I just installed the Pertronix ignitor and Flamethrower coil in my son's 67. According to the installation instructions that came with the coil, I need to remove the ballast resistor when I install this (1.5 ohm) coil on an 8 cyl. engine. I'm getting about 6.5 volts at the coil which indicates a resistor of some sort is present. Reading through other threads I foundout mycar hasa pink resistance wire. How do I bypass this wire? Does one end of this existing pink wire connect to the + terminal of the coil, and the other end is at the ignition switch? If so, I guess I would just remove that pink wire, run a new wire from the coil, through the firewall, to the ignition switch, right? I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing before I start messing with the ignition switch. The car starts and runs the way it's hooked up now with the resistor wire, but I guess it would run better if it were getting a full 12 volts to the ignitor. Is it a big deal getting to the ignition switch? I know Soaring said it was a piece of cake, but he know's what he's doing, and I hate electrical work.

Here are the other threads I've read about ballast resistors. I'm just getting confused with all the ways to bypass the resistor.
https://mustangforums.com/m_2679523/tm.htm
https://mustangforums.com/m_3496349/tm.htm

Any help would be appreciated: What wire gauge to use to bypass, how to open the ignition switch and which wire on the switch to bypass.

 

this may help you, http://www.hammar.dyndns.org/~djhamm...66/66ignit.jpg, look at wire 297, 16A and 16. The main disconnect should be the firewall plug. I've found the wirinig in these mustangs are extremely simple and you should be able to locate and bypass the resistor. Thanks for the input. I guess I've gotta get up off my duff and check the input voltage at my coil to make sure mine has been removed also. I just realized I never checked, been running fine for the last year+ as is.

 

I added the pertronix to my car as well. I ran the car just fine for several months without trouble before I ended up replacing all the wiring in my car with a kit from Painless Performance.I was doing the new wiring anyways, had nothing to do with the Pertronix. Having said that though, yes you are supposed to bypass the Pink resistor wire with the Pertronix kit. There is no actual resistor, the wire itself acts as the resistor reducing the volts prior to reaching the coil. I'm not sure if you were aware of that. It took me several hours of peeling away electrical tape and tucked up under the dash before I finally came across a thread on this forum that mentioned that little fact. There are several possible solutions to your problem. I've heard of people splicing into various switched wires, such as the heater wire or other sources. If I were you, just to keep it as clean and as close to original as possible, I would run a regular wire the exact same route as the Pink wire all the way to your ignition switch. Just my preference though. Good luck!

 

I was kinda lazy and didn't feel like finding and buying a new 90* female spade connector for the back of the switch, so I just cut the wire close to the switch and crimped it to a new wire with a butt connector, then ran the new wire out to the coil. Works fine

 

Thanks for your input guys. And your diagram reaaalllly helps this noob out a lot Groho!! Now that I know what to look for, I'll perform the bypass surgery this weekend. If I don't get to it, I assume its still okay to run the Pertronix even though the voltage is only at 6.5. That won't damage it, will it???
One last thing I was thinking about. If by some weird chance the Pertronix ignitor craps out on me when I'm on the road in the middle of nowhere, will I be able to re-install the old points and condenser just long enough to get home? Since I would have bypassed the ballast resistor, will the points get fried right away?

 

Why not just run an extra wire to hook up the pertronix unit and keep the original in case you ever want to go back to original breaker point ignition later on if you are going to sell to someone who wants originality??

 

i have an accell points eliminator and a msd coil on my 65 stang. didnt even think about a resistor wire. is the factory wire going to the coil a resistor on a 65 as well? is so, do i need a constant 12 volts?

 

I don't know if you're aftermarket system "requires" 12 volts or not, but yes, the 65-66 both reduced the voltage to the coil to around 6 volts. Like I said, I didn't know about that either and the Pertronix system worked just fine with 6 volts even though it states in the instructions it "requires" 12 volts. Maybe someone can chime in about what the consequences are, but I honestly didn't notice a difference even after removing the wire and giving the coil the full 12 volts like it wants. Easy enough fix either way.

 

The Pertronix I will run off 6 or 12V. The Pertronix II unit requires a full 12V to function properly.

What he's talking about is the coil itself needing 12V. Some coils are designed for 6V, some for 12V. The coil that comes with his kit requires a full 12V to function properly. The system will likely function ok off 6V, but you won't be getting full voltage to the plugs and therefore shouldn't open them up more than factory spec (.035"). Ideally you bypass the resistor, feed the coil and Pertronix 12V, open your plug gap up to .040" or so, and all works well

 

After I install the Pertronix I and Flamethrower coil, should I regap my plugs to .040"? Is there a noticable difference as opposed to leaving them at .035"? If it makes starting the car easier, I'm all for it.