'84 dodge ballast resistor??

[skippygozoom]

I was hoping someone might be able to tell where to find the ballast resistor on my '84 dodge diplomat? I have looked and looked, traced wiring all over the place and even called a local dealership and I still cant find it in any of the places that I have been told it should be. I'm pretty stumped! Any help would be really great. Thanks.

[72chevelleOhio]

Learn something new......I thought by then they were all electronic till this post, I'm not familiar with dodges but I remember seeing a lot right in the center of the firewall.
I thought there was a car that had one on the inside. It was high up underneath the center of the dash, can't remember what car it was though...

[Selectron]

This is an ignition coil ballast resistor, I assume. Is it possible that it doesn't take the form of a discrete component? One of my former vehicles (mid-70s Triumph Toledo, I think) used a length of resistive wire as the ballast resistor, and there was a warning in the workshop manual that in the event of its failure, it should not be replaced with ordinary wire. Therefore the resistor would at first glance look like just another wire in the engine compartment wiring harness. I'm not familiar with the Dodge though, so I don't know if they would have been likely to use that arrangement.

[DonRose]

It is very likely that Selectron is correct and the ballast resistor is in fact a resistance wire. I the old point style (Kettering) ignition systems the resistor was in series between the + terminal of the ignition coil and the positive of the battery. The starter solenoid was used to short the ballast resistor when the engine was started.

I would trace the wire from + of the coil to it's other end and measure that resistance. Do not be surprised to find the other end down buy the starter.