kenmc

Hi all. I have a ceramic part with electrical passing through to my ignition coil, thinking it must be the voltage regulator. However, I can't find any photos to verify this. All external voltage regulators I find are the typical black box type. Do I have some ancient type of regulator or is this something else?

Thanks.

joe_padavano

Um, you do realize that the voltage regulator doesn't connect to the ignition coil, right?


I suspect the item in question looks something like one of these?





Those are aftermarket ballast resistors. They are not factory installed. Someone added this to replace the factory resistor wire built into the harness, apparently.

kenmc

Thanks for responding Joe. That makes sense, the voltage regulator would be at the beginning of the system. My last Olds was a 72 Supreme that was all original, so I never delved into the schematic too much. But, yes, it appears that someone did install the aftermarket ballast resistor.

Here's where I was heading though if you have any ideas: I have a 69 442 with matching engine a transmission, 400 w/ 4-speed, 75,000 miles. The only mods I can find are headers, Street Dominator intake, and Holley double pumper carb. I run it for 30-40 minutes until its good and warm, runs like a champ throughout being cold and to the point I mentioned, has plenty of power throughout. Then, it starts chugging and shutting down on me. I can restart or let it idle for a minute, runs good for a short little while, then cuts out again.

So far, I've cleaned the fuel filter, flushed the cooling system and changed the thermostat to 160 deg, changed the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, points, condenser, and coil. The plugs were a perfect chocolate brown, not even a sign of burning oil and not the least bit white. I've been pointed to the carb, but still think it's electrical. The new coil gave me a solid few hours without any problem until I tried it at a higher speed, then the cutting out was back. The coil was hot to the touch, so maybe a short? Timing or point adjustment maybe?

joe_padavano

Your symptoms sound like the classic clogged inlet sock on the pickup in the fuel tank. As the pump runs, it sucks crud in the tank against the sock, clogging it. The engine stalls, suction stops, and the crud falls back into the tank, only for the cycle to repeat.

droldsmorland

We're here to assist...Troubleshoot with data.

When the problem occurs read the ignition primary voltage and check for spark. A "points" condenser will break down when it gets hot so will a coil. A coil does normally get hot when in normal operation. Keep in mind new parts these days doesn't mean good parts with the glut of inferior overseas crap we have to put up with. High qual USA made ignition parts are the way to go.

The NCRS Corvette vendors supply the good Blue Streak ignition parts. Mid America, Corvette Central, Paragon, Ecklers, et al....

Why was a ballast resistor installed inline with a stock breaker point ignition system? Your voltage could be being "bucked down" way too low, or being double resisted? Low voltage will be more prevalent when the engine is hot and under load. Is the OEM restive coil wire still intact and hooked up? Someone may have installed the ballast because they were burning up points? This can be caused by bad grounds, cheap parts or an improperly wired start circuit to the starter? Verify the starter solenoid is correct and wired correctly for a 3 terminal solenoid. I recommend sourcing the correct diagram/schematic for your 9.

Safely (Tee into) hook up a fuel pressure gauge inline with the carb and observe the fuel pressure when the problem occurs. It could be the sock as Joe suggests or a few other things. Remember everything rubber on this car including the fuel and brake lines could be approaching 50 years old! Get creative and tape the gauge to the windshield so you can see it while road testing...please think fuel safety here! We dont want to burn you or your 9.

Once the all the above is ruled-out consider heat soak on the carb in combination with ethanol gas. Never use ethanol gas in a carbureted engine. More on heat soak at your request.

You said you cleaned the fuel filter? Are you using the sintered brass filter in the carb air horn versus the pleated paper filter? If so toss the brass filter in favor of the OEM paper style. The brass filters are restrictive when new. They degrade over time when microscopic contamination builds up. If you attempted to clean a pleated paper filter Ill bet part of the prob is there. Put in a new filter, observing the correct orientation.

Timing and dwell settings have been posted many times. But I'll do it again. 30* dwell (.016-.018" gap). 10-12-14* base timing. 8-10* added when the vacuum advance is hooked up. The remainder (centrifugal advance) all in by 26-28-3000 RPM for a grand total of about 36-40* at 26-3000RPMs.
Keep in mind this is a starting point for an average street Olds at sea level, warm, at curb idle, 91-93+ octane at about 80*f ambient temps. Combine and alternate between timing and air fuel adjustments to obtain your final "tune".