What's the proper coil voltage? Is the Maverick/Comet a 6-volt system or a 12-volt? The reason I ask, I'm rewiring it by hand (It's sat for a few months, and I really need to get this 302 started and pumping some oil through it, before it won't turn over anymore, ) The wiring diagram I have marks a wire or two as 'resistance wires' .... but I thought this required a 12-volt coil? (Also, there seems to be *2* red-green wires (the color of the coil wire according to the diagram, ) coming from the fuse panel..... er... Any suggestions? Try 'em both and hope they work? )
voltage Hello, The system is 12 volt. From the ignition switch when you turn the key on there is a wire that is a resistor wire, it reduces the voltage to about 9.5 volts it goes to the positive terminal on the coil. If you don,t have it running through the ignition switch and are running it from the battery or the hot side on the starter siloniod you will have to put in a resistor block that will reduce the voltage to about 9.5 volts. The coil and point and condenser on these cars are not made to run on 12 volts. If you don't reduce the voltage, you will burn the condenser and points up and may cause damage to the coil. Good Luck Mike Allen
Ok What if my coil is a 12-volt coil? The coil was originally for my cousin's 69 Mustang, but he found he didn't need it, so he gave it to me (the original coil on my Comet was destroyed in the fire. Much like all of the engine wiring (Temp, oil, coil wire, etc, ) Anyway, unless this coil is 9.5 volts, couldn't sending less voltage than the coil is rated for damage it?
coil voltage. The danger is actually to your points and condensor more than your coil itself. You will be replacing them an awful lot if you don't put a ballast resistor in line. My suggestion would be to get a voltmeter and test voltage to both of the green wires you described and use the one that is pretty close to 9.5 volts with the key on. If they are both 12 volts head to your local McAutoparts and pick up a ballast resistor to put inline in the positive lead to the coil. Hope this helps. If you are interrested in dropping a bit of money on a really good upgrade, just ask and I'll (or probably any number of people in this incredibly helpful little community of ours ) tell you how to set yourself up with an electronic ignition using a Duraspark distributor and an MSD controller. This upgrade will cost in the $200.00 neighborhood, but is well worth the money from an economy, reliability and ease of use standpoint.
I don't think it would cause any damage in that case, it just causes damage to the points and condenser, but the 69 Mustang coil is probabily the same as on the Comet. I would guess that both are called 12 volt but for reduced voltage. I bought a new coil for my 74 comet it came from Advance Auto and on the front of it it said for use with reduced voltage but it was still called 12 volt. If you are still unsure check the products on the Advance website. Better yet I have an account set up there be back in a bit. Went to advance site and both the comet and the 69 Mustang OE coil call for the same coil.
Be a little carefull about measuring voltage. You cannot measure voltage on an unloaded circuit with a resistance in line and be correct about the drop. The voltage won't show the drop due to the resistance because there is not enough current flowing to cause the drop (accross the resistance). Hook the coil up to the leads then measure the voltage accross the coil to see if the level is below 12 volts in the 9 volt region.
If you are interrested in dropping a bit of money on a really good upgrade, just ask and I'll (or probably any number of people in this incredibly helpful little community of ours ) tell you how to set yourself up with an electronic ignition using a Duraspark distributor and an MSD controller. This upgrade will cost in the $200.00 neighborhood, but is well worth the money from an economy, reliability and ease of use standpoint. __________________ PhyPhor; this is a great suggestion. Another is to get a $69.00 Pertronix kit. They install in a few minutes, and they are great. Been running one for two years, no problems. That said, I ran a Duraspark for a year with no problems either. Pick your poison, they are both good. Earl
phy-1, i like earl, i went with the pertronix. a couple of screws and it's in. i used it also for a cleaner look. no big dist. and box. i had the duraspark ign. on my six cyl. and no problem. so i guess the call is yours...frank...:bananaman :bananaman
