Joined: Sat Jan 21 2012, 11:04AM
Location: East Coast
Posts: 58
Hi gang - this is my first post in the 'performance' section
I have a 1966 p with a 318 poly - running with a holley 2bbl and original points + new replacement voltage regulator configuration. Motorcraft replacement plugs gapped to spec and cheap new plug wires that I keep separated. I have some accel wires that I could put on... Recently I acquired an old Accel Super coil ( the BIG yellow one) and I installed it with the proper add-on ballast resistor, along with the original ballast resistor. The car seemed to be running great, better than it had before with the old (not sure if original) coil. Some folks told me that the Super Coil will burn everything up/ or something will be arcing out. Some said I could open up the plug gaps and get more performance. I know Smokey Yunick never supported this type of idea, and Accel stuff usually gets a bad rap, but hey I have one coil and it works. I am most concerned bout MPG. Nothing broke. I got scared as I rely on this car daily, and I returned it back to the way it was.
The holley carb (oem from a 1986 dodge ram) is tuned to the best of my ability, the valves need adjusting but lots of people tell me that they think it runs great.
I know many people recommend using a normal coil and not this big goofy looking thing, but it seemed to really have some juice and I was wondering if anybody had one set up running with stock points? I was considering switching to a dual points distrib- or Maybe I should save the coil for when and if I do a GM HEI conversion? Some said I can run colder plugs with this big coil. There are lots of opinions but nobody seems to be running one with stock points. I just want this thing to run the best I can, as I am putting lots of miles on it and trying to preserve as much of the car as possible. Yeah I know that might sound crazy but I think I cam e to the right place.
just looking to hear about someone's similar experiences / setup / if you are interested..
I would advise against running that coil with stock points. With the amount of current it draws the points will burn pretty quick. If the condenser is not perfect you may develop a misfire if the current arcs across the open points. I ran one of those coils with the Mo-par Electronic conversion years ago. Fantastic spark!!! Heat will kill the coil quickly, so mount it somewhere with a cool breeze. I suggest you save it until you get an electronic ignition rated to handle that coil.
Joined: Wed Nov 17 2010, 03:28PM
Location: florida
Posts: 1311
dont do it,stock coil is fine besides those super coils are crap.if you had elec ignition then a hotter spark could be needed in the right cuircumstance.
Joined: Sat Oct 16 2010, 09:56PM
Location: Brandon, MB
Posts: 364
I know it's not a Mopar, but electricity is electricity. LOL!
I installed one of the big Accel Supercoils on my 390 Ford many years ago and noticed a significant improvement in performance. At first, I only used the ballast resistor that came with the Supercoil (along with the original factory resistance wire). Ford has a resistor wire built in to the ignition system, but even then I didn't have enough resistance. I ended up burning out my points after about 50 miles or so. I had to wire a second ballast resistor in series with the Accel ballast resistor to get it to work. So, I ended up using two ballast resistors in series along with the original factory resistance wire. I never had any more problems and still had a noticeable improvement in performance.
I forget the exact numbers now, it's been awhile, but I believe you need about 2 - 2.5 ohms in the coil circuit to avoid frying the points. The Supercoil by itself is only something like .5 ohms.
Joined: Sat Jan 21 2012, 11:04AM
Location: East Coast
Posts: 58
Thanks for all the input. I'm learning, and got a good multi- function volt meter. I understand that the length of the wires increases resistance, I did my best to keep them short. What is the best way to measure the resistance of the coil circuit, at the end of the stock ballast resistor?
Joined: Sat Aug 19 2006, 05:03PM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2919
The resistance of the wires is negligible in this case, unless you were dealing with a Ford which uses "resistor wire" in place of a ballast resistor.
If you want to measure the resistance of a ballast resistor, their resistance values are very low, so set your meter to the lowest resistance setting. Before measuring the ballast resistor, touch the meter probes together. If the meter does not read exactly 0.00 ohms at this time, you must subtract whatever value it reads from the value when measuring the ballast resistor, to get an accurate measurement.
Joined: Sat Oct 16 2010, 09:56PM
Location: Brandon, MB
Posts: 364
Virgil J. Frothingslosh wrote ...
What is the best way to measure the resistance of the coil circuit, at the end of the stock ballast resistor?
This is how I would do it. First of all, disconnect the original coil and measure the coil's primary resistance. Measure the coil by itself. I think it should give you a reading of something like 1.9 - 2.2 ohms, anyway, let's use those numbers for the sake of argument. Then take the Accel Supercoil and the resistor that came with it and measure the primary resistance of the Accel coil and the Accel ballast resistor together. The resistance will probably still be less than the resistance of the factory coil alone. Add whatever extra ballast resistor you need to make the Accel coil equal to the resistance of the factory coil. So, in other words, the Accel coil plus the Accel ballast resistor (and extra ballast resistor, if needed) wired in series, should equal the primary resistance of the original Chrysler coil, again for the sake of argument aprox 1.9 - 2.2 ohms.
Do NOT include the original ballast resistor in these measurements. Leave the original ballast resistor in the ignition circuit. You will still use it, but do not figure it in to the resistance of the coil circuit because it was already in the ignition circuit and was used with the factory coil.
Of course, you could do it the other way. You could measure the total resistance of the original coil with the original ballast resistor and then try to find a resistor that, when used in series with the Accel coil, would give you a resistance value equal to the factory coil and ballast resistor. Then, of course, you wouldn't re-use the original ballast resistor. I hope this helps.
I agree that the Chrysler factory coils are very good coils. When I converted to electronic ignition I left my original coil and ballast resistor in place. Points and electronic used the same coil anyway. My engine runs much nicer with the electronic system than it did with points.
Joined: Wed May 21 2008, 02:52PM
Location: Machine Shop Hell, IL
Posts: 142
Virgil J. Frothingslosh wrote ...
Recently I acquired an old Accel Super coil ( the BIG yellow one)....Maybe I should save the coil for when and if I do a GM HEI conversion?.....trying to preserve as much of the car as possible. Yeah I know that might sound crazy....
I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but yes, that sounds crazy.
I can 100% see the argument for running points if it's a super-beyond survivor or full resto car or whatever. And of course they work fine with proper maintenance and they've worked for a century and blah blah blah. Awesome.
Outside of that - why? Why would you still bother with points? I had a whole thing typed out about the virtues of a plain bones stock electronic ignition (including appearing more original than an HEI), but I'm sure by now you've heard them all.
P.S. WildAugust, that is some awesome tech, sir!!!
Joined: Thu Mar 22 2007, 08:13AM
Location: In the workshop
Posts: 1063
Dont know if this is of any interest to anybody, but, I found a note that I had written back in the late 70's/early 80's about this coil. at least, I assume its the same coil. I quote directly....
"Accel 14001 coil burns points. 2.5A go through them. Use Ignition Amplifier 35355 and only 0.025A goes through them. Dual point distributor is good for 6500rpm, "racing" dual point with needle bearings good for 8500."
At the time, all this would have been verified on what was then top-of-the-line equipment.
Joined: Thu May 01 2008, 11:15AM
Location: Chicago,IL
Posts: 2868
I ran the yellow beast and points in 97/98 without knowing any better. I went through several sets of points before I changed engines and went elec dizzy with MSD just cause that's what I had laying around.