Cranking until releasing key

I had problems with my car starting the other day. Dead coil I thought so replaced it. When doing so the distributor side was connected to the pos. side of the coil which should be on the neg. side correct? But it was running for a long time this way.

I check the wiring diagram that I have and it shows the neg. side to the distributor so that is how I have it hooked up now and the only problem I am having it it cranks until I release the key and then it will fire so am I thinking wrong and need to switch it back or ? Thanks for any ideas.

I have one doing the same thing. I switched the Ignition switch, but it still does it. Have not had much time to fool with it yet.

your ballast resistor is bad causing it to fire after u release the key

kidmopar said:

your ballast resistor is bad causing it to fire after u release the key

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You are thinking backwards, bad ballast will start then shut down when the key is released. The problem here sounds like a lack of voltage to the coil when the key is in the start position. Then once the key is released and returns to the run position, current is supplied to the circuit. Crawl under the dash and check the wiring to the ignition switch and make sure everything is hooked up. If so, you will need to trace the wiring. Pay particular attention to the bulkhead connector

Hemi Rebel said:

You are thinking backwards, bad ballast will start then shut down when the key is released. The problem here sounds like a lack of voltage to the coil when the key is in the start position. Then once the key is released and returns to the run position, current is supplied to the circuit. Crawl under the dash and check the wiring to the ignition switch and make sure everything is hooked up. If so, you will need to trace the wiring. Pay particular attention to the bulkhead connector

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I'm with Hemi Rebel on this one. Electrical issues drive me batty too, but I had the same symptom on my 360ci motor last year. Actually, the car is in the body shop and still has the problem because I never got around to trouble-shooting completely and fixing it, but I know my issue was NOT the ballast resistor alone. My troubles started when I replaced parts as follows:

new stock replacement coil
new 1 ohm 2 prong ballast resistor
new cap and rotor
new solid state voltage regulator
original mopar chrome box control module remains installed
new replacement control module wiring harness (can't remember if it's 4 or 5 lead)
rebuilt mini-starter

Somewhere on another forum I read that this issue is caused by not enough spark and when that is combined with the load caused by engaging the starter, the motor won't fire. Then when the load is released, the voltage shoots back up and the motor turns over. If it does fire when cranking, then there may be a mismatch between the ballast resistor and one of the above. I heard that the 2 prong type ballast resistor requires one type of control module and the 4 prong type requires another type. Am I remembering this correctly?

They said to trouble-shoot and see if this is the issue, run a wire lead directly from the positive side of the coil to the positive battery terminal and see if the motor fires when cranking.

Also, like Hemi-rebel says, check the bulkhead connector in the engine bay and also under the dash for other wires to rule out a short or loose connection. I know from personal experience that sometimes wires can also sag down and if the pedal linkage is pressing on them you can loosen things up or fray them. Make sure all of the wires are neat and nicely tucked under there. Zip tie if needed.

Yeah I just replaced the ballast resistor also as is was broken in half so that's new, forgot to put that in the first post. I will check all of my connections again to see if anything jumps out at me.

milit73 said:

Yeah I just replaced the ballast resistor also as is was broken in half so that's new, forgot to put that in the first post. I will check all of my connections again to see if anything jumps out at me.

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What resistance ohm rating ballast did you install new? They come in several ohm ratings. I was told for mine to use a 1 ohm. Replace with the same as what you removed. They may look the same but have a different rating. You can check with a multimeter.

Millt, I think you said not long ago that you changed your engine, You really need to have the ground straps from block to body and block to firewall if you didn't do them.. Im just trying to think what may be different thats doing this. Grounds are one of our worse enemy's on Mopars if there missing or corroded ect.. With that said, i tried looking this problem up, i kept thinking wiring in ignition, but take a read and maybe something will help that was said here. Good luck.

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=6831829&page=0&fpart=all&vc=1

Ron ....that thread was a great read....

Hemi Rebel said:

You are thinking backwards, bad ballast will start then shut down when the key is released. The problem here sounds like a lack of voltage to the coil when the key is in the start position. Then once the key is released and returns to the run position, current is supplied to the circuit. Crawl under the dash and check the wiring to the ignition switch and make sure everything is hooked up. If so, you will need to trace the wiring. Pay particular attention to the bulkhead connector

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Just had the same deal with R/T. Wire frayed, finally broke at the bulkhead connector. It's like clairvoyance man! Wire was the dark brown wire that merges with the coil feed wire at the ballast. It feeds full system voltage to the coil at start, and has it's own circuit to the ignition switch.

Looks like I will get out the tester..........I have no idea of what ballast came out and did not know there was a difference.

Ron the car was running good until it started one day and died during the warmup and would not restart. Grounds from reading all of these threads I made sure all were good but does not hurt to double check.

As far as my wiring well its old and looks like a few things can be addressed. I will also clean the bulkhead connecter again and I did not put any grease in it to keep it from getting dirty so I will do that this time. Thanks for all of the help

Just for giggles, try this, hook up a wire from + bat to coil, now you have 12 volts to start car. then turn key on run position, use the relay to jump it to crank, if the car starts, id say it has to be in the ignition, Possibly BR, even though new, because its circuits also,

When you twist the key to start TWO of the circuits are hot, the yellow start wire which engages the start relay, and it engages the starter

The brown ignition bypass wire goes to the coil side of the ballast, and is in fact what is running your engine while the key is in start.
When you RELEASE the key, the brown wire goes COLD and the BLUE run circuit is then hot. It goes THROUGH the ballast. If the ballast fails or ignition, wouldn't this be the answer.. hope i got the colors on wires right for this particular car, im going by a general mopar ignition set up.. correct me if wrong, but im thinking its the ignition or BR... Ive been wrong before, not a worry there, im going to be interested in what the answer is with this one..

I will post what I find. It will be a little before I can get to this but I hope soon.