Carrier ignition electrics

[Lynn Eades]

They come in various forms. You will see its on a board with the cutout.
these were fitted to all ford v8s with the football distributor.
I have seen them with a fuse only(and resistor of course)
The other thing you can do, is buy an adaptor, that allows you to fit a standard coil (6volt), that does away with the resistor.

[charlie fitton]

...were also used on the ford tractors and such, they're pennies a pound through an after-market parts supplier.

[Mike K]

With those 6 Volt systems, running a 4.5 Volt coil, make sure your regulator voltage setting is not set too high.. it's best set at around 7.3 Volts or so... Higher voltage = more current = more heat in that resistor.

My 1941 11d truck had one of the original Ford ceramic resistors and it got very hot , causing loss of voltage at the coil.. I reduced the regulator setting to about 7.3V ( it was up at about 8V ) and the problem was not as bad, although it did continue playing up to a degree and I never really solved it - despite trying a NOS coil and various resistors.

As Lynn said, some people use an adapter, do away with the 4.5 coil system and mount a 6v coil away from the distributor/motor altogether ....

[Big D]

Gidday all,

Thanks for the replies. I actually acquired an ‘official’ 6 volt resistor today and fitted it into the system.

Interestingly this time, the voltage at the coil side of the resistor was 2.6 volts – up from the 1.9 volts with the previous resistor. The voltage on the other side of the resistor is 6.4 volts.

It also measures 2.6 volts at the coil with this resistor in place.

Not the 4.2 volts I would have expected though with the change in resistor.

Adding in the ‘hotwire’ back in from the inspection lamp switch brings the voltage back up to 4.2 volts at the coil. Strange!

I guess it is possible this resistor that I put in is faulty and it has stepped the voltage down too far.

I should have another resistor to try by the weekend, to confirm one way or the other.

Mike – I’m interested in the voltage regulator setting you mentioned. If that was wrong, would that not affect the voltage going into the resistor?

Like you say, fitting the 6 volt coil might save me time in the end but I’m at the point now where I’d like to find out the cause of this.

Cheers
Darryl

[Big D]

Gidday,

Just out of interest I left the new resistor in place, removed the 'hotwire' and fitted the instrument panel back into place. I flicked the ignition switch on, applied full choke and turned the key and within a split second the engine fired into life. That would be the quickest it has ever started for me.

Voltage at the coil was 2.65volts on start up and then lowered to about 1.5 volts as the engine warmed up. I would have thought this would need to be higher for a 4.2 volt coil, but maybe not.

I'll try another resistor and keep monitoring things and see how that goes. I'll also try another voltmeter to make sure I am not getting false readings.


Cheers

Darryl

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Big D

Gidday,

Voltage at the coil was 2.65volts on start up and then lowered to about 1.5 volts as the engine warmed up.



Darryl

Hi Darryl,

The volts at the resistor (and everywhere else!) should go up after the engine starts , not go down .. the gene should kick in and charge the battery at a nominal 7.4 volts or similar, depending on the regulator setting. Your volt readings make no sense ! Does the ammeter on the panel show a charge ?

Yes, a good idea to get another voltmeter and check it.

I know those 4.5 volt coils do behave strange.. I often had a almost dead flat battery and the motor would barely turn over... it would growl and just manage to get over a compression point... despite all of that, the motor would fire and start

Mike