Where does the wire for the choke normally connect?

[MaximRecoil]

This is a 1969 Charger, but the 318 engine is from the early 1970s (a 1972 at least, and no newer than 1975).

There is a spring loaded rod that operates the carburetor's automatic choke. Attached to that spring loaded rod assembly is something that looks like a ballast resistor with two terminal tabs. One of the terminals has a short section of wire with white braided fiberglass insulation, connected to it; I believe it is original. The other terminal needs 12 volts, and didn't have any wire connected to it when I got the car (because some previous owner had installed a manual choke setup).

Since this assembly is located close to the ignition coil, I have a short section of ordinary primary wire feeding that other terminal from the positive terminal of the ignition coil.

1. Is ordinary primary wire okay, or should a special type of wire with the fiberglass insulation be used (like that original wire that is connected to the other terminal)?
2. Is the positive terminal of the ignition coil the correct place to source 12 volts? I've run it that way for quite a while without any problems that I know of.

[A383Wing]

the 12v will be taken from anything that has power with key in "run" position, not "ACC" as this will cause choke to open with key in "ACC" while listening to radio

Probably taken from 12v "+" side of ballast with key on...usually where blue & brown wires are connected. This choke set -up keeps the choke coil from closing again after a short drive

[John_Kunkel]

The blue/brown wire on the ballast is 12V only in Start, the double blue on the opposite side is keyed 12V...hook the choke there. Any old 18 gauge wire will work.

[A383Wing]

yea..what he said

[Nacho-RT74]

or at regulator blue wire, which is easier than the ballast because it gets just one wire... easier to cut, insert and extra wire and new terminal holding both

[MaximRecoil]

The blue/brown wire on the ballast is 12V only in Start, the double blue on the opposite side is keyed 12V...hook the choke there. Any old 18 gauge wire will work.

My ballast resistor only has a single wire going to the terminal on the left, and it has two wires going to the terminal on the right (one brown and one blue I think):



On the right terminal, the brown wire goes to the bulkhead connector (and then on to the ignition switch) and the blue wire goes to the positive ignition coil terminal.

The single wire on the left terminal I believe goes down to one of the field terminal tabs on the alternator, the one closest to the output stud (I am using a newer style alternator because I'm using an electronic regulator).

The three wires and two female connectors going to the ballast resistor appear to be all original. What is the second wire on the left terminal that you mentioned, for, and why don't I have one? And where was the choke wire originally connected when the car left the factory?

[A383Wing]

connect it to the single wire on the left...that is your 12v ign wire for the choke. From the factory, it was probably connected at that wire somewhere inside the harness or at the bulkhead connector

[Nacho-RT74]

repro harnes uses to get dual blue wire on that side to splice from there the power to the regulator... dunno if some original harnesses could be on that way too. But usually original harnesses are spliced inside the tape for the RUN circuit