Died while driving, won't start and stay running now

[opethmike]

Tighten up the wiring on the ballast resistors. You are getting coil voltage while cranking and then losing it when you let go of the key.

During crank it comes directly from the starter, when running it comes from the aux relay. Just pull off the three connectors on the resitors and tighen/clean them all.

Thanks, I will do so. By the way, I'm not much of an electrical guy; how can I use my multimeter to check the coil voltage? And, should I need to, how to use the meter to test the ballast resistors?

I didn't see this. I pay attention to usernames and post content/context, and ignore signatures and avatars.

Contributions still most certainly appreciated!

Honestly I would just pull the aux relay and look closely at the terminals. I think I just tightened mine slightly with a set of needlenose pliers. If any of the connections feel even a little loose or are really grody-looking, then you have at least part of your answer.

And of course Dave has an excellent point - I don't know what your ignition wiring is like but that's actually a more common failure point than the relay wiring, I would think.

When you get it running again I would recommend grabbing that part of the wiring harness while it's running and jiggling it back and forth. Make sure it won't come off, say, when you come to an abrupt start or accelerate sharply.

Thanks!