Oscilloscopes...

[Gone for diving]

On old tractors the coil is normally 6v on a 12v system. The ballast resistor is to make it more like 6v when running.
You can now get 12v coils, then you don't need the resistor...
My guess is 6v systems were the norm.
Then they kept making the same coil. And just added an extra part for 12v...


Why is it called ballast resistor...
it just a wire wound resistor.... unless it was used in something else

 

[Gone for diving]

BTW, no one has answered one of my questions: which was the first emission control device?

Want to say air pump... but I am sure its wrong....
they probably emission stuff like in the 1920s but it probably was more for fuel savings...

 

[broncobowsher]

Want to say air pump... but I am sure its wrong....
they probably emission stuff like in the 1920s but it probably was more for fuel savings...

PCV system

 

[The Chairman]

PCV system

This is it. Before that we had drip tubes which is where the term "black ice" originated. At the beginning of a rain, all the drips from those drip tubes that had collected at every stop sign and stop light floated to the surface and it was a cause of many a wreck. Today, black ice means something far different.

 

[The Chairman]

My guess is 6v systems were the norm.
Then they kept making the same coil. And just added an extra part for 12v...

That's an interesting thought.

 

[TrimixToo]

Only Chrysler bypassed the resistor during start up, if I remember correctly. They were used on both US and import models, but don't ask me which ones. Those were 60 years ago. Coils never ran hot, unless you left the key on, engine off. Kids would turn the car off and then back on to listen to the radio. Many would fry the coil if the points were closed. Even if they didn't fry the coil, they could fuse the points together. The smell of an overheated coil is simply horrible. Much worse than a ballast resistor on fluorescent lights. Thinking on it, I think you could buy coils that needed an external ballast, or those that had an internal one. It's been 60 years, after all, but controlling current was its job. I think I only had to replace one in all my 30-year career. I replaced far more coils and scads of points and condensers.

Datsun, too. Possibly Toyota as well. Been a long, long time. I had a Chrysler car at one point (possibly a Volare). It wouldn't hold a front end alignment for more than 8K miles. I carried two spare ballast resistors because one wasn't enough. It ate them with dismaying frequency. A coil can be designed to work just fine without a "ballast" (appropriate adjective, if you ask me) resistor. But in any case, all the cars I had or worked on with ballast resistors had them taken out of circuit during engine start. "Starts right up and dies when you let the key go" was the defining symptom.

I wasn't, when I make money twisting nuts, interested in working on American or Italian cars. I was happy to work on Japanese, German, and even English ones.

 

[TrimixToo]

On old tractors the coil is normally 6v on a 12v system. The ballast resistor is to make it more like 6v when running.
You can now get 12v coils, then you don't need the resistor...
My guess is 6v systems were the norm.
Then they kept making the same coil. And just added an extra part for 12v...


Why is it called ballast resistor...
it just a wire wound resistor.... unless it was used in something else

Its called a "ballast" resistor because it adds weight to the car.

 

[The Chairman]

I was happy to work on Japanese, German, and even English ones.

Add French, Italian, and the odd Lada and those were my domain. Oh yeah, Swedish too, but those were mostly after 1980. Saabs have the easiest clutch to replace. Give me ten minutes, but please don't pop it afterwards.

 

[Tracy]

Add French, Italian, and the odd Lada and those were my domain. Oh yeah, Swedish too, but those were mostly after 1980. Saabs have the easiest clutch to replace. Give me ten minutes, but please don't pop it afterwards.

Never changed one on a saab, but were they really easier than a beetle? It is hard to imagine an easier clutch.

 

[The Chairman]

Never changed one on a saab, but were they really easier than a beetle? It is hard to imagine an easier clutch.

A Beetle took about 30 to 40 minutes. A Saab took 10. Pop the cover off. Slip in the retaining spacer. Undo the pressure plate, torque the new one in, don't forget to replace the Throw-up bearing . Yeah, you had to switch the retaining spacer out between. I'm stupid and engine stayed in place. It really took ten minutes. Popping the clutch before you broke it in, put too much torque on that funky pinion gear and trashed the I'm stupid. Slow and easy for a couple hundred miles.

I still have that spacer for the Saab. I still have the 36mm impact, and flywheel lock for the Beetle too. I don't sell my tools. I've had them walk. I've had tool chests stolen. Now they are my hedge against the unseen. I have tools from my dad and the late 60s that I bought. They're my get out of broke free card.