swcortina 43 Posted June 7, 2024 Because it's only to test the wire gauge isn't to important but not to thin, just strip it back and bend it over on itself if needed and push into the female bullet and twist it around the +coil terminal it should run like that if it's the ballast wire at fault. Have you checked you have power to the connection where the ballast wire joins into the loom at the bulkhead end? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heedwa 6 Posted June 7, 2024 Thanks for the advice. I'll grab some wire today and give it a test. Do you mean the black/yellow wire with the female side of the bullet connector? The wire in the loom the resistor wire goes into? I did check that, and it had a reading of 12v with the ignition on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swcortina 43 Posted June 7, 2024 7 hours ago, Heedwa said: Thanks for the advice. I'll grab some wire today and give it a test. Do you mean the black/yellow wire with the female side of the bullet connector? The wire in the loom the resistor wire goes into? I did check that, and it had a reading of 12v with the ignition on. Sounds like it's the ballast wire then. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heedwa 6 Posted June 7, 2024 (edited) Thanks for all your help everyone, turns out it's not the ballast resistor. Whatever is in the pic (attached below) is what was causing the problem. I bypassed it (with ballast resistor still attached) and the car runs without dying now. The thing in the pic had a wire from it that was attached to the + terminal of the coil. When I bypassed this and went straight from black/yellow wire from the coil end of ballast resistor to the coil itself (pic attached) the car was running without cutting off. I did a multimeter test on the + side of coil with the car running and it was giving a reading of around 10v. Does anyone know what the thing in the pic is? With the two condenser looking things? It's not in any manual so the previous owner was up to something with the car!! Again thanks for all your help Edited June 7, 2024 by Heedwa Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sheffieldcortinacentre 654 Posted June 9, 2024 (edited) Not a clue what that is, definitely not a std ford part ( or pattern replacement), any marking/numbers etc on the other side? Also what's the pipe it's cable tied too? Edited June 9, 2024 by sheffieldcortinacentre Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heedwa 6 Posted June 9, 2024 Only markings are "Made in the USA" on those silver barrels. No numbers etc. There was another blue cable coming from it, which I followed and the other end was attached to the horn. Which makes me think it may have been some kind of aftermarket alarm system? That's not a pipe, it's just a bracket which it is attached to, which is being used to hold it in place in the engine bay. How was cortina day?! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sheffieldcortinacentre 654 Posted June 9, 2024 AHH my old eyes lol. Not to bad,was late getting back as the caravan lights decided to go haywire when we were ready to leave, suppose can't complain I've had it 10ish years & it is an early 80's one ( nothing made to last these days😁.). So I think I'll run a new cable & lights on it rather than mess about trying to sort them ( cheaper to buy a trailer board than buy the stuff separately). 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sierra3dr 50 Posted June 11, 2024 On 6/9/2024 at 11:28 PM, sheffieldcortinacentre said: ( cheaper to buy a trailer board than buy the stuff separately). How much are trailer boards? You might be able to get a set of rear 7.5t (or bigger) truck lights for a decent price Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sheffieldcortinacentre 654 Posted June 11, 2024 Bought £20, I'm going to rewire it too so once you add that & new plug into it. Plus on hold now as got a phone call Mon for a cancellation. For this morning got my carpol tunnel done in theatre 9.30 back home 11.30! So you can get better than a quick fit fitter. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swcortina 43 Posted June 11, 2024 On 6/8/2024 at 12:02 AM, Heedwa said: Thanks for all your help everyone, turns out it's not the ballast resistor. Whatever is in the pic (attached below) is what was causing the problem. I bypassed it (with ballast resistor still attached) and the car runs without dying now. The thing in the pic had a wire from it that was attached to the + terminal of the coil. When I bypassed this and went straight from black/yellow wire from the coil end of ballast resistor to the coil itself (pic attached) the car was running without cutting off. I did a multimeter test on the + side of coil with the car running and it was giving a reading of around 10v. Does anyone know what the thing in the pic is? With the two condenser looking things? It's not in any manual so the previous owner was up to something with the car!! Again thanks for all your help As it was linked to the horn and the coil and now bypassed the car runs fine, I would say it's some kind of alarm and immobiliser. Good that you've got to the bottom of the issues and the car is running fine now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MK5CortinaEstate 52 Posted June 12, 2024 16 hours ago, swcortina said: As it was linked to the horn and the coil and now bypassed the car runs fine, I would say it's some kind of alarm and immobiliser. Good that you've got to the bottom of the issues and the car is running fine now. Wired into the horn and ignition supply? Yeah, agreed, that sounds very much like some sort of alarm/immobiliser. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sierra3dr 50 Posted June 12, 2024 21 hours ago, sheffieldcortinacentre said: For this morning got my carpol tunnel done in theatre 9.30 back home 11.30! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sheffieldcortinacentre 654 Posted June 12, 2024 Great in don't think bed got warm! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heedwa 6 Posted June 12, 2024 Brilliant, thanks so much for the helps guys. Car is running a lot better now, at least it doesn't die after 20 seconds! So it's going in the right direction. Can anyone help with the pics below? First pic: Does anyone know what GREEN wire is? It's coming from the other side of the bulkhead, runs along the back of engine and joins into the connector. The black wire from the same connector is the wire which goes to the +terminal on the coil. The black/yellow wire on the other side of the connector is coming from the end of the ballast resistor. Second pic: it's two green wires connected by a bullet connector. From memory I can't remember where it comes from and where it goes. Thanks for all the help as usual Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sheffieldcortinacentre 654 Posted June 12, 2024 (edited) Green is rev counter runs between coil & gauge , Edited June 12, 2024 by sheffieldcortinacentre 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
