Classic/Antique Car Repair: chrysler electircal problem, ballast resistor, chrysler new yorker

Question
Hello Dick,
I have a 1977 Chrysler new Yorker and it used to have the lean burn system.  I changed it out with the recommended part from Chrysler.  The change parts were a distributor, electronic box on firewall.  It have been running great for about two years.  Now every now and then, it will not start, I can smell gas from the carb, but believe it is not getting a strong enough spark.  So I get out and wiggle the wire connections to the firewall plug and the two connectors to the ballast resistor.  That seems to start it most times.  I have cleaned the connections, but every so often it won't start.  If I leave the car alone for 10-20 minutes it will crank up.  When it cranks up normally there is no issues.  Starts right up with a quick turn of the key.  I am pretty sure it is an electrical problem, because the other day I had it running and was driving out of my driveway and it shut off (I was giving it gas and accelerating very slowly) I could feel the power turn off.  I then tried to start it and it would not start.  Got out and wiggled the wires and it started right up.  I have a feeling it is the voltage regulator, or some thing to do with the ballast resistor.  Don't feel like buying all these parts and doing a trial and error.  Do you have any suggestions or can you send me to the right person.
Thanks so much
JIM

Answer
If it were the ballast resistor, the engine would start OK, but die as soon as you released the key to let it go back to the "RUN" position, because the ballast resistor is bypassed during cranking - so forget about that one.

The voltage regulator only controls the battery maintenance - it has nothing to do with starting or running of the engine, so forget that one too.

It is the wiggling of the wires that is telling you what is wrong - most likely the terminals in the firewall plug are dirty or oxidized - I don't know where you live, but even out here in the southwest desert, after 31 years, we start to have problems with these connectors.  Unplug the connector at the firewall and methodically clean each copper contact with whatever you can push in there until you see clean bright metal contacts on both mating halves of each circuit.  While you are at it , inspect the wires in case you have one that is broken inside the insulation - this is very hard to find, you can only find it by bending each wire -if one will bend too easily, the copper inside is probably broken.

The wire you care about is the wire from the ignition switch "I" terminal to the Ballast resistor. If you want to just fix the problem and quit worrying about it, get a new wire and run it separately, through some hole in the firewall, directly to those two points, and your troubles should be over for good.

Dick