im putting in a new distributor and i need help with the supply of electricity. where does the stock one come from and what kind of wire should i use. i have a proform distributor.
I am not sure about your specific distributor, but all the ones I have used get hot wire from hot side of the coil...It is a small wire too, maybe 16 gauge... If you look on the top of the coil, there are two small posts on each side of the main wire that goes to the center of the distributor cap, one should have a - on it and the other a +. The + goes to the positive wire on the distributor, and the - to the negative wire.
Im not sure about the Proform Dist. But the stock HOTWIRE is a resistor wire, So if the new Dist. calls for a full 12 volts this wire cant supply the voltage other than at idle. You can use this wire to power the trip on a 12 volt relay. P>S> if you measure the voltage on this wire with no load it will measure 12 volts, But trust me with a load it will not give the voltage the dist needs, (ask me how i know)
If your distributor is an electronic unit you will have to find the specs on whether or not you need a full 12 volts or not. If not or if your distributor uses points then you can use the regular coil wire to the coil and a wire from the negative side of the coil to the distributor. In either event the paperwork should tell you what is needed and how to connect it.
Mavaholic, With some electronic ignitions both wires from the coil go to the distributor but power is supplied with a 12V wire from the ignition switch. That power wire goes to the coil+ and then to the distributor, along with the coil- wire. There is also a ground wire but that is usually done inside the distributor. It all depends on the type of ignition that is being run.
the ignition system i have is the proform hei sytem....this one http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=PRO-66969R&N=700+115&autoview=sku ive been reading up and it says a simple 12V wire will do and on ford muscle connected the same one that went to the positive side of the stock coil. heres the article.http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2004/09/DUIdistributor/index.php
It says that they used the standard ignition wire that went to the original coil. That wire is a resistor wire and does not deliver 12 V. It does make the installation a lot easier though.
The "Igniter" system by Actronic and others that don't use a controller box or amplifier. They are called "Induction Ignition System" and all the parts are found in the distributor. The "amplifier systems like the Duraspark are capacitive discharge systems and have a stronger, shorter spark. Induction systems typically have voltages of 30000 to 50000 volts (usually on the low side) while the capacitive discharge systems have voltages of 50000 to 80000 (with some even higher).
NO, the coil is a separate unit but internally it has more resistance than a coil for points or CD systems. They need the internal resistance because it has power all the time and what triggers the spark is the pulse from the trigger - usually a hall effect type of trigger. If you have +12 volts going to the coil+ and then fire a quick shot of 75 volts (low amperage) to the coil - side the coil fires a spark off and then because it was triggered in reverse when it goes back to the positive flow it triggers again - it comes out as one long sine-wave pulse. The voltage isn't real high but it has a lot of current and if you measure the sine wave from peak to peak it is from 60000 to 100000 volts for slightly longer time than the CD ignitions. While this type of ignition works well under extreme conditions it also fatigues the wire insulation fast. That causes leakage and low voltage to the plugs. A CD system is best because it is a very fast spark with a very high energy level that is delivered almost entirely to the plug. CD systems are almost as good as the magneto ignitions up to about 8000 or 9000 RPM. Some of the very best systems will even compete with magnetos up to 10000 RPM but beyond that you just can't charge and discharge the capacitors fast enough.
removing resistor Is the resistor visible somewhere or can it be removed? I'm gonna be using a mallory hei type distributor with one wire.
The resistance is built-into the wire, so the resistance wire must be removed from the circuit. A separate wire would probably be faster and easier.
