20 replies to this topic

[lrostoke]

OK please explain I am generally interested no just arguing.

The ballast wire is not fused, so where does this fuse go that stops the ballast wire melting and taking the loom with it.

How will fitting a fuse to the supply for the ignitor stop the ballast wire melting ???

[lrostoke]

Firstly the ballast wire is fused, go check that wiring diagram......

Already did



1989 wiring diagram but all pretty much the same

 coilwire.JPG   39.97K   15 downloads

With out showing the full diagram hopefully we can take it the WHITE wire is unfused, its direct from the ignition switch. Which is fed by the unfused BROWN perminent 12v

P/W is the ballast wire, this is connected to the WHITE wire on the unfused side of the fuse box. The GREEN wires are the fused side.

Anyway end of day its one of those topics people will have different views on, unfused is how the factory does it, but I guess if you use the right rated fuse then no harm in adding one

[lrostoke]

If your girlfriends is like the picture youve posted its unfused, follow the ballast wire it goes back to the white wire which is unfused.

[TheOldOne]

Hi all
Sorry to butt in but i have a 72 clubman with none standard engine (1098 with 12G295 Head)
Not electrically minded but i have a Aldon ignitor to fit but how do i tell if my car has ballast coil or not.

Regards
Tony

[lrostoke]

72 will be non ballast, I doubt somebody retro fitted it.

But check the coilwiring, If you have a pink/white wire on the positive then thats a ballast

[dklawson]

Dilligaf, I can see why you think that the ballast wire is fused, but like Steve and I said, it is not.

Yes, there is fuse #48 shown in your schematic. However, you have to look at what happens if you remove that fuse. The white wire gets power from the ignition switch (unfused). If you remove fuse #48, the pink/white wire still gets power... it is the GREEN wires on the left side of fuse #48 that become "dead". The fuse protects the "green" wires, not the white or pink/white.

Regarding fusing the Ignitor, when you put an inline fuse on the module's RED wire, that protects nothing. As I said earlier, that fuse would need to blow at very low current because the only draw on the red wire would be the current required by the electronics inside the module. If you fuse the ballast wire, you will need to select a fuse that will not blow in response to inrush currents. I have no idea what that would require. That's a calculation for an electrical engineer.

TheOldOne, checks with a multimeter will quickly tell you what ignition system you have. Mark and disconnect the coil low tension wires. Measure the resistance in Ohms across the coil's low tension terminals. If you find 1-2 Ohms, you have a ballast coil. If you measure about 3 Ohms you have a standard coil. Put the wires back on and place a coin between the points under the dizzy cap. Set your meter to measure volts and and turn the ignition switch to the run position. Measure between the coil (+) terminal and earth. If you measure about 12V, you have wiring for a standard coil. If you measure 6-9 Volts, the wiring is for a ballast coil. (The coil (+) terminal will be the one that DOES NOT have the white/black wire on it.)