The ballast resistor drops the 12V down to 6V to keep you from frying the coil
on the old points style style. As you pointed out, now that you have an
electronic distributor and a new coil, you no longer need the ballast resistor.
The newer coils can handle the 12V.
I have no idea why any other wires (including your electric fuel pump) would be
hooked up to the ballast resistor. There are 6V electric pumps out there, but
most people that buy these are using them on pre-1950s cars that had 6V
electrical systems. So, not knowing whether you have a 6V or 12V fuel pump, no
one can really answer your question. Do you have the make and model number of
the fuel pump? The manufacturer's website might have the specs for it.
Once you get your answer, I may ask the list for some help on my wiring. I
need to wire up an old points style distributor and I'm having trouble
deciphering the wire schematics.
Thanks,
Dan McHatton
'66 1600
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