ignition resistor & coil compatibilty ?

[Douglas]

what kind of symptoms would a pagoda exhibit if its ignition coil & ballast resistor were incompatible?

Douglas Kim
New York, NY
#018260

[Naj ✝︎]

Douglas,
I ordered a replacement coil from my merc dealer to replace the standard black coil. Months later I realised from the labels that in fact it was a red coil. And the engine had been running fine with the 0.9 ohm ballast resistor.I have changed it now with a 1.8 ohm ballast.
My answer: If you didn't know the difference, you couldn't tell the difference.
 
naj

naj
'Kloines Scheisserle'
65 230SL
68 280SL

[Douglas]

in terms of driveability, i think you're right. i suspect the difference would be premature wear on the plugs & points, but i was looking for confirmation.

Douglas Kim
New York, NY
#018260

[George Davis]

Douglas,

with a lower resistance ballast, I'd suspect maybe premature points wear, but also premature coil failure since it would be operating at higher voltage than it's designed for.

George Davis
'69 280 SL Euro manual

[bayleif]

Douglas,
In my case, the car would misfire on an irregular basis. It would cruise along fine for awhile, then miss for maybe 20 secs then run fine again. I don't know how long she had the wrong coil and ballast resistor she came to me that way. When I replaced the coil / resistor she ran much better. Then when I replaced the points, better again.

Chuck Bartlett
69 280SL

Chuck Bartlett
1969 Signal Red 4 Speed