OK so here is the deal. My car had a mallory HEI with coil in cap installed on my 386. It needed a more powerful ignition due to the fact that I am going to start running nitrous. So I bought an MSD digital 6 plus box, Pro Billet dizzy, and an MSD blaster HVC coil. I mounted all the parts and wired it all up. Aligned the dizzy just how the Mallory was when I pulled it out. Tried cranking and NOTHING. DAMN!!!!

Ok, so then I spent 3 hours trying to figure out what the problem is. The box has a little red light on it let you know it is getting power, and it is. So the box is on. The coil is just a simple thing, and I got it used (almost 1000 miles on it). SO I know it works, the guys I bought it from is a friend. And it looks brand new. And the dizzy has so few parts in it, I am pretty sure that is OK too. So I pulled a plug boot and tryied checking if I could make it jump to groud via a screwdriver in the socket, NOTHING. The I tried to do all the MSD troubleshooting tips, by shorting the magnetic signal wires coming from the dizzy and trying again. NOTHING. I can't get this damn ignition to do ANYTHING! Please help with any advice. Thank you.

 

Call MSD, check their websites and download the instructions too...
Besides the red / black power and ground, there is another ignition wire that gets 12v switched too...

If you bought it used, and you can't get it working, time to take it back...

Raf

 

only thing I got used was the coil. I have a switched 12V going to the pink wire too. I made sure with a voltmeter. The box is new, and so is the coil. It has super conductor 8.5mm MSD wires too. I will call MSD today, but am seeing if I can get any help on here first since I am at work. Thanks .

-Dennis

 

Dennis, make sure you do not have the white wire grounded. If it is touch ground it will make the entire box inoperative. The white wire is often used as an anti theft device.

 

hmmm... I will check. I am 90% sure that it isn't, but it may be touching my steering column or something. I never taped it up. Thanks for the suggestion. That will be my first order of business.

Anything I should try after that? Can these CD ignitions still be tested the same way as the HEI?

I used to test the HEI by trying to start it with someone holding a screwdriver near the end of one of the boots that had been pulled off the plug. Then if you saw a spark you are in the money, but if not, then there is a problem elsewhere.

Should I be bale to do this test here? I am not sure how these CD ignitions work yet. Thanks for any help. I really hope to get this sorted out tonight. i need the car to go to work tomorrow. Thanks

 

If you'd like I can post the schematic of the MSD6al and a mallory distributor so you can look at the wiring.

 

Thats alright. I called MSD and it looks like these boxes really need a lot of juice. My battery is mounted in the trunk and goes up to the starter, then from there goes to a fused link that the painless kit came with, thats where I had the + side of the box running to. They told me I should extend the leads all the way to the back of the car and attach it straight to the battery. Do-able. Will take me an hour to do that. Not bad. After that they said it should work just fine. So I dunno we will see. If I can even get this thing to make any kind of spark I will be so happy, cuz that means all I have to do after that is gap the plugs and set the timing! both short order items. Hopefully by tonight I would be done, up and running. Wish me luck. If this doesn't work then I am gonna be back on the phone with MSD.

Oh and the white wire thing, I mentioned that. The rep says it doesn't matter with a digital box, if it was analog yes, but that the digi doesn't look at that wire at all once it notices the magnetic trigger is plugged in. I will make sure anyways, just cuz it takes 5 seconds to make sure.

Ok, well I guess thats all for now. I am off to sneek out of work early today so that I can get some work done on the car. Thx for the help so far, i will keep this thread posted. Later

-Dennis

 

I am not sure if I buy the whole battery distance deal.

Many people mount their boxes inside the car, including myself. Which makes the distance between the box and battery quite far.

Then again... you never know.

Keep us informed.

 

Yeah, mine is mounted where the heater used to be. And I have my battery in the trunk. So there is a lot of distance to cover. I have no idea. I kinda don't buy it either. I mean I understand if I was getting a weak signal, like a baby spark. But I am getting 100% nothing at all. But oh well, I will do what they say for now and go from there I guess.

 

The digital 6 has a built inn antitheftdivice, check the rotarydails at the box

 

OK well I got it to fire yesterday. But now I can't get the timing close enough to get her to idle. I tried just about everything. I think after about an hour of trying, I flooded the carb, so I said screw it, I am waiting till tomorrow (today). So hopefully today is the day. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Alright well I figured out what the issue was. First off i needed to have the main feed wired going directly to the battery. And second, was totally my mistake and VERY anti-intuitive.

I un-terminaled the magnetic pickup connection so that I could pass it though the firewall. When I did that I forgot to see how they went into the plug so when I reassembled it, I made puprle match purple and orange match green. This is what was wrong. The purple goes to orange and the green goes to orange goes to purple. So I switched it and the timing went back 30* to where it needed to be. So I am happy now. I have never set timing before, but I think I got really close.

All that is left is to wire the 2nd rev limit, and the N20 retard. Oh and open up the spark gaps. I am thinking open them to 0.045. I had them at 0.035. Instructions say go all the way up to 0.050-0.060. That just seems HUGE. Lemme know what you think.

 

.050-.060" is low compression NA. You'll want to close them down for nitrous.

 

So how about 0.040? 0.045?

Or should I just play it safe and leave them at 0.035?

I have only changed 2 so far, so if it is better to leave the rest and change the other 2 back, that would be great. haha.

 

I have seen much debate about gap sizes... on one side since the MSD is giving it more power, it can be gapped bigger, but too much a gap and you stress your unit. I went with .040.

Also, if running nitrous, they say to go down to a cooler plug too...

Raf

 

yeah, I hear that. But I think with the retard timing and the fact that it is just a street car running some N20 here and there, it will be OK running the recommended plug heat range. I will start small, if the plugs show like they want to be colder, then I will swap.
I think I will just leave them at 0.035 untill I get bored one day, then I will go around and open them all up to 0.040. that last 0.005 can't really do that much I don't think.

 

Got her running. Best Ign EVER!. haha.

 

Grats man feel a nice difference?

 

Hell yeah!, haha.