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01-24-2021, 07:35 PM | #1 |
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Colorado
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ballast resistor/circuit breaker questions.
1940 set up, the small object is the ballast resistor and the large one is the circuit breaker.
I would like to double check my knowledge of the following. The ballast resistor function? The circuit breaker function? Thanks in advance. |
01-24-2021, 07:51 PM | #2 |
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Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Waxahachie, Texas
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Re: ballast resistor/circuit breaker questions.
Ballast resistor reduces current to 4 volts to the points to prevent them from burning out too quickly. The circuit breaker protects the wiring harness in case of a short circuit - the grandfather of the fuse box!
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01-24-2021, 10:21 PM | #3 |
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Join Date: Nov 2012
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Re: ballast resistor/circuit breaker questions.
Ballast resistor is to reduces the voltage/current to the original coil. The Ford coil was designed to operate on the lower voltage. One advantage is the resistance of a ballast resistor changes as it heats up, so there is more voltage at startup. Then the resistor heats up and reduces the voltage/current to the circuit.
The circuit breaker protects the lighting circuits. In the years prior to the introduction of the circuit breaker a fuse was used. Part of the advantage to using a circuit breaker is that the circuit can rest with a minor overload. When a fuse blows that is it until you replace the fuse. A circuit breaker trips when it overheats, once it cools down it will reset. |
01-24-2021, 10:26 PM | #4 |
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Re: ballast resistor/circuit breaker questions.
Mr. Seery, THANKS for that crystal clear operational description.
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01-25-2021, 12:19 AM | #5 |
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Re: ballast resistor/circuit breaker questions.
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