I'm running the original 270 hemi in my '55 Dodge converted to 12 volt and has an electronic ignition system utilizing a 318 electronic distributor. It has the 4 prong ignition module and ballast resistor. The vehicle has been on the road for 12 years with no real problems. This just started recently. This happens intermittently. Go to start the car and when you put the ignition to start the system goes completely dead. With the switch just on all seems well but when you go all the way to start is when it goes dead. At first I thought the switch was bad so I installed a new switch. Same situation. Most of the time it works just fine then the problem comes up. If I keep working the switch eventually it will work and all is fine again. Then for no rhyme or reason it will not work. Temperature does not seem to be a factor. Before I start changing everything in the system does anybody have any suggestions ???
Grab a voltmeter and check your power supply in and out of the switch on all the terminals while the symptom happens. If you have power going into the switch but not out of it, the problem is in the switch. If there is power showing out of the switch then the problem is down stream, maybe the fuse box area. Keep in mind that some wires at the switch can be hot only in the run position and some only hot in the start position. Depending on the wire circuits some wires can be hot in the start and run positions.
Don't know about Chryslers and their solenoids, but with GM (and Furd) there is a start bypass terminal, that will bypass the ballast resistor when starting. If your system is like those, then you might have a solenoid that is going bad and not making good contact with the bypass wire. The bypass wire and it's terminals are also a possibility.
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