 

ya know i messed with a ford ranchwagon with a 68 cougar running gear in it. it did have a ballast resistor on the intake. i dont know what year the resistor was. it was a little rectangle with i believe 3 connections on it. 2 in 1 out. wish i had a picture. heck i dont even know that it was ford specific, but this sounds right up your alley. the wagon was a 56.

 

Good luck on that one maybe, I think I will get a Chrysler and paint if Ford Blue

 

If it makes you feel better, the new resistors are probably made in China with all the other Ford/Chevy/ Dodge parts now. So you are putting Chinese parts on your truck, not Chrysler parts

Also I caught something in your post you should not do. Do not wrap this resistor up in the harness out of site somewhere. It gets hot. Needs to be mounted out in the open away from anything it can melt. They are usually mounted on the firewall out in the open somewhere. If you want to hide it , I would find a open area under the dash away from firewall padding and any other wires.

 

Thats so true, I guess I should feel better but thats a tough one to accept.

Anyway of testing one of these, I picked up a bunch at the yard today and am curious.

I'd imagine put a 12 volt battery lead at one end and see what comes out the other ( maybe what 6 7 8 )

BTW what happens to the rest? Heat dissipation?

Safe to say I can mount it anywhere along that line that goes into the coil, maybe it has to be close to the coil, maybe it does not matter.

Does not look there are any provisions for it to be grounded?

Maybe I am misunderstanding how they work all together

 

Yes, it's dissipated as heat. That's why it's pretty large, and needs clearance around it from flammable materials.

If you hook one end to 12v, and put your meter on the other terminal, you are going to get 12v. You will get 12v because there is no current flow(the little bit the meter causes is not enough) to cause a voltage drop through the resistor.

Now if you hooked one end to 12v, hook the other end to the coil +, and hook the coil minus to the negative of the battery or your 12v supply, and then measured the terminal going from the resistor to the coil, then you would get something less than 12v, since the coil has enough current going through it(it will draw this current through the resistor also) to cause a voltage drop on the output of the resistor.

By the time you get this thing wired up, you will be a electrical expert at vehicle wiring. It may be a new career for you. You can certainly see the problems with these "universal" harnesses.

 

I am going to do this test as will and report back, not quite there yet though.

I did not know any better when I purchased the harness, this truck was first attempt at a build-up starting from scratch. Its a hole different ballgame than just swapping drivetrains ect.

I am not in the least un-happy with the harness. They made it very simple for me to understand better how and where an automobile gets what it needs to be powered up.

Maybe I would have experienced this as well with a more model specific harness but if I were working with a harness that was set-up to do exactly what I am doing than I would not have had the opportunity to learn all of the details I have learned here.

Thanks for the info

 

One other thing I would like to consider is the possibility of wiring this system so that the points have no chance of fusing should I be sitting there with the key on listening to the radio or working out back with the lights on. Maybe this is as simple as placing an on off switch within the # 20 wire?

 

A slick way to do it would be to find a dash mount keyswitch that would fit the hole, and have a backwards accessory position on it. But I have no idea if one of the later Ford switches would have this. Maybe you can go up and ask in one of the 60's or 70's truck forums. They used panel mounted switches on up into the 70's didn't they?

And your extra switch idea would work also, and it would also double as a anti-theft device if you didn't label it. The truck would crank but would not fire till the added switch was flipped.

 

I have a toggle switch on the side of the fuse panel, came with the kit but thats probably to kill it all. Will have to check it out, thanks