Ballast resistors and my ignition on my '66 Charger

[AJ1966]

I have a question about the ballast resistor and the wiring/ignition on my '66:

Last summer, I converted my points ignition to electronic with a $70 kit, and it no longer uses a ballast resistor; it has been completely bypassed.  Not sure why, but the kit made it so.

If I later on put in a different engine, along with a mopar performance or other distributor and ignition system, will I have to go back to the ballast resistor?  I see all of the Mopar kits still have the resistors as a part of the package, but I don't understand why it would need them if it's a new type of kit with an ignition box and everything.

I have also seen the painless wiring kits, which I will need for my car as it does not run now because of a gigantic wiring problem, but I also notice the ballast resistor wiring there.  Do you guys still have ballast resistors, for those who had them originally on their cars?  I don't understand how a small ignition upgrade kit can bypass it, but an entire ignition system still has to use them.  Do I have any options here?  Thank you.

[Ghoste]

I'm not sure but I think it depends on the coil and the control box.  I had a Mopar Performance one before and it retained the ballast.  Now I'm running an MSD box and coil and the ballast is bye-bye.

[John_Kunkel]

Some electronic ignition systems are not voltage sensitive, some are. Just follow the manufacturers directions and you'll be Ok.

[Nacho-RT74]

Mopar ignitions and other stock kind ( phords too ) use ballast to feed the coil with necessary power according with temperature, since warm enviroment makes better combustion, so need less spark power.

Now, HiPo ignitions like MSD and others doesn't need ballast since coil is feeded FROM ignition module, and not from ballast.

[Ghoste]

I thought it was a hangover from the days of points when maximum spark was needed to fire the engine when cold but couldn't be fed to the points or coil full time.  Once the engine ran a short time, the ballast would heat up and kill off a little of the input to the points?

[Nacho-RT74]

points  just send a small amount of power from condenser, just an enough signal to close circuit and then coil send the full power. Ballast kill a little bit of power TO COIL. As far input is decreased, output is proportional killed too. That prevents the coil overheats, being unnecessary that ammount of high output power to blow the gas with heated enviroment.

Since on HiPo aftermarket ignitions coils are COMPLETELLY driven by ignition module, then ballast is not necesary.

Mopar ignitions, stock and performance, works both the same, being driven by module BUT still feeded by ballast.

[Ghoste]

So it's only about overpowering the stock coils?

[Nacho-RT74]

is about overpower UNNECESARILLY the stock coils, specially about streets cars

that is at least what I have learnt on all this years by myself trying to undesrtand Automotive electrical stuff

[Ghoste]

Until I put in the MSD and the option became available to not use the ballast, I didn't even think much about it.  It had to be there and that was all there was to it. 

[Nacho-RT74]

now you know