Oil leakage is the usual cause of coil
failure – and fortunately it gives you a lot of warning. My Gold 68 ran
for about 10 years with seepage from the coil, I finally replaced it because I didn’t
like the mess, but it never actually quit. The oil is there as a high voltage
insulator, so theoretically, you would get into internal arcing if the oil all
drained out.
I hope you saw the correction Bob Merritt
sent in to my statement about the ballast resistor not being able to interfere
with starting – that is not true for 1956!
Dick
From:
mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of JCantor791@xxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 3:03
AM
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: IML: Ballast Resistor
Dick,
I understand the circuit NOW and was headed on the right track yesterday when
sitting at my computer typing in that description but I didn't understand it
last week when I was testing it. If I had, I never would have bothered
looking at it as the car isn't having any of the performance problems you
describe. I had simply been looking at the resister since the coil is
definitely on its way out with low resistance on the secondary and signs of
some oil leakage.
BTW, on a related note, I just wanted to put in a moderately good word for Mr.
Bernbaum. While they're customer service may be a bit gruff, I was
extremely impressed with their speed and pricing. The tune-up kit, coil,
and wires I finished ordering last Thursday at 5pm were on my door step by the
same time Friday. And I paid less for all of that than just wires and a
coil would have cost me elsewhere.
Jeff
'56 Sedan
Trenton, NJ
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