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i'm asking about the white twin cylinders with three spade terminals screwed to the inner fender right next to the ignition control box. mine gets very hot, is this normal?

That's the ballast resistor for the ignition. Getting hot is normal, that's what a resistor does, disapates heat. It's function is to have higher voltage going to the ignition/coil when cranking and voltage is reduced due to the starter load, then drop voltage during normal running to give good coil life. E12 era electronic igniton is pretty hot, I'm surprised they used it but they did. It's almost a relic from an earlier era, the points and condenser era.

thanks mike. i should've known that is supposed to be hot being that is encased in aluminum as a heat sync. i'm just chasing down any leads on my '79's choking/bogging problem.

http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/122.cfm

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