[jadye]

Here's the scoop. Finishing up a 32 ford with a 430 buick engine. Wired with the painless, wiring fron ignition to coil and the points is all good and new. Problem is, the coil fried. The coil was very hot when removed. Replaced, ran and all seemed good. Then,... the ignition switch was left on all night and cooked another coil. Does this engine and ignition system need a capacitor in the system?? What does this do, and where does it go. I remember the things on the old mopars and maybe an old ford truck, but that's about it. The coil is mounted in the front of the engine useing the stock mount near the head. Would this heat from the head be a problem, or should I move the coil to a cooler place? I have gotten a lot of oppinions on this and am probably about to get a lot more. thanks for the help.

[BOBCRMAN@aol.com]

You need a resistor, not a capacitor, in the line from the ign. switch to the coil. Or a Ford type coil with the resistor built in. The external capacitors on ignition coils are usually there to prevent radio interference.

[willys36@aol.com]

As mentioned many times on this board, coils are designed to run on 6V, not 12V so need a ballast resistor to drop voltage. Straight 12V will fry any coil sooner or later. And most importantly, don't leave your ignition on all night. That will still fry your coil even with a ballast resistor and does other nasty stuff, the least of which is run down your battery, the worst, burn down your car and home. Do it again and we will sneak into your garage and install a weenie "key on" warning buzzer and embarrass you with your friends and neighbors!