Holley electric choke

[DESERT66]

I need to find a good 12V source to connect my electric choke to. The motor is new and came with a Holley 4 barrel electric choke. I have recently installed a 3G one wire alternator. I caught one thread stating using the red/green wire that goes to the voltage regulator. Seems legit since it tracks back to the ignition source. Thanks in advance !

 

[DirtDonk]

Yes, that’s the most common wire. And since it’s no longer used in your case, it’s probably perfect. It is also only hot when the key is in the ON position and not in the ACC position.

Depending upon the year of the bronco you may already have other wires available as well. Many early models had a solenoid near the carburetor linkage that had if I remember correctly a blue wire with a black stripe. That can be used as well.

A 73 and later model would have a white with a black striped wire from the stator from the old Alternator, but that is most likely inactive or already removed with your 3G installation.

 

[Broncobowsher]

What Paul said.

Key points...
On with ignition, but not accessory. Better chance of not heating up the choke with the engine off.
Not tied to the coil positive, that robs ignition power creating extra drain after the ballast resistor and a low voltage condition.

 

[DESERT66]

Thanks for the info Guru and Mr Hack ! I’ll track down that wire and give her a try. BTW it’s a 66 with original wire harness.

Yes, that’s the most common wire. And since it’s no longer used in your case, it’s probably perfect. It is also only hot when the key is in the ON position and not in the ACC position.

Depending upon the year of the bronco you may already have other wires available as well. Many early models had a solenoid near the carburetor linkage that had if I remember correctly a blue wire with a black stripe. That can be used as well.

A 73 and later model would have a white with a black striped wire from the stator from the old Alternator, but that is most likely inactive or already removed with your 3G installation.

Perfect thanks for the help. I will find that

 

[DirtDonk]

Oh, then all bets are off!

One of the most notable places where the 66 models were often different, was in the wiring harness and colors. Where otherwise Ford used very consistent colors over the years, before that there were some variations. And unfortunately the first Broncos got put together during a change.

With any luck though, that green with a red stripe is still what was being used. Good luck, and let us know what you find. Maybe we can track a different one down in some older books and diagrams.

 

[Rustytruck]

My electric choke is plugged into the original carb solenoid wire since my Quadrajet doesnt use the solenoid.

 

[DESERT66]

Well I found that green/red wire right at my disconnected external voltage regulator. I’m glad I left intact

 

[DESERT66]

Okay okay so can someone tell me why I can’t just put the wire on the “ I “ post on my starter relay AKA starter solenoid ?

 

[Broncobowsher]

Okay okay so can someone tell me why I can’t just put the wire on the “ I “ post on my starter relay AKA starter solenoid ?

The I post is only 12V while in start. In run it is reduced voltage from the ballast resistor for the ignition system. The way a series resistance circuit works it drops voltage through every resistance. If the resistance goes up or down it changes the voltage drop.

Adding a load on the I post of the starter solenoid will cause the ballast resistor to drop more voltage. This leaves less voltage for the ignition system. In theory the ignition system runs on about 9V instead of 12V. Initially this was done to avoid burning up the points. Putting the choke on the I post (which is the exact same circuit as the + on the coil) you reduce the voltage to something less, maybe 6V. This may not be enough to get a good spark all the time.

 

[DESERT66]

Okay cool I understand that and thanks for the speedy response. However I have a RTR billet distributor that’s very similar to an MSD RTR which eliminates the need for a ballast resistor. It calls for a 12V ignition wire straight to the + coil post. So I took out my old ignition box because per BluePrint Engines they clam it cleans up the engine bay and there really isn’t a need for a ignition module anymore unless I wanted to run one. I hope I’m not confusing anyone! Haha this stuff is all new to me and I’m learning as I go. I really appreciate the help.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Yes, but the factory ballast resistor isn't in the "box", it is in the harness under the dash.
If you put a meter on the ignition wire (ballast resistor) that isn't under load you will measure full battery voltage. The resistor drops voltage based on load. Meters don't typically load a circuit, unless they are very special ones, not the common ones normal people have access to.

 

[DESERT66]

Oooooooh okay I got it now ! Thank you so much for the help.

 

[DESERT66]

So I need to eliminate the ballast resistor so I have a full 12V at my ignition wire. What is the original location of the ballast resistor? I thought it was on the firewall in the engine bay. This truck hasn’t ran in 10yrs and idk if it had points or not when it was running back then.

 

[DirtDonk]

Is your wiring harness original, or has it been replaced?
Did you actually have a ceramic ballast resistor on your firewall? Or is it just you’ve seen them in the past like that?

Reason I ask is that Ford did not use that type of ballast resistor on the bronco. The resistor is in the form of a “resistor wire“ which is the red with green wire between the ignition switch and the firewall. So 99% of Broncos would’ve had that wire under the dash, where every once in a while you hear about a Ford truck that had a resistor wire under the hood. Personally I’ve never seen one like that however.
By the time the red with green wire comes out of the firewall and over to the engine it is just regular wire.

So if you have a standard wiring harness there is a resistor wire from the ignition switch to the firewall. Usually bundled separately so it’s fairly easy to find and trace

 

[DESERT66]

It’s an original wire harness. I never seen a ceramic resistor on my firewall. I think I came across a photo of that set up on the web.

 

[DESERT66]

https://seabiscuit68.tripod.com/images/66-67ignition-color.gif
Is it the #16 wire at the back of the ignition?

 

[DESERT66]

Is your wiring harness original, or has it been replaced?
Did you actually have a ceramic ballast resistor on your firewall? Or is it just you’ve seen them in the past like that?

Reason I ask is that Ford did not use that type of ballast resistor on the bronco. The resistor is in the form of a “resistor wire“ which is the red with green wire between the ignition switch and the firewall. So 99% of Broncos would’ve had that wire under the dash, where every once in a while you hear about a Ford truck that had a resistor wire under the hood. Personally I’ve never seen one like that however.
By the time the red with green wire comes out of the firewall and over to the engine it is just regular wire.

So if you have a standard wiring harness there is a resistor wire from the ignition switch to the firewall. Usually bundled separately so it’s fairly easy to find and trace

I found the pink resistor wire under my dash. I was able to unplug it from the back side of the key ignition at the dash. The wire it connected to ends up in the key ignition switch. It had a simple male to female factory connection and is red /w green strip. I was thinking of making a new wire and running it from that connection behind the key ignition, up to the factory style 3 pin pigtail where the wires are for the oil pressure, water temp and coil +. Would you say that is a good option? Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[DirtDonk]

Oh, you’re one of the lucky ones! Most broncos didn’t have that connector as they made changes over the years. I’m glad yours did and the new replacement switch harnesses have that connector as well. So that part is great!

Yes, you can splice to the wire at that connector, if they left you enough to work with?
In my case it was very short so when the wires deteriorated there I simply cut it out and bypassed the connector.

 

[DESERT66]

Oh, you’re one of the lucky ones! Most broncos didn’t have that connector as they made changes over the years. I’m glad yours did and the new replacement switch harnesses have that connector as well. So that part is great!

Yes, you can splice to the wire at that connector, if they left you enough to work with?
In my case it was very short so when the wires deteriorated there I simply cut it out and bypassed the connector.

Oh cool that’s good to hear that Im slowly figuring this out. Yes the red w/ green stripe wire was about 4 inch long to work with.

 

[DESERT66]

Great success!!!!!!! It all came together with the help from this discussion. I’m very grateful for the help fellas My Bronco is back !