Mopar Mystery Part Everyone Loves To Hate
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 เม.ย. 2021
- The Chrysler Ballast Resistor is a primitive and simple device that gets blamed for every electronic problem you can imagine. The truth is, it only serves one basic function and is more reliable than you'd think.
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#utg #mopar #ballastresistor - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
I had a feeling this was going to be about the ballast resistor, but I was also ready for it to be about the bulkhead connector.
Me too
Yup. A friend had run himself nuts trying to figure out the 'start=run', 'run=dies' problem. New wiring harness. The 'run' switch position had failed to connect at the bulkhead connector. FIXED IT! 😎 --Fink
Would that be the same bulkhead connector where alternator current is feeding through an ammeter mounted on the dash? ;)
Tony, Back in the 70's I was in charge of a small fleet of Dodge trucks. We did have problems with the ballast resistors. They would go out at the darndest times and without any warning! I put a resistor in every glove box, so the guys could change them and get the truck home when they got stuck somewhere! This saved the company a lot on towing bills.
If the engine starts in the key crank position but shuts off after letting off the start position its the ballast resistor.
Golden info right there !!!
This gem of wisdom just popped into your head? Well, let me tell you a little story. I bought an old chevy based step van, and all the electrics were totally corroded. I shucked it all off, and rewired the whole van. I have been working as an automation specialist for years, and have forgotten much of what I knew about old cars. It and was hard to start and would not run right once it warmed up. It felt to me (from my dim memories) like a coil problem but the coil was new. Under load it just petered out. I have been raking my brain looking for the problem and going over everything again and again. I couldn't figure it out. I have to get this thing 600 miles North of here to stash it so I can go home to my wife and kids in Crimea. I was getting depressed and discouraged. I even said a little prayer. Well, I was tired and hungry, so I decided to have a late lunch and watch some youtube. and guess what I saw. I forgot about the resistance wire! I rewired it to be easy to work on, so I ran the wires up over the doghouse opening instead of across the engine, so they are about three foot longer than stock. I made everything one gauge size bigger to keep resistance down. so I had a 14 gauge coil wire. Well; Thanks for "answering the call". I'm putting a ballast resistor in the wire about half way to the coil from the switch. Things pop into our heads for a reason. I want to Thank God and Uncle Tony. Pursuit of truth, and appreciation of logic is good worship. God bless Uncle Tony! You do lots of good you don't ever know about.
And then we have one of the most loved, Mopar parts . The Chrysler Prestolite transistorized ignition .
The Mopar Ballast resistor walked in the shrinks office, and said "I'm just misunderstood". The shrink said, "hey, why so much resistance ?". Doc, "I get blamed for everything"
I like it!
I think Rodney Dangerfield used this joke....LOL
LMAO
Rimshot!!
Love it.
I've been playing with old Mopars since 1990 and have never had a ballast resister go bad. Having said that, I expect the one in my Swinger to fail tomorrow. 🤪
I swear. If I can get an old Chrysler vehicle. I'm taking a trip to see Uncle Tony. I actually want to get one just so I can have an excuse to make the trip. My favorite channel on TH-cam
Let me REASSURE you, that what you just proposed is the LAST thing content creators want. They don’t need, or want, you bothering them.
.
@@NorthernChev just ask first.
Uncle Tony's one stop shop. He'll service your car free of charge. Stop by anytime!
9:00
My buddy learned that the hard way when he replaced the coil on his gto.
What a head scratcher , it ran in the crank position but died in the run position.
One of the old schoolers came over and saw what he did and chuckled before he set it straight 🤣
Over all the years....'66 Dodge Monaco 383, '68 Newport 440, '72 Plymouth Fury Station Wagon 360, '73 Plymouth Scamp Slant Six, '77 Aspen R/T 360 never had a Ballast Resistor go bad .
Interesting. I quickly learned to keep at least one in the glove box and also learned to drive directly to the parts store for another if I had to use it.
@@RiverRat-2112 when I bought the Scamp the lady was sure to let me know about the spare ballast resistor in the trunk... haven't drove Scamp in probably 6 years...I have a 360 for it but really thinking about just building the Slant and keeping that...not sure yet...but leaning Slant
@@danw.3291 lol, leaning slant
UTG to the rescue once again. He makes everything so simple. Love this guy. Good luck with your new venture, the shop looks so clean and organized
Every time I watch UTG I learn something more and things I do know are explained a bit better
Great short video on ballistic resistor and how that work.
Hey Uncle tony, my name is Pat and I'm from Minnesota and this video brings back memories for me. I had what I believe was a 1973 or 1974 Plymouth fury 3 with a 360.
The car would fire when you're cranking it but as soon as you went off the key it would die right away. Keep in mind this was over 30 years ago so I may not remember it perfectly.
It was probably one of my first diagnostics on my own car. And that second resistor that you showed was the one that I replaced and then after that it ran fine. Thanks for the great memories. I really like your videos and enjoy the intense tech that you know.
I used to work at a gas station so I've seen a few go and I had one go on my 73 Satellite, but I always had one in the glove box, Dad was a staunch Chrysler man back in the day and that was one of the pearls of wisdom he imparted to me.
Just curious, How many did you have to pull out of the glove box and hook up? (other that the one on the Satellite?)
Before I listened to this, my first thought is *THE BALLAST!*
Me too.... To be honest i am a GM man and I never got a good explanation for how a BR works or what it did other than they were the cause for every problem under the sun i wish i have seen this 30 years ago.
Ballast resistors. I KNEW IT.
Said that to. Mopar voodoo ??? Gotta be the ballast resistor
That damn thing stranded my Dart 1 hour west of San antonio
@@vicmccartin too
Take a shot of your liquor of choice, every time Tony says, ballast resistor.
No THANK you ❗️ I value my life 😂🎯☠️😎
Because, evidently, nobody in Iowa has ever even heard of resistor wire, I'm actually using a ballast resistor on my 67 caddy. It works perfectly!😁😁😁
Always had spare ballast resistors for our 76 Cordoba and Volare.
Such a easy thing to replace and it can completely shut down your day if you dont have one
Same with my 77 D150 back in the day. I had 2 go bad in one week.
@@johnwelsh4054 same with my 77 warlock
Corinthian Ballasts!!!
The second I saw this title, I knew it had to be a ballast resistor, kept a spare one for all my 60's mopars!
I've only seen one bad one too it was about 30 years ago
My boss thankfully gave me the lowdown on its function. Don't touch it if the car has been ideling for a while they can get very hot.
Your explanation was quite more thorough, especially comparing the Ford and Chevy resistance wire (didn't know that) did know about the extra solenoid lead terminal.
Thanks for the fullest explanation I had so far👍👍👍👍👍🌟
Some years ago, I was heading to work in my 73 Dart and the engine just quit. This was on a highway so I coasted onto the shoulder. Crank crank crank! Nothing. It would start in between the crank and run position on the ignition switch. I drove half an hour on the highway and through rush hour traffic holding the key in that spot. Got to work, cursing and relating my tale when someone yelled out," ballast resistor ". Kept a spare ever since.
"What a great Uncle to have!", ha ha, Thanks Uncle Tony. 👍
I have a ballast resistor in the nightstand just in case my heart stops.....
Great! Your video really highlighted how a ballast resistor is so much less complex than using resistor wires or fusible links. Way way back in the 80's I had a 1971 Pontiac that had a resistor wire fail: It would light right off and quit once the key was released. The classic symptom you described. Being young, short on cash and time, i was desperate. With some great advice from an automotive sage, rather than hack into the harness, I isolated the affected wire, bypassed it with some wire and some crimped on spade terminals, punched a hole in the firewall with an awl and hammer, mounted a 2-terminal Chrysler ballast resistor with a PK screw, hooked them up, and I was good to go and stayed that way. I laughed when you mentioned keeping a spare in the glovebox: I did, but never needed to use it, and if I did it'd be an easy swap. Mopar ballast resistors rock.
I ordered my UTG shirt last night to thank you for all the excellent content. Good luck in the new shop!
Good videos Tony. I graduated high school in 1970 when everyone drove hotrods. I started with a 64 Dart 225. Then 65 Coronet 361. Then a 68 Super Bee 383. Great time to be a kid small town street racing.
I remember dad having to replace ballast resistors on a regular basis.
Well that’s a useful tip 🤔. Always learn something watching this guy! Thanks uncle Tony
Ha! I read the title and said, “ballast resistor”. Too funny.
On GM products, you can cut the factory wire for the HEI out of the harness leading down to the bulkhead connector. Then remove the connector from bulkhead connector. It will plug in in place of the ballast wire, like it belongs there. Both the harness’ inside the cars are the same.
If it is more reliable than I knew why did I always have three or four spares in the glove box- I'll watch some of the video now LOL
Yup. Had a 77 Trailduster that had them as it's favorite snack. AT LEAST 2 in the glove box at all times.
'74 Dart was the same
2 Ballast resistors to every 1 voltage regulator! Had a crap ton of Mopar back in the 70s.
I had a '79 Power Wagon that used to go thru ballast resistors about 1 every 4 months, until I quit mounting it back to the firewall. Once I just let it hang by the wires I never had it go bad on me again. It wasn't getting enough air flow around it where the factory mounted it and it would just overheat, let it hang and no more problems.
I love how he calls it an ECU. I guess you could call it that but really it's just a huge Ignition Module.
Most places list it as ecu or icu. In reality its just an icu (ignition control module) anyone who knows mopar knows that, but others may be confused lol
@@ChrisTheBmxGuy it's not just mopar who calls it that gm and ford both called them "transisterized" ignition modules lmao its basically what makes an HEI distributor run. Just 3 times the size.
I believe he called it that because that's what it's called.
@@georgewetzel4380 being a mechanic you get to see different manufacturers call the same thing 9 different things. Sometimes from the same manufacturer they call it one thing on one car and by a whole other name on another car they built even though it's the exact same part and part #. Its hilarious and irritating at the same time. Try ordering a part from an aftermarket supplier and having no clue what they decided to call it.
@@jeremypike9153 Been there and agreed! I was just trying to add a bit of humor while pointing out that ECU was the "official" Chrysler name.
I think that it was Junkyard Digs that had a vehicle that would start and then stall out when the key was released (bad switch or wire I can't recall). They wired the headlight socket of a vehicle over to the ballast resistor to get it running so effectively the headlight switch was now also the ignition switch.
Yep. In my '74 Duster, it was mounted on the driver side firewall. Whenever water splashed up on it in a rain, or you hit a puddle (pothole), etc., the car died. I was very fortunate to have learned about this in early years. The honest Plymouth dealership mechanic told me to always carry an extra one in the glove box. 👍🇺🇸
If you ever learned about and troubleshot a ballast resistor on the chicago Edens expressway on a busy very rainy weekday night on the left shoulder, you would have done a lifetime of cursing them out.
Eons ago a buddy INSISTED his Dodge Monaco in my dad's driveway was "Out of gas!" as I kept repeating, "Ballast resistor, let's go get one." I finally said, "Listen, If I'm wrong I'll pay for it!" So end result when his car started and ran was him, "You're a Genius! I said, "No but I've been doing this awhile." I should have bet him Ten Bucks!
I went through 3 sets of Blue-Streak Points before I realized that someone had bypassed the ballast resister on my 65 Malibu. They had loosely wrapped the badly corroded wires together. I wondered why the two wires had female spade connectors on their ends. Then I realized they were just long enough to reach both sides of the Ballast Resistor that was mounted high on the firewall. Thanks for bringing back some good memories, Tony. I enjoy your entertaining, educational posts.
Great simplified info, as always!! Been working on and building 60s Mopes for...ugh, almost 35 yrs, but took the last 10 years off, and Ive forgotten so much. Tinkering with the 69 Dart, Ive actually forgotten the color codes for the wiring!! Uncle Tony's vids are a nice refresher for the basics...
Been driving old Mopars for 30 years, still haven't had a ballast resistor go bad. I had the symptom once (would crank and run with the key turned all the way over but would die as soon as I let go) but it was because the harness at the ignition switch was broken.
It must be so nice to see a Slant 6 everyday of your life. I sure miss mine.
My favorite was in a 67 Power Wagon, ran open exhaust for a little while, sounded like an airplane when you let off the gas
Thanks for your time and knowledge
That 66 really is a classy car. Great condition.
The Color.. Dang..
Never thought I'd see a MOPAR guy with a Cadillac shirt on.
I laughed when you said ballast resistor. Very common problem on the MOPAR. 😂
So, in truth, the ballast resistor is a current sensitive device. The more current that passes through it, the more it heats up and the higher the resistance goes. If it's stone cold, it has very little resistance. So early 12v Fords ran all their ignitions w/o 12v bypass from the starter because a cold motor and and cold ballast feeds almost full 12v to the coil, even starting.
It's only after the RPMs come up and the number of points closed full current cycles goes higher, does the ballast start limiting voltage (like cruising down the highway for hours). In our earlier Ford and Merc street cars, we'd just add a switched circuit to throw full 12v at the coil when racing. As soon as we were back to cruising, back to the ballast.
The best ones I have found are made in Germany and on the firewalls of older Audi's (any points models). The resistance coil is exposed on the top so it's easy to see and test probe while the car is running. Run the RPMs up and down and you can measure the lag and the resistance changes on your DVM :-)
ROLL UP YOUR CIGARETTE!!! LOL Great informative video! 👍
Now ya need a box to put all the wires that you remove from the Miata so you can weigh the weight loss.
Never had a problem with a ballast resistor but I have others claim that theirs went bad. But then again the also replaced quite a few parts before they fixed their problem. Inexperienced trouble shooters. I have bypassed a few in the past because people insisted that's what the problem was, just to prove them wrong because my grandfather did tell me about the same thing you just explained in this video.
Just incase anybody is interested, I was the first comment from my laptop.😉😉😂😂😂
Indeed the ballast resistor is hugely misunderstood everywhere including the Uk. To clarify, the resistor is used to maintain the spark energy as the rpm increases. The coil charge time decreases as rpm rises, this decrease manifests itself as a decrease in coil current. Since the resistor is wired in series with the coil primary winding and the ballast resistor is a nominal fixed value the voltage dropped across the resistor is proportional to the current flowing in the circuit. The lower the current the less voltage is dropped across the resistor and the higher the coil terminal voltage. Since power is a sum of current x voltage, we can see that having a higher terminal voltage at higher rpm offsets the drop in current due to reduced charge time, thus the coil power is maintained through the rpm range. Careful selection of the appropriate value of resistor maximises this affect.
And as you rightly state it also aids cold starting by being cut out of the circuit when cranking thus ensuring maximum could energy when cranking. Excellent channel BtW.
Just gotta appreciate how great your cars look under the hood- so well organized! I wonder how much of the Ballast Resistor hate is at least partially to blame for cars that had electrical system hackjobs. Any mechanical equipment can fail, but knowing how it works and how to keep going can really add a lot of longevity. The "unknown" for not knowing how something works is a surefire way to end up with something broken on your hands.
And bad grounds...
First thing in my aircraft maintenance classes when talking about electric systems was "check the damn ground!"
I had a college instructor that gave those unique details about such circuits that are different between Mfgr's but do the same thing.Keep Up the Good Work.🛠
Old Norton motorcycles from the 70s on back use a ballast resistor as well. The ignition system is 12 volt but the coils are 6 volt. The ignition system receives battery voltage but as the resistor heats up the system voltage drops to 6/8 volts.
Like the Chrysler flavor the resistors last a very long time. The one problem to watch out for on Chrysler cars is water running down the firewall and causing rust on the connectors causing a poor electrical connection. Even then is was usually on cars with the resister mounted on the drivers side. If you have this condition be sure to check the firewall electrical harness connector to make sure water hasn't gotten into it and corroded the terminals. Corrosion here will cause all sorts of peculiar faults.
Cheers from NC/USA
Love your channel. Very refreshing to see an old school regular kind of car guy share his many years of experience. I enjoy watching you videos much more than the ones from these other guys with the deep pockets who are nothing but robots for there rich sponsors. Your videos are just honest. I personally would not do a lot of what your into the way you do it. But there is still lots of experience there.Keep up the good workuncle Tony.👍
Long ago resisting arrest got me in trouble , i never learned hard lessons but my ballast resistor runs the show .
Excellent info. Very well explained. 👍🏻
Another great lecture by Professor Tony! Great info!
Hurray. Just what I had thought would make a great video.
There is another way to test out the ballast resistor or the wiring related to the RUN ign circuit. If the cluster brake and oil lights ( if idiot light cluster ) goes off while cranking, the ballast or anything of the RUN circuit between ign switch and ballast is gone. The RUN circuit is retrofeeded throught the ballast resistor while cranking and these cluster lights are feeded by the RUN circuit
The biggest thing I learned was to keep a spare ballast resistor in my glovebox when I had my Slant Six Dart and Dusters and my 78 318 LeBaron and 81 Slant Six Cordoba, and 1987 360 B350 Van! It kept me off the side of the road several times. I also carried the right size 7/16” wrench to quickly swap it out!
Always used ballast resistors when converting 6 volt cars and tractors to 12 volt.
I never thought to use one of those. I just got a voltage drop resistor from the parts store. I did that on a '50s Studebaker and a Dodge PU.
the ballist resistor IS just a long wound up wire, break it up and youll see same as the resistor wire but layed out differantly, it is easyer to replace the resistor instead of the whole wire.
I've never got this kind of useful quality content from Spotty Kilmer.
About 1973, had a neighbor who was a highway patrolman. On a cold winter morning, he'd crank and crank on that Mopar cruiser before it would ever start. Was a wonder how that starter ever endured that.
Good advice about adding the second ballast resistor to the accel coil. I blew up several ballast resistors til I figured that one out.
Great tip, thanks UTG!
Had a Dart that the previous owner had bypassed the resister at the switch. If not for Chilton's '71 Edition I would probably never have figured why it started going south.
Very good UT. You are the master.
My 76 Dodge D100 had a strange issue back in 1981. I still have the truck. 195,00 miles. Anyway, I drove it to the cleaners, shut it off and went inside. Came out and it wouldn't start while cranking, but fired up as the key went back to on from start. Got home and replaced the ballast resistor, I had one at home. Now I carry a spare always in the glovebox. I overhauled my 318 because mobile one did something to the seals back in 79. By 89 it was leaking 30 wt. pennzoil badly, so I pulled it and went thru it over a summer and did a good overhaul. Very torquey runner with 30 over 9.0 to one compression pistons, Edelbrock performer cam and lifters and Edelbrock performer intake with 500 AFB carter. Very old Blackjack alumacoat headers. Has a 74 3/4 rear with surelock and 3.54 gears.
Congratulations almost 180k subs uncle Tony 👏👏👏 quality content from a legend. Share the video's guy's lets get Tony to 250k subs by thanksgiving
I will do my part by subscribing 70000 times!!
From Leo: In the rainy midwest with heavy salted winter roads, ballast resisters used to corrode up and go open circuit. I always carried an extra in my glove box. Helped a lot of people that were broke down. I wish breakdowns today were so easy to fix.
Excellent video, love the industry wide explanation of reduced ignition voltage. I've Seen this diagnostic phenomenon of blaming what is not understood in other trades as well. When stuff started going electronic, it was the board...replace the board, put a new board on it, and see if it runs.
Exactly…Now with cars, Joe Shadetree always says “well, it won’t start, throw another computer in it!” It’s almost never the “computer” 🤣
Great and informative video. With a lot of misinformation floating about this was really useful lesson, thanks very much Uncle T 👌
This slaint 6 Miata is going to be bad ass uncle Tony👍👍
Great video sir!
You are my favorite uncle
Very informative. Swapping my 85 d100 back to the setup it would have come with - box and ballast resistor. The coil and distributor it came with were junk and died within a year.
I used a ballast resistor in my ‘82 GT 5.0 to see if it would help with a Duraspark ignition that was roasting my coil. It worked.
Every chevy or gmc I have ever owned has had a Dodge ballast resister on it. Gm and Ford with their resister wires hidden in the harness suck when you burn one up and have to replace it.
What memories. In used car buisness in the 1970's, trade in customer cars usually had 1 or 2 spare ballasts in the glove box. Even high school girls driving these cars knew how to swap out the ballast. Ford took up the gauntlet in the 70's with the constantly failing ICM in cars like the Mustang II ... chuckle. Ballasts were at least cheap and easy, while the Ford ICU's were stupid expensive at the time.
This channel is best watched on a Big Screen TV>
I never bothered to search about the ballast resistor to understand what it is, I'm glad Uncle Tony made this video to explain it
Drinking Challenge:
Take a drink every time Uncle Tony says ballast resistor
Cheers Uncle Tony!!
I would be drunk froshizzel
I did, now I'm drunk.
Watch the video once beforehand though. Or you wont remember shit by the time you get to the end
I like my liver, thanks.
Thanks for the ballast resistor lesson. Cause I just broke mine accidentally in my dodge power wagon but now I know it’s still working cause the truck keeps on running.
The chrysler ballast resistor caused me major headaches back in the late 80s until I spoke to an old mechanic. For 20 bucks hear and there and the willingness to listen.
Thumbs up before I hit play. Always.
Yup 👍✅🎯😎
Luv this! Are there any videos on coils such as early and late? The latest rumors have it that coils have resistors inside them
I used to have a -64 Valiant when young. When I bought it, "it was hard to start". It cranked fine, but instantly when releasing the key, it usually started. The reason was that someone had switched the wires at the ignition switch, and the coil had less voltage than needed when cranking, and full voltage when running. After about 15 minutes it started to stall if driving with headlights off, but after about half an hour with lamps on. The coil started to act up when it overheated. After figuring out what was wrong, it never let me down. That car had so many miles on it that the gas pedal metal was almost worn through, perhaps million miles or something. Eternal cars...
I can see the excitement in you Tony
It's a simple easy system! Love it, I run the orange box electronic never had an issue, never had any issues with ballast resistor, btw it's just a wire wound resistor, ballast is an old term now.
That will be a points setup more than likely.
Great video, minor quibble: there's no functional difference between the resistor wire and a ballast resistor--resistance is resistance and the voltage drop will always vary with current. If you start pushing the limits and get them hot one may have different heat dissipation characteristics than the other, but electrically they do the same thing just in different physical configurations. (I have both an electrical engineering degree and a '73 I've done ignition work on).
Thank you Uncle Tony I finally get it!!! I never completely understood the role of the ballast resistor i have had a lot of people try to explain to me what they did and i have gotten so many complete wrong and half right answers over the years. I am now 50 and been messing with cars for 35-36 of those years. I now feel like i can give somebody else the low down on ballast resistors. Hell now I want to buy a MOPAR.
Thanks Tony !
I was running the factory 77 HEI in my Trans Am. When I replaced the stock 77 L78 400 with an earlier 69 Ram Air III , I went with an Accel external coil for the HEI. A couple years went buy no trouble. Then one day it left me stranded. Tested ignition parts and it started eating ignition modules. I even installed a new Accel coil when it kept doing it. Finally I switched to a Mallory setup of an external coil and ballist resistor for the HEI. Problem was solved. Never had an issue after that. The Mallory kit came with the resistor where as the Accel didn't.
I suck at automotive electrical systems, and like a lot of guys, we can only go by what we’re taught, unfortunately. Though I did see a ballast resistor situation years ago at the track with a buddy’s car. He came back from a run and said “ I think I bent valves or something, the car was running like crap after the run and now it won’t start”. A friend said to him “ballast resistor, I’ve got a spare”. He swapped it and the car fired right up and he kept racing that night. Since then I always carried a spare, though I haven’t needed it yet lol.
Better to have a spare and not need it than need it and not have it!
@@ScottKenny1978 Yeah, and it’s an easy spare to carry around.
My new 73 Duster experienced this in its first year. I bought a replacement AND a spare from the dealer; $2:50 each. Kept the spare in the glove box. Five years later I sold the car ( sorry Tony , my bad ) the spare still in the glove box. Wish I still had that Duster.
I had just bought a 66 Coronet back in the 80s, went to the store and when I came out my car wouldn't start. dang it! so I called my Mopar guru buddy to help me out. and guess what was wrong, yup, the ballast resistor!!! lol! a much better and easier fix than when my fuel pump died on my Catalina, again, the first thing that died on my "new to me" car. gotta love it!!
I had a 1976 Dodge Aspen with a 225 slant block back in high school and I couldn't get the engine started , I had a guy I knew that knows Mopars and placed a paperclip across the terminals on the ballast resister and damn it started and got me home
Nice explanation! We had many Chrysler products from the 60's to the 80's and maybe once did we ever replace one. I think my 1973 Toyota had a ballast I don't know about. Same issue, run only in start, so I hot wired power from radio to coil and it ran until I sold it. (If my memory from 40 years ago is correct)
Lol, we used to always carry a spare in the glovebox for the electronic systems, it was the only piece on those systems that I have ever seen fail. The one for the points type ignition I have never seen fail, and I use the Chrysler version on my FoMoCo stuff. Mounted on the radiator support for some extra cooling, and ease of wiring to the bypass side of the starter solenoid. Much easier to service than a wire in the harness, and mounts with one bolt/screw, I love 'em.