Can anyone explain in layman terms what the hell is the deal with 6 volt coils in most cars that are somehow converted with a ballast resistor or something to 12 volts.. A mechanic told me that almost all OEM coils are 6 volts....why not just use a 12 volt coil and be done with it? Maybe I'm confused, please unconfuse me. Thanks.

If you are running a distributer with points and you put 12 volts through them, they will burn out too quickly. A balast resister or resister wire is used to drop it tp 7 volts. Points are basicly just a switch to energize the coil. The coil puts out much more than 12 volts when all is said and done. All the coils I have used say 12 volts on them.

If you are using an HEI ignition, you run 12 volts to it.

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Okay, so points type ignition always uses a 12 volt coil with internal/external resistor and electronic ignition always uses a 12 volt coil without any resistor at all. And there is no such thing as a 6 volt coil in use today. I get it. Thanks.

All 6 volt cars use 6 volt coils.

Trees