hi i got a dodge ram van 1983 with the slant six and the motor won't start
cap and rotor are ok, i change the pick up coil in the distributor , and when i try to crank the engine , no spark but when i release the key , i got a small spark but nothing in the crank position , so i try to jump the starter to see if the switch is broken and no spark either so i think the last thing a have to check is the ballast resistor !!! but where is he !!! i know it's suppose to be in the driver side firewall ..... but where exactly because i didn't find it !!!

please post a pic of where is located thnx

ballast is a skinney white bar (for your year) just under the fold of the body where it meets the firewall.

you may also want to check the start relay, that can prevent starting too. ballast going bad is usually a sign when the engine cranks and cranks but doesn't turn over. if you have a bad relay, you won't get anything, which sort of sounds like what you have now.

relay is also a small item located on the firewall, (connects to your starter).

I don't have diagrams in front of me, but at least some 80s Mopars with the computer mounted on the fender had the ballast inside the same box.

My 225 cranks and cranks, then finally starts. After it started it ran okay for 20 miles this morning. When it died at a stop sign it was hard to get started, then ran very rough with little power. Yesterday I put a kit "rebuilt" BBD on it, same poor starting symptoms as the Holley 2 barrel that was on it. Could this be electrical related ?

Calvin, maybe that's the problem... yours is missing?

Tim, are you sure you are getting plenty of fuel with pressure? Check your rubber fuel lines for cracks or leaks (might be sucking air). Check your oil lately? Does it smell like gasoline? Fuel pump diaphram might be leaking.
How old is your pick-up tube filter in the tank? Could it be clogged?

Just a few guesses,
Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

in my experience, thats usually a ballast issue for not starting. it ALSO could be a timing issue too.... check all connections and your timing.

if you pull the ballast off the wall and look at the back of it, and its riddled with cracks, you need to get a new one. they are only a couple of bucks usually.

A few days ago someone took my gas cap. I have not found a filler cap replacement. No auto parts stores seem to sell gas caps for a '64. I think stuffing a rag into the opening is not a good idea. Could that rag have created a vacuum in the tank? It ran okay for twenty minutes, then stumbled badly.

You could be dealing with a weak fuel pump as well or a clogged fuel filter or the "sock" on the pickup tube in the gas tank is clogged.

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Nate the skate
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1994 Dodge B250 Van, Conversion by Elk
1972 Dodge B200 Sportsman Maxiwagon
1967 Dodge A100 C&P Telephone Van

Your van may or may not be equipped with a spark control computer. If it is, you don't have a ballast resistor. Was the pick-up coil in the distributor a dual unit w/two leads or a single unit w/one lead? Does your distributor have a vacuum advance?

If you don't have a spark control computer, the ballast resistor is located in the middle of the firewall under the hood.

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Nate the skate
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1994 Dodge B250 Van, Conversion by Elk
1972 Dodge B200 Sportsman Maxiwagon
1967 Dodge A100 C&P Telephone Van