Slam dunk.
I took it down to the mechanic explaining I needed a new ignition switch (eyeballs some other dopers) but the mechanic said he wanted to run a check on my ballast resistor.
He ran a quick check, determined that is was the ballast, and then replaced it.
Whole thing took 10 minutes, cost $20 Australian.
Car is now running fine.
Thanks, Rocketeer.
[modest cough]
Well, as I wipe the egg off my face, all I can say is that the wiring diagram in my Mitchell manual did not show a ballast resistor. Perhaps the OZ version is different from the U.S. version?
Well done, Rocketeer.
I would reiterate Handy’s advice. When taking your car in for repair, just like when seeing your physician for a problem, DESCRIBE THE SYMPTOMS. Let the expert make the diagnosis. If you don’t trust that they’re capable of accurately determining what needs to be done, you shouldn’t trust them to touch the car at all.
Good for you Rocketeer!
Strange…majority of import cars don’t have that. I guess it would depend on whether you had points (actually, fixed vs. variable dwell), 'cause the igniter or computer would regulate the primary current fed to the coil. This being a early model, I guess it could go either way.
Dodge had the ballast resistor later than most makes and models, I think it disappeared with that giant black Spark Control computer.
It could also be terminology, 'cause I worked 13 years full- and part-time in an auto parts store, and I never sold a ballast resistor for such a recent import to the best of my recollection.
The main thing is you got it fixed though.
I hate to see the shops near your place that do that. Here, we diagnose before changing anything. A lot of the time, we have parts to test, sometimes we don’t. As in the case here, had we gone ahead and changed the ignition switch, we wouldn’t charge the customer for our misdiagnosis. The original would be put back and we’d find out what was wrong.
We like to keep customers happy if we can.
Oh, and another apology to Beastal…it’s a lot easier to diagnose when the car is right there.
If you were my neighbor, I’d have checked if there was power coming out of the switch when the symptom occurred…since that would be a highly likely culprit. If power was coming out, that could be quickly eliminated as a source of the problem. And so on, going down the electrical schematic.
I like to help if I can, but, like the written tone of a word can be misconstrued on these screens, sometimes there is an inherent problem in trying to fix a car that is thousands of miles away from you. :o
LolaBaby, sounds like you’re in the auto repair field, as I am. Are you familiar with the International Auto Technicians Network? I recommend it highly. Check it out at www.iatn.net.
Thanks, Gary T. I used to work on cars for 13 years but I am now sidelined as a stay-at-home mom (much cleaner!) 
I’ll check that place out.
Right now I am finishing up a cylinder head job parked at my mom’s house that got shelved when I got pregnant. My son is 19 months old. Guess how pissed off my mom is. :eek: