Ballast resistor question

I was going to change out the points and condenser to the Pertronix 1381A pointless system and from what I've read up on you need to connect the red wire to the side of the ballast that is coming from the ignition switch. I can find the ballast just behind the distributor next to what looks like is most likely a starter relay. I have 1 red wire coming from a bundle to the bottom end of the ballast and 2 red wires from a bundle connected to the top end of the ballast. The problem is that the wire the goes to the + side of the coil is blue. How can i test the wires at the ballast to find out which side of the ballast is coming from the ignition? Could i just pull one of the connections off and use the + side of a multimeter touching that connection and the - side of the multimeter touching ground and move the key to the on position? Would i get a reading of around 12v if that is the ignition side or would i get the same reading no matter what side? Would i actually have to crank the engine over to get a reading? Also is there something I'm missing in regards to viewing the timing tab? I am having great trouble in viewing the tab from above at most angles (seems like i can only get a glimpse of a portion of it from above. How is everyone using a timing light to time there engines. I should have prefaced this that I have the LA318 V8. Again thanks much for all of the information / tips / ideas you have been providing the newcomer.

,,,,,the side of the ballast resistor that goes to the positive side of the coil is the 6 volt side,,,,,,you want the other one which has 12 volts on it when you turn the key on

So I turn the engine on and with the multi meter set to DCA 20 and the red lead touching one end of the ballast and the black lead touching ground I get a reading of 12+ - 13+ volts; i get the same reading when i test the other end of the ballast. I have a replacement ballast the i then hook up to see if the readings would be any different as I thought i should have 12v going in one end and 9-10v coming out the other end. I get the same reading with the new replacement ballast? What am i doing wrong, how can i figure out which wire are coming from the ignition switch side and and which one goes to the coil. I thought by the testing the volts I would get two different readings and thereby letting me know which wires come from the ignition? If anyone can tell me how I can figure out which wires are from the ignition i would greatly appreciate it. Much Thanks

I know dodge man did this conversion , I will forward this to him I'm sure he will pick up after his NAP...        

LOL,  dix  you need to take the one red wire or what ever color you have going to the resistor and splice it to the other wire that was on the other side of the resistor and run both of those to the plus side of the coil, that's what I did and it runs great, now you can do away with the resistor and the wire that went to the plus side of the coil,
PS  I forgot to mension the black wire now from your dist. goes to the neg. side of the coil, and the red wire from your dist. goes to the plus side with those two wires. that's if your running pertronix in the dist.

an easier way to explain it would be to splice all three wires together that were on the resister and leave the wire that was on your plus side of the coil hooked up and run your red pertronix wire the plus side of the coil as well and black to negative side of the coil, I hope this helps I not very good at giving instructions, john

,,,,,,the resistor only works with the engine running,,,,,,unhook one side of the resistor,,,,, turn the key on,,,,if that wire has 12 volts on it,,,it is the power wire,,,,if not,,,,the other is the power,,,,

with running pertronix its best to splice the wires together and do away with the resistor all together, JMO

Much thanks gentlemen

another thing might be that the boost voltage from the starter relay could be tied into the output of the ballast resistor,,,,,you might need to hook it up for faster starting if you remove the ballast resistor,,,,,,

When the circuit isn't in operation (van running), the circuit will have the same 'potential' (i.e., 12 volts) at all connections, unless the points are closed.

As said, connect the wires from both sides together.
I'd hazard a guess that the single red wire is from the ignition switch "Run" position. The other side with 2 wires is to 1. the coil, 2. from the ignition switch "Start" position, to bypass the ballast during cranking to provide hotter spark.

Also, the power flows from the ignition switch to the + side of the coil, through the coil, out the - side of the coil to the dist. (points or ignitor). The ignitor also needs a power feed to operate, so this is the ignitor Red wire that is fed from the + coil terminal.

Got the Pertronix in and hooked up, also changed the ballast resistor while i was at and got a second to keep with points and condenser as back up. So far the new ignition system seems to really smooth out the idle and running, no hiccups at all. I think the issue may have been upgrading some of the parts in the ignition system, but not all of them and they were not playing well together; now it seems that everything is replaced together they are all playing together nicely. Im going to do a search on here; but I was wondering how hot is normal that the engine compartment should be getting? I took it out the other day to run a couple of errands (no more then a 3-5 miles with a couple of destinations) and while the engine temp gauge stayed in the mid+ range when I got home and opened the doghouse the engine compartment seemed so hot, even the oil bath air cleaner seemed very hot? That may be the norm as I am new to these classic vans, but it would be good to know if that is the case, or is that an indication of an issue? Does anyone ever have issues from excessive heat (vapor lock?) etc? Thanks again for all the help / guidance.

as long as your temp gauge stays were it should be, your ok, and don't run a plastic fuel filter on top the engine, it gets real hot under there, that's why everyone insulates the dog box, to keep the heat out of the van, glad you got her running, john

Word!! for the wise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With any electronic ignition!!- Never -ever - connect a jump start or charge or replace the battery -WITH!!=THE KEY LEFT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! when we have an engine with low / weak / or =dead battery - we usually wont remember to turn the key    off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These electronics will not take a shock load when the key is =(inadvertantly) = left on!! I made a good living on people doing that before!!   

I'm about to switch to electronic ignition(pertronix) as well. I can't just remove the ballast resistor correct?

yes just hook all the wires together that were on the resistor

If you are running the stock or a stock replacement coil then you will still need the Ballast Resistor. and you will have to tie the red wire from the pertronix to the 12v (ignition side)of the ballast resistor. If you are going to run a flamethrower coil that is made to run on the full 12v at all times then you simply bypass the resistor. From what I understand the resistor basically reducers the current down from 12v to around 9-10v as the coil heats up. I am running just a stock replacement coil so I still have the resistor in the circuit. The instructions that come with the coil are pretty clear and easy to understand, I'm sure you will have no problem in installation.

the resistor is only there for points, the coil will work just fine on 12 volts, its the points that cant handle the constant 12 volts JMO

Thanks guys
Im gonna just get rid of the BR.
As soon as I dial in my new carb.....

Not exactly, the stock coil was made to run on resistant voltage, usually 9V-10V, running on straight 12V (13.2+/-) will burn the coil out, although while it works you will have increased performance over powering the coil with the resister. The only time the coil is hit with a full volt charge is while cranking, after that it needs to be tied to the resistor. If you want to eliminate the resistor then get a coil made for 12V w/o a resistor. Yes the reduced voltage does prolong point life, but damage to the coil by not running the resistor will be quicker.

I pulled the resistor of a ford and ran on 12 volts for over 4 years with no problems

You sure it was an external resistor coil and not a internal one that somebody installed and still used the ballast resistor. Worth the risk of going somewhere and be out in the middle of nowhere when the coil decides it has had enough heat and quits. I come from the camp where you use the right part, the best your money can buy and install it correctly.