have been reading some old threads and im not sure about the ballast resistor wiring I have.I have connected the electronic ignition red wire to the positive on the coil and black to the negative ,what do I do with the ballast wiring ,I have 1 black wire that branches off to both sides of the resistor and a yellow that goes to the positive on the coil.I havnt started the car yet-

 

Are you using the stock coil or the flamethrower? If you are using the stock coil, use figure 3 in the instructions link below. If using a flamethrower use figure 2.
http://www.pertronix.com/support/man...nitor6vneg.pdf

 

Good luck with your Pertonix. Some people use them for years. Mine left me on the side of the road after about two years. I went back to points after that and carry an extra set with me along with a condenser, rotor and resister.

 

Thanks for the diagram does that mean I put the yellow wire on 1 side of the resistor and red on other and do away with the existing resistor wires?

 

The yellow wire goes to the coil+ terminal.

 

Thanks ,I realise after I sent the thread that that wouldn't work looks,that resistor got me beat ,how can 1 wire to the resistor work and nothing from the resistor to the coil ,that 1 wire splits to both sides of the resistor,I'm using the orginal coil ,maybe I'll just hook up the red wire to the positive side of the coil and see what happens ,I was just worried if I didn't wire it up correctly I would bugger it up,thanks for the help

 

I don't understand your black wire going to both sides of the resistor. Your wiring is going to look like the middle diagram with the addition of the yellow wire from the starter that will connect to the coil+ terminal or the resistor on the opposite side to where the ignition switch wire connects. There needs to be a wire that runs from the resistor to the coil+
.

 

Thanks- that what I thought, but there's no wire from the resistor to the coil ,ive had the car for 4 yrs and runs great, thought I'd put electronic ignition in as was told would perform better and this is what I found so I'll wired it the right way and let you know how it performs thanks for your help

 

The only way your car will run is if there is a connection somehow from the resistor to the coil+ terminal. It may go from the resistor to the starter solenoid and then to the coil+ but it has to have voltage there.

 

Well I wired it like the 2nd diagram ,wont start ,have spark at coil lead but maybe it's not as fat as it should be.the pertronix I have is a 1183 - have I got the wrong one ,do I need a resistor? Maybe I should wire it without it,I dont think it was working anyway ,sorry all the questions but its getting pretty frustrating !

 

When I had the Pertronix in my 54 I never used the resistor. I did have the Pertronix coil through. It is pretty simple to move the wire from the secondary side of the resistor to the primary side and then you have a full 12 volts. This is what the third diagram shows. I would wire it like the third one and see if it starts.

 

That is the correct unit, your timing may be off. Try advancing the distributor. Did you also check to see if there is fuel spraying from the carb when you operate the throttle linkage?

If you wired it as per the middle picture and hooked up the yellow wire that comes from the starter to the coil+ terminal you will have 12v to the coil when the key is in the start position.

If you want to just isolate the ignition from the rest of wiring, temporarily wire as per figure 3, connect a jumper from the battery to coil plus terminal and see if it starts. If it does run, you need to remove the jumper and turn off the key to stop the engine,

 

As an "aside" to you current project, if you'd prefer to have the newer style cap with window, the wider rotor, and the more convenient shaft lubricator, the distributor from the 1956 Olds is a direct exchange.

 

Thanks for all the advice it's back firing through the carb so the timing must be out hopefully have it shorted tomorrow