wherein lies the problem,it has a new wiring harness?can it be the wiring to the starter?.....help.,kris

Kris,
I have an 82 MPG with Chrysler ignition (white distributor cap) and it does not have a Ballest resistor. The voltage comes from fuse post 11 (hot side) to a connector on the passenger firewall (blue wire) and then it goes to the coil term #15 (brown wire). I have had two occasions in the last ten years were that connector has corroded out and blocked the 12volts to the coil. When I cleaned the connector, the car ran great. This connector is located were the ballest used to be according to my Volvo green book. Find that connector and clean it up. It seems to be a problem unique to 82. Hope that helps.

Mario

Good post! Kris is probably cussing me out looking for that non-existent ballast resistor. You're certainly right about 82; they made every kind of ignition and fuel injection that year.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Art,

The 82 is a strange model. It could be a K-jet or an LH. It could have the fuel filter on top or bottom and it could have a ballest or not. The Cat used is also a special size. The particular trouble Kris is having is the same issue I had over ten years ago and it took me a day with a print to find. Lo and behold the same thing happened about 4 months ago and the car stopped dead on a major intersection. This time it took me about 5 minutes to fix. Experience is a great teacher.

Mario

Mario,

Although I have never owned an 82, I have the wiring diagram manual for it. After an attempt a couple weeks ago to elicit information from an 82 owner regarding MPG Chrysler or Bosch ignition, K-jet 49-state or California, (or LH1.0) I became aware of the variations. But book knowledge is indeed fleeting, nothing compared to getting it the way you did. Thanks again for getting Kris on the right track.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Kris,

I just sent you a copy of the picture that shows the connectors that carry the voltage to the ignition coil. I would have posted this on the board but my server is down. Hope this helps.

Mario

You're right on it. Wiring to the starter is brown to terminal 16 (that is what the coil is running on), but when you release the key, that disappears, and now the coil must get its voltage through the ballast resistor. Check the wiring to the coil and ballast too.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

I assumed rotten wires from the subject line, but with new wires, sounds like it could be the ignition switch? Did this happen right after you replaced the wire harness, or did this happen sometime later?

this happened some timeΑ months after i replaced the wiring harness]