The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Did I say 'standard and unmolested' what I meant to say was ' what have I got' just tested the coil as per the link and I get 10v at the coil, so no ballast resistor? Under a very old unreadable sticker stamped on the coil it reads 'use with external resistor' where is this resistor or where should it be? Anyone want to buy a Lumenition, maybe for sale in the near future

Mad Mart wrote:Coils on our Dollies are neither 12V nor 6V and neither are ballasted or non ballasted. They are 1.5 Ohm or 3 Ohm if you have by-passed the ballast resistor. You use the 1.5 ohm if you are using standard ballasted system ie. have a ballast resistor in series rated at 1.5 Ohms. On a Sprint the ballast resistor is just a length of wire (I think it's about five feet long) which adds a resistance of 1.5 Ohms to the circuit.

This is correct and sums up the situation in just 4 lines with no off topic issues.
Note the words " On our Dollies" .
Tony.

What, how many contradiction's .... neither ballasted or non ballasted, yet I may have by passed the ballast resistor and if I have a standard 1.5 ohms system ie. I have a ballast resistor in series, which may be a wire. So it is ballasted unless I've bypassed it, in which case it's not! So in summary it's either (not neither) ballasted or non ballasted. Time for me to retreat to my box as this sums up nothing for me.

I was talking about the coils themselves not being ballasted or non-ballasted. But yes, the 1.5 Ohm coil fits in a "ballasted system" and the 3.0 Ohm coil does not. I don't think I could have explained it any clearer?

Have a look at these videos:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec7gSyVrh4g

There are four in total.

Seriously, it's not you, it's me....Your last post is clearer to me than the previously quoted one, I think explaining simple things is complicated. Especially when you already throught you knew what was going on,....Thanks all.

To add, the 1,5 Ohm coil must be a coil for a ballasted system. Not every 1,5Ohm coil is suitable for a ballasted system.

You can with an amp meter also check if the setup is suitable and in good condition. Have an amp meter from the coil neg to ground and measure the amps. You can also add a 5 amp fuse from coil neg to your module. If something fails the fuse blows and not your module.

Jeroen

Fitted the lumention all wired up ok, and went on a 20 mile road test today, to sum up in a word PERFECT!!!

Thank alot guys for all the info

Steve

Just to round off this thread I've had a detailed answer to my questions to Lumenition ( Autocar sales ).
Here they are posted with their permission of course.
> Tony,

> 1. Short bursts of high current on starting will not harm the coil or the power module. In addition battery voltage under load will probably drop to around 10.5 V, so the maximum current through the 1.5 Ohm coil is more likely to be around 7 Amps.

> 2. A connection can be made from the coil positive to the starter motor relay connection without harming the module or the coil as noted above.

> 3. The MS3 coil and ballast resistor combination has been replaced by the MS4. For both coils a connection can be made from the coil positive to the starter motor relay without causing any problems.

> If you vehicle had a cold start function before the Lumenition ignition was fitted there would have been a ballast resistor in circuit already. this might have been a separate resistor similar to the BR1 ballast resistor supplied with the MS4 (and MS3) coil but it might also have been a resistive wire fitted in the wiring loom. if you do have a ballast resistor already fitted on the vehicle you can use that instead of the one supplied with the MS4 coil.

> What you should not do is use both, as this will cause progressively weaker sparks as engine speed increases. So it is worth checking if an original resistor is fitted and if so that only one of the resistors is in circuit

Explanations and information is available on our websites at Lumenition.co.uk, Autocar-electrical.com and Autocar-electrical.co.uk.

The main link is http://autocar-electrical.co.uk/product-info

 


> Yours sincerely
>
> Autocar Sales Support
> Steve

> Please visit our website at www.autocar-electrical.co.uk for information and dealer listing for all our product ranges.

HTH,
Tony.