[chrisp]

I am working on a 64 gto that has a Petronix ignitor ignition with a regular points coil and no ballast resistor , car runs great . I am concerned about incorrect wiring as it has the original resistor wire , should i change it[resistor wire] , should i add a ballast resistor ? And second question i have is , i have 2 tachs [64 original gto GM units ] 1 is a points unit with 1 terminal . the other is from a transistorized ignition and has 2 terminals . I am unsure as how to wire the tach. and which 1 to use ? There is no other wiring or terminals other than the light bulbs that plug in . Thank you

[george kujanski]

If you have the Ignitor (not the Ignitor II), the coil should still be fed from the resistor wire, but the Pertronix module should get a feed from the switched ignition, (i.e. not thru the resistor), IIRC. They have a wiring diagram on their website.

You can use the 1 wire tach with the Pertronix Ignitor; it acts like your points. I'd have to check my records for the transistorized igniton tach wiring, tho.

George

[chrisp]

Should i change the 1 resistor wire then , is it ignition #1 or #2 wire ? Thank you

["QUICK-SILVER"]

Resistance wire stays intact for the coil. 'Pertronix Ignitor' will need a new wire run to it that by-passes the resistor wire so that it gets full battery voltage all the time.

IGN 1 is run position on the ignition switch. It's a pink wire at the ignition switch and powers other things BEFORE the resistor wire splice.
IGN 2 is non resisted 12 volts to the coil for cranking. It's only hot with key in start/crank position.
Both IGN 1 & IGN 2 go to the same terminal 1 in the bulkhead connector inside the car. Diagram shows one wire under hood from bulkhead connector to coil (+).

Power for the Ignitor. If you don't have a terminal in the fuse box thats hot in both crank and run, splicing to pink IGN 1 near or at the ignition switch will work. IGN 1 should stay hot with switch in run and crank positions.

DO NOT use 12 volt accessory source for the Ignitor.

Diagrams do not show exact location of resistor wire. Just that it's after indicator lights and goes to bulkhead connector terminal 1.

Diagrams attached compliments of tOCMP.

[chrisp]

Should i remove the resistor wire , i have the dash wiring out , and i see a white colored cloth/ribbed wire hidden in the harness that attaches to the ign. 1 pink wire. Thank you

["QUICK-SILVER"]

Originally Posted by chrisp

Should i remove the resistor wire , i have the dash wiring out , and i see a white colored cloth/ribbed wire hidden in the harness that attaches to the ign. 1 pink wire. Thank you

Pertronix directions says to leave the resistor wire. The "white colored cloth/ribbed wire" you found is the high resistance wire. Just run power to the Ignitor from the pink wire before it gets to the resistance wire.

I've got a set of directions that came with an old ignitor. On them it doesn't have a diagram of GM wiring with a resistance wire. So looking at their diagrams can make things a bit confusing. They are clear in the written directions about keeping and using the resistance wire.

The original Ignitor charges the coil the same way points did. Without the resistance wire the coil would over heat.

Just guessing & FWIW. Sounds like you're wanting to use an after market chrysler type ballast resistor. Parts stores keep the white rectangle shaped ballast resistors in stock for a good reason, and that's failure rate. Myself, I can't recall seeing a resistance wire go bad under normal conditions.

[chrisp]

That is good , i bought the car with the unit installed , just wanted to do it right . I thank you very much .