Posts: 10
Threads: 2
Joined: Nov 2023 Bio: Always loved cars since I can remember. Owned several over the years and love to tinker and customize all my vehicles.
Sorry if this has already been addressed but I didn’t find anything specific to my engine.
I have a 68 with a 318. Wanting to get rid of the points and update to electronic distributer. In the near future I also plan to update to EFI. Just trying to figure out what I need.
Anything specific I need to think about now that will be compatible when I switch to EFI?
I found the pertronix conversion to replace my points. I assume I need a coil but which one, there’s different Voltages?
Do I also need to replace the ignition box? Or anything else?
When you run Pertronix, you can bypass the ballast resistor and run full 12V to the coil.
Before you purchase anything, I highly recommend contacting whatever EFI vendor you are going with and see what they recommend. Some will work with with points or a aftermarket points replacement setup, others will not. (Some system induce noise into the negative part of the coil and it interferes with the ECU). I myself went with a MSD all in one setup (ignition controller is built into distributor, alot like the older GM HEI setups were).
And one thing I cannot stress enough.. follow the instructions in the kit. If they say run a dedicated positive/negative lead from battery, then do it. Our older cars are very noisy when it comes to electrical stuff, and last thing a Efi unit hates, is electrical noise.
I love Mopars so much I'm date coding the skid marks in my underwear.
Posts: 10
Threads: 2
Joined: Nov 2023 Bio: Always loved cars since I can remember. Owned several over the years and love to tinker and customize all my vehicles.
(11-25-23, 06:31 PM)67440Dodge Wrote: When you run Pertronix, you can bypass the ballast resistor and run full 12V to the coil.
Before you purchase anything, I highly recommend contacting whatever EFI vendor you are going with and see what they recommend. Some will work with with points or a aftermarket points replacement setup, others will not. (Some system induce noise into the negative part of the coil and it interferes with the ECU). I myself went with a MSD all in one setup (ignition controller is built into distributor, alot like the older GM HEI setups were).
And one thing I cannot stress enough.. follow the instructions in the kit. If they say run a dedicated positive/negative lead from battery, then do it. Our older cars are very noisy when it comes to electrical stuff, and last thing a Efi unit hates, is electrical noise.
Posts: 10
Threads: 2
Joined: Nov 2023 Bio: Always loved cars since I can remember. Owned several over the years and love to tinker and customize all my vehicles.
04-06-24, 06:02 PM (This post was last modified: 04-06-24, 06:07 PM by 68moreDoor.)
Finally back working on this after the cold weather. Swapped out points for pertronix ignitor 3 inside original distributor, and new flame thrower coil. I have not gotten it to fire up yet and wondering if I miswired something or did something wrong. This is my first time replacing points and upgrading the ignition.
I was told to take the ballast resistors out and did so replacing with a relay. I’m pretty sure I hooked the relay correctly but do I even need one?
Was I suppose to take out both resistors?
I’ll try to post a pic of what I removed.
Here’s what I removed
The smaller one was mounted beside the coil and the long one was on the firewall next to the ignition box
The smaller one is a capacitor, dunno why it was there, possibly a poor mans MSD setup? The white one is your ballast resistor.
The only reason for the ballast resistor is to reduce the voltage at the points to make them last longer. Cars without ones usually have them in the coil itself. Electronic ignitions will work with them, but the are not necessary.
I love Mopars so much I'm date coding the skid marks in my underwear.
Posts: 10
Threads: 2
Joined: Nov 2023 Bio: Always loved cars since I can remember. Owned several over the years and love to tinker and customize all my vehicles.
(04-06-24, 09:17 PM)67440Dodge Wrote: The smaller one is a capacitor, dunno why it was there, possibly a poor mans MSD setup? The white one is your ballast resistor.
The only reason for the ballast resistor is to reduce the voltage at the points to make them last longer. Cars without ones usually have them in the coil itself. Electronic ignitions will work with them, but the are not necessary.
ok, so sounds like you’re saying neither one is necessary for my setup, which is what I understood to begin with. In place of the ballast, I have run a relay. I think I have the wires ran correctly, but would love to verify if I wired it right. Anyone have the wiring schematic for that ballast?
04-11-24, 03:49 PM (This post was last modified: 04-11-24, 03:50 PM by 67440Dodge.)
Hard to tell without seeing the pinout on the relay if it's right or not. Here's the schematic for the resistor. 2 wires in (blue and brown), 1 wire to coil (blue). Click on it to see it right side up.
Just curious, why running a relay? The coil doesn't get any voltage until the ignition switch is in the run or start position.
I love Mopars so much I'm date coding the skid marks in my underwear.
Posts: 10
Threads: 2
Joined: Nov 2023 Bio: Always loved cars since I can remember. Owned several over the years and love to tinker and customize all my vehicles.
(04-11-24, 03:49 PM)67440Dodge Wrote: Hard to tell without seeing the pinout on the relay if it's right or not. Here's the schematic for the resistor. 2 wires in (blue and brown), 1 wire to coil (blue). Click on it to see it right side up.
Just curious, why running a relay? The coil doesn't get any voltage until the ignition switch is in the run or start position.
Thanks so much for the helpful info. I elected to use a relay after reading Pertronix suggestion to do so.
I was able to confirm that I had the correct wiring thanks to the diagram you provided. I still couldn’t understand why I could not get my car to start until I looked back over and realized I had the ignition wire on the negative terminal of the coil. Duh!
Now it’s running again.
