Vixen S3 - Ballast Resister yes or no ?

Vixen S3 - Ballast Resister yes or no ?

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Moto

Original Poster:

1,240 posts

254 months

Sunday 11th March 2018
quotequote all
Does anyone know whether a Vixen S3 should have a ballast resistor or not ?

The S2 Owners book wiring diagram shows that it does. But I have 12v at the coil so I presume I haven't.

Anyone have a photo of what the ballast resister would look like or where it would be located.

Moto


Moto

Original Poster:

1,240 posts

254 months

Sunday 11th March 2018
quotequote all
I certainly don't have anything like that in the engine bay. It could be mounted behind the dash but I can't see anything obvious.

I think I must be running a non-ballast system as that ties up with being 12v at the coil. It just seems odd that the earlier S2 owners book wiring diagram shows it having a ballasted coil.

Moto

Moto

Original Poster:

1,240 posts

254 months

Friday 16th March 2018
quotequote all
Hi Andy.

No points, I'm running an Accuspark electronic ignition unit. I've determined that the car definitely does not have a ballasted coil system. Maybe someone changed it at some point or maybe cars leaving the factory that week were not ballasted because the ballast fitter was on a weeks holiday in Skegness. Who knows? wink

I've been trying to get my head around the wiring with a view to a complete rewire as my project for next winter. Electrics are not my strong point - well I'm fine with +ve, -ve, switches and even fuses but struggle with relays, solenoids & voltage regulators.

I'm booked into Maniflow next Tuesday for a new manifold & front pipe/box. Fingers crossed all goes OK. Early morning start as Dave wants me there for 8am to be sure it can be finished by end of day.

Cheers.






Moto

Original Poster:

1,240 posts

254 months

Saturday 17th March 2018
quotequote all
Hi Mike,

Looks to be a really helpful diagram, but I can't read the text when printed as the definition is too low. Do you have a higher definition copy you could email to me?

Ref dynamo, yes still original so has a voltage regulator. I'm considering replacing it with a Dynator unit (alternator in a dynamo casing) which would then mean I can bypass the voltage regulator. Big money though at £360 compared to £100 for a new dynamo.

Moto.

Moto

Original Poster:

1,240 posts

254 months

Saturday 13th June 2020
quotequote all
It was straight forward as I cheated.

I found a local guy (also a friend of a friend) who rewires vintage and classic cars for a living. He had the car for 9 days and rewired everything apart from the interior light (as I didn't want the headlining out after I'd done such a professional job fitting a new one). That was March 2019, and so far everything has been fine.

I decided not to stick to original wiring diagram but go with an improved design incorporating additional modern type fuse box, a dash located cut off for track work and switched to an alternator setup losing the regulator.

The wipers don't struggle anymore and the radio has almost no interference. The lights are brighter also. Almost like a modern car.

It wasn't cheap but worth the investment.

Moto