What’s the purpose of the igniter?

[Slow Poke]

I’m going back to the stock ignition on my 77 FJ40. I bought a OEM points distributor and I’m trying to wire it up correctly. I have the original parts with the exception of the igniter. The igniter I have is from a 1980 and lacks the big external ballast resistor that the 77’s came with. Does the 1980 igniter have an internal resistor or do I need to add one? I’ve had cars with points before but they didn’t have igniters. They just had points, condenser, and a coil. What’s the purpose of the igniter and is there a way to test it?

 

[mattressking]

1978+ igniter is for electronic pickup on distributor. 1977 and earlier is for points, simple as that.

Match correct unit for points or electronic pickup distributor. Don't know which you have? Open distributor cap and look.

Note USA trucks from 1975-1977 used points with coil and igniter to reduce load and wear on points, that is the ideal unit to use. Otherwise just a coil or coil with resistor is also OK.