1967 Camaro that won't stay running

Question:

My 1967 Camaro starts for an instant but will not stay running. I have changed the points, condenser, fuel pump and carburetor, but the problem persists. What should I do next?

Answer:

There are two independent sources of power to the ignition coil in your car. The first supplies a full 12 volts directly from the starter solenoid to the coil and the second supplies a reduced voltage that originates at the ignition switch. There are two separate circuits because the points in the ignition system would burn up quickly if they were fed a steady 12 volts.

While the car is running, power to the points is reduced to about 7 or 8 volts by a ballast resistor. But to facilitate starting, the ignition circuit supplies a full 12 volts to the points as long as the starter motor. is: engaged. If your car’s secondary ignition circuit is faulty, the car would start when the voltage to the coil is coming directly from the starter solenoid, but would die when this primary circuit is interrupted.

Locate the ballast resistor on the firewall and, with the ignition key in the run position, check for power on both terminals of the resistor. If neither terminal is hot, the ignition switch or the wire from the switch to the resistor is faulty. If the terminal receiving power from the ignition switch is hot and the terminal that feeds the coil is not, the ballast resistor is faulty.