Replacing thunderbolt IV with mallor igntion.

[nikon]

I've been having alot of problems with my thunderbolt IV. The repair manuals or posts online were of no help, it constantly burns up coils and wires. I'm done throwing parts at it so I purchased this kit

http://bpi.ebasicpower.com/p/MAL9-26000

Do I need to install a resistor to drop the voltage to the coil? The coil says must be used with ballast resistor but photos of the coil online say 12v on the coil. Seeing as though I'm replacing electronic ignition with electronic ignition wouldn't I already have that wired into the boat? Anything else I'm going to need before I tackle the install this weekend besides a timing light?

Boat is a 93' 350mag Alpha 1 gen II

 

[tswiczko]

Re: Replacing thunderbolt IV with mallor igntion.

just out of curiosity what's the position of the coil. Verticle or horizontal?

 

[nikon]

Re: Replacing thunderbolt IV with mallor igntion.

Vertical

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Replacing thunderbolt IV with mallor igntion.

the coil windings determine the internal resistance of the coil and whether they need an external resister wire or not.

however if the kit comes with the coil, use the one in the kit.

 

[tswiczko]

Re: Replacing thunderbolt IV with mallor igntion.

Vertical

Mine too. But I haven't had any problems with it yet, but I had an old Pontiac that would eat coils. It turned out the voltage regulator was bad and not how it was mounted. Might want to make sure the connectors are clean also a bad connection would cause a coil to go bad and melt the wires going to it also.


I have heard a lot of different reasons why it should be mounted one way or not the other(horizontal or vertical), but I leave the mounting position up to manufacturer recommendations.

 

[Glaspar_Fan]

Re: Replacing thunderbolt IV with mallor igntion.

Nikon,

You will need to study the instructions that came with the distributor and coil or contact Mallory. All the coils are 12V. As a rule, if the coil says it needs a ballast resistor, you have to use one or you will damage the coil, ignition module or both. I have seen at least one system that clearly stated a ballast resistor was not required (though it used a "ballast required" coil) because of the internal electronics on the ignition module compensating for the missing resistor. If you don't see anything like that in your documents, get a resistor.

John

 

[nikon]

Re: Replacing thunderbolt IV with mallor igntion.

Kit is half way installed. The coil says it requires the resistor, however the distributor still needs a full 12v. I looked through all the wiring diagrams I could and can't find any resistor in the factory wiring harness so I'll be adding one in. Thanks guys.

 

[Jonnybbad]

Re: Replacing thunderbolt IV with mallor igntion.

Some engines will use a special piece of wire that acts as a ballast resistor, which might be little harder to find. Checking the primary voltage is the easiest way to find out if there is one in my opinion. I'm no expert on the ignition system on an engine as new as yours though.