Dave---You can check to see if the ignition wire is ballast resisted by
measuring the voltage going thru the wire to the coil + terminal. If
it's less than 12V, it's probably going thru a ballast. Some '69s I've
seen have theirs mounted on the left, inner fender. 12V goes to the
ballast, 8V comes out and goes to the coil +. The purpose is to reduce
the likelyhood of arcing on the face of the points, as they open and
close. Later wiring setups have the ballast incorporated in the wiring
harness, with two wires going to the coil+. One is only in operation for
starting the engine (12V) and the other (8V) to keep it running.
There is probably better terminology for explaining all this.
Dick
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