ive been searching the forums quite a bit this weekend trying to figure out what the cause could be...

my coil gets very hot pretty quickly. for example, this weekend i backed the car out and took it around the block. when i got back the coil was very warm to the touch. from what i read its because i dont have a ballast resistor on it? im using an accel coil and dist atm. coil #8140 and dist #52100. they are both basic ignition components. will a ballast resistor fix this issue?

 

The primary purpose of a ballast resistor was to lower the voltage of a point type ignition system during cold start and lengthen the life of the points. Unless Accel recommends a ballast resistor I wouldn't myself because you could effectively limit the strength of the spark available from the coil.

The coil and ignition components will normally get warm and may feel hot to the touch due to the amount of current and voltage they see during normal operation. All electrical and electronic will produce a certain amount of heat because they are not 100 percent efficient with the inherant voltage consumed by the discrete components in them.

For comparison purposes and your peace of mind drive your car and another with a similar ignition and compare the heat build up of each.

 

Is the coil mounted straight up, or on its side? Where is it mounted?

 

its mounted up and down...and its on the firewall where the blower unit used to be

 

Dump the epoxy filled coil for a good oil filled one.

epoxy filled coils hold in heat and are prone to fail sooner or later form it.
Oil filled coils dispate heat and work and last allot longer.

 

According to Summit, it is oil filled. The Accel site doesn't say what it is.

 

well what happened is this....

the car ran great. then i thought that i could make it run better so i bought a msd 6al, starter saver, and a CD coil. the car wouldnt idle, wouldnt start, and just was a nightmare. i went back to the accel setup, which is just so much more simple. now the car idles fine for a while then just dies out. it has high rpm misses and sometimes the car wont start. it cranks but no start. that is why i was thinking the coil, but the one i just put in is brand new, so now i have 3 band new coils here...2 accels and 1 msd. and the car still is just not running well after the msd attempt.

note- i think i might have been a little bit more open minded about the msd if when i called msd they would have just told me to order all of the items above the first time i called....it seemed like every time i called it was "well it doesnt work because you dont have this" then i get that item and the next call is "well the new item doesnt work because it needs this" very frustrating

well i got the car to run better but the coil is still very very hot. not sure why it gets this hot still....im going to call accel to see what is up

 

Sorry should of also said if its made in china its still junk. Has to be made in andover, IN to be any good still, even if oil filled. Them china mexico junkers aren't up to but the spec of folks making 25cent an hr working triples.

Summit only has 1 that are made the good way. MSD 1 and NAPA 1.
Rest are all import crap.

NAPA IC12
MSD 8200
Summit G5215