1954 Ford 239V8 "HOT" coil problem

[DOMS54]

Have installed Pertronix coil and tested for a coil resistor. Test indicates a resistor is somewhere in the coil circuit.If the test is correct,the resistor must be removed for this coil to function properly.Does anyone know if there is a coil resistor in this car? I cant find one.Thanks for any help. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

[Guest stude8]

There are two possibilities I can think of, the power wire to the coil might be a resistive link device. Disconnect it at each end and measure its resistance with an ohm meter. It should not register anything greater than .5 ohms I would guess, if it show resistance replace it with a length of #16 AWG wire. Second thought is the coil itself has an internal resistor which is probably not bypassable? Stude8

[Ron Green]

I have install a few of these units and the one vehicle had a resistor wire in the harness which short of cutting apart made it difficult to properly install the Pertronix unit as you must have 12 volt. I simply ran a new wire to the fuse block that is hot with a full 12 volts when the ignition switch is in the on position.

There are typically a few spare switched power terminals on most fuse blocks. Check using a light or tester, preferably a tester.

Also check the coil. The coil I believe must be between 3 and 5 ohms resistance on a 4 cylinder engine and between 1 and 3 ohms on a 8 cylinder engine. Check between the + and - terminals.