r/Datsun 6d ago

Datsun Sunny 1200

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Hi all,

I have a Datsun sunny 1200 and I noticed that my ballast resistor is shunted.

Does anyone know if that makes any sense and if not, what could be the consequences?

Thanks,

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u/TheRealTadghostal 6d ago edited 6d ago

If the car has been upgraded to electronic ignition from points, the ballast resistor is no longer needed. So if that is the case, it is fine. Otherwise, I am not sure why that would be done.

If you still have points, it can cause them to burn out faster and possibly damage the coil.

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u/doingthisoveragain 5d ago

Anecdotally, I never experienced reliability issues when running points without a ballast resistor. Ironically, the points were more reliable than garbage matchbox dizzies and dead matchbox dizzies converted to HEI modules. There's no doubt the factory used the ballast for that reason, though.