I changed the original points distributer to an HEI but an having power issues. Is there a ballast resister on 67 fords somewhere that I missed? With the key in the on position I get 13 volts but the power goes down to 7.5 volts when I hit the starter switch? WTH? I don't see anything like a ballast resister under the hood? Could it be under the dash or on the column somewhere. I have a 67 Falcon Futura with original wiring.
Not sure about Ford or your Falcon, but GM used a wire with internal resistance. There was no separate ballast resistor. When you convert any early GM vehicle to HEI, you must run a dedicated 12V feed (10 gauge recommended) to the distributor.
Unk: You put a G.M. HEI distributor into a Ford? That seems like a lot of work to me. Would have been easier to drop in the Ford electronic ignition system, which does seem to work very well, and last a LONG time. I don't know the specifics of the HEI system, nor much about adapting them to the Ford engine. Good luck with this one.
It's not a "GM HEI" it's a Delco HEI and it's a drop in distributor made for the 351 Ford. After market stuff you know. I always liked the Delco HEI in Chevys because they are inexpensive and they work very well. The large cap makes for excellent spark separation and they can make 45,000 volts in stock form. I have seen $500.00 Mallory units that only make 35,000 volts. Look in a few catalogs man. These things are out there. Now then,.. About that resistor?
X2 on the resistor wire. I know a few of the guys over at the fordsix.com forum have been swapping out their ignitions for HEI systems, and the topic comes up every now and then. I haven't followed it because I prefer the DS2 system. Did a little searching around there on ignition swaps and came across this for a '67 mustang:
Ford used a resistor wire to drop the coil voltage to between 7 and 9 volts. I think at start the ignition circuit bypasses the resistor wire to give the coil a little extra kick. The HEI ignitions run at 12 V all the time.
Vista is right, during start the resistor wire is overridden by12v taken right off the start relay. Many recommend if upgrading to electronic requiring 12v constant, to leave the resistor wire installed but not hooked up and run in a 12v source beside it so it's easy to go back to original points system should the electroinics fail. 'Course this is good if say just switching from points to Pertronix but doesn't help much if running a distributor designed for eletronics only.
No you don't i have done this HUNDREDS of times in 74 and down GM's and NEVER had to run a separate power wire EVER! Always used the wiring that goes to the coil and it's all good!
The HEI system is designed to run on 12V. Without a full 12V feed, you might experience ignition issues. I'm glad you haven't encountered any of those problems.
I'm not into GM's nor HEI. My boat however has a pair of 454's that were running points and they each had a step down resistor mounted off the stock coil which I had to take out to convert to Pertronix II distributors and coils.
Love Pertronix. they are easy to install and they work well. I wanted an HEI because of the spark tower separation and the ease of installation. I can also buy a 70,000 volt coil for $70.00 buck too! Had a Pertronix in my 65 Ranchero and loved it. Much easier than points and it didn't hurt me in the class of racing I was running. I would recommend them to anyone running points and looking for a change.
I wound up running a separate wire from a 12 volt source and it works now. Thanks for the help guys. Love the shade tree mechanics method to auto repairs here.
