The Dodge Challenger Message Board

Yes a short will drop the voltage. So will a heavy load such as cranking. Which is why you need a ballast resistor so there is enough voltage for the ignition when cranking. I suspect the starter motor is the villain in this.

dave-r wrote:Yes a short will drop the voltage. So will a heavy load such as cranking. Which is why you need a ballast resistor so there is enough voltage for the ignition when cranking. I suspect the starter motor is the villain in this.

Thanks!

Are the ignition wire to relay supposed to goe thrue the ballast resistor by the way? (Is that going thrue the bulkheads?)



I try to look at different electrical wiring diagrams, but none of them really match the wiring in my car.

Was -68 Charger using another style of alternator regulator, because it don't look the same as i will recall from the Challenger. In pic, at the right corner.... Is it supposed to look that way?


(I had up to 14,7v when giving some throttle....)

I am used to 13,7-14,3 as normal, i hope more is not hurting anything

(None of the wiring diagrams have extra wire from ignition to solenoid terminal..... Only one cable from terminal on relay and down to solenoid. Pherhaps i cut that extra ignition wire, that is spliced up and connected to the solenoid terminal from ignition....(?)

I already grounded the transmission terminal, where it also was spliced up and connected a wire from ignition power.

Now i only hope i got enough power when i get the new starter on place.

But... Anybody else seen this model of wiring? (A ignition wire, spliced up not only to ignition terminal, but for the solenoid terminal aswell? And for transmission...

Should you remove the ignition cable connected to the solenoid terminal?

The ballast resistor is to lower the voltage to the coil. Nothing else. The coil is a 10 volt coil. If it got full battery voltage it would overheat.

When you crank an engine over the starter motor puts a huge load on the battery which drops the system voltage a couple of volts. So when cranking the ballast resistor is by-passed (by the start position on the ignition switch) so the coil gets the same voltage it usually gets.