68 Newport ignition swap questions

Mike McGuire

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Fellow Chrysler Enthusiasts,

With recent abundant time on my hands, I'm finally getting around to putting the parts acquired over the years into their respective Chryslers. I've never swapped out a points ignition for electronic, but, here goes the experiment. Below is a pic of a new wiring harness that looks like it will connect to the non-points style distributor, and the orange unit that mounts to the firewall, (ignition ?).
chrysteen engine.jpg
Do I need to swap out the coil or voltage regulator for the transplant to work? Also, does this eliminate the ballast resistor too? (I plan to keep the old system in the trunk, just in case).
ignition stuff.jpg

Your help is appreciated.
(Happy 440 day)

Thanks,
Mike
 
Where did you get that harness?? It is specific to your 68 C body?
When I did my 68, there were no harness available and I integrated the ECU wiring into my factory original harness.
Anyways,to answer your questions..
Yes go with an electronic voltage regulator. AutozoneVR706 plugs n plays. May not look correct but damn reliable.
You need to keep the ballast resistor for the ignition to function.
A fresh coil never hurts.
I could not see the entire harness but you might need to use a dual field alternator if not installed already.
Hope this helps.
 
Where did you get that harness?? It is specific to your 68 C body?
When I did my 68, there were no harness available and I integrated the ECU wiring into my factory original harness.
Anyways,to answer your questions..
Yes go with an electronic voltage regulator. AutozoneVR706 plugs n plays. May not look correct but damn reliable.
You need to keep the ballast resistor for the ignition to function.
A fresh coil never hurts.
I could not see the entire harness but you might need to use a dual field alternator if not installed already.
Hope this helps.

Where did I get it? I don't recall. Those brain cells were written over. Recently discovered the harness in the garage. Probably got it in 2016 +/-.
Thanks for the tip on the VR! & Ballast resistor & dual field. The schooner came with the wrong alternator, might as well fix that too. Thanks, again.
 
Where did I get it? I don't recall. Those brain cells were written over. Recently discovered the harness in the garage. Probably got it in 2016 +/-.
Thanks for the tip on the VR! & Ballast resistor & dual field. The schooner came with the wrong alternator, might as well fix that too. Thanks, again.
You don't need a "dual" field alternator. That would only be needed if you were using a later (70 up) wiring harness that uses an electronic regulator. In that case the voltage regulator (VR706) wouldn't be right for use with that harness.

Here's the deal... In 1970, Chrysler changed their charging system. Prior to that, the voltage regulator was mechanical points and controlled the + voltage to the alternator. One field connection and the other - end of the field was grounded internally.

In 1970, they went to an isolated field alternator, often referred to a "dual field" because of the two field connections. The voltage regulator controls the - side of the field and the field gets + voltage from another source.

So... with your '68 car, you can use a isolated field alternator and ground out one field connection, but there's absolutely zero gain from it. You can use the grounded field (called single field) alternator, just like it came from the factory with, and do an upgrade to an electronic regulator. @FURYGT sells a nice electronic regulator that even looks right.

You can also change the wiring harness to the 70 and up isolated field alternator with the corresponding regulator, but IMHO, there's nothing to gain from it.

Now... I can't really tell what the harness is that you have. Is there another plug that looks like this?


s-l640.jpg



That will tell what alternator/regulator you need to run.
 
Also be sure that when you mount the orange box controller that you have a good ground as these units perform poorly with a bad ground, same is also true for the electronic voltage regulator. OEM Mopar orange box controllers usually held up pretty well, in recent years these units have been outsourced to China and have suffered significant reliability issues. If the unit still says "Made in USA" you probably have one of the good ones.

Dave
 
You don't need a "dual" field alternator. That would only be needed if you were using a later (70 up) wiring harness that uses an electronic regulator. In that case the voltage regulator (VR706) wouldn't be right for use with that harness.

Here's the deal... In 1970, Chrysler changed their charging system. Prior to that, the voltage regulator was mechanical points and controlled the + voltage to the alternator. One field connection and the other - end of the field was grounded internally.

In 1970, they went to an isolated field alternator, often referred to a "dual field" because of the two field connections. The voltage regulator controls the - side of the field and the field gets + voltage from another source.

So... with your '68 car, you can use a isolated field alternator and ground out one field connection, but there's absolutely zero gain from it. You can use the grounded field (called single field) alternator, just like it came from the factory with, and do an upgrade to an electronic regulator. @FURYGT sells a nice electronic regulator that even looks right.

You can also change the wiring harness to the 70 and up isolated field alternator with the corresponding regulator, but IMHO, there's nothing to gain from it.

Now... I can't really tell what the harness is that you have. Is there another plug that looks like this?


View attachment 374845


That will tell what alternator/regulator you need to run.

The voltage regulator that Big John is referring to is:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/121703672807?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

When Chrysler came out with the electronic ignition system in 1972 in most applications they mounted the ignition module on a bracket so that air could flow around the unit to keep it cool. I recommend using a bracket or something else to keep a little space behind the unit. This will also help if the black rubber like stuff on the back side of the module ever melts as the spacing may keep it off the fire wall.

The Orange module is likely more than you need. As noted above some of the Orange modules have a high failure rate. It is always a good idea to carry a spare ignition module. I sell a good quality one on eBay.

Lastly, if you are going to keep the 2 prong ballast resister, get a heavy duty one as the stock ones don't always hold up well with electronic ignition in my experience.

Good luck!
 
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