MSD issues!?

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bobs340dartsport

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I purchased a MP MSD unit and installed in my 73 Dart that was working fine with a MP distributor and a MP chrome ECU. Car starts and runs fine for a while.

After a few runs down the track, car fails to start (basically acts like a not spark condition). So I switch wiring back to the MP chrome box and it starts right up. This has happened to me twice, since I tried running a ground from engine to the body and tried unit again.

I called the place who sold me the MSD unit and they say my issue is probably related to something not being grounded properly.

Has anyone out there had an MSD that would loose ability to fire once it gets hot?

Has anyone had a similar condition that was a grounding issue??
 
i know, there are a few fellas in my club that will have no part of the msd system anymore. these are people that sometimes go to the track and beat the snot out of their cars on the street. my opinion is they`re putting them (the box) too near a heat source under the hood. there is a huge argument out there about going msd or not. i just went with the fbo system and so far, no worries. i`m crankin 7000 and it`s workin. and yup, the ground is very critical on any system. don gould at fbo is a pretty smart cookie with ignitions and i`m sure he`ll share his thoughts with you with no obligation. check out his web site http://www.4secondsflat.com/a688specs.html good luck
 
I've only ever had a problem with one MSD box and that was self inflicted. Welding on the car with the box hooked up. What coil are you running and which box are you using?
 
if your coil lays sideways, start using the 4x4 epoxy filled one. that way no windings are exposed by oil not covering them.
 
I was hoping go use this unit on my street driver (67 cuda ragtop with a stock 1971 318 2 barrel/904 combo) since it seems to have little if any improvement over the chrome box MP ecu I am using on the 340 Dart sport.
The MSD box seems like it would adapt well to the stock wiring harness of the barracuda that was designed for a points and condenser ignition system with less modifications than if I converted to a chrysler system or the FBO system (although I can be classified as " FAT, BALD and OLD" !!!!). I was also hoping the multi spark function of the unit below 3000 rpm would provide some performance/economy benefit for a street driven car that spend smost of its life below 3000 rpm. I am just seriouslly concerned with the reliability of this system.

I was using the Black MP "Blaster" coil with a new MP distributor and a MP (not the NASCAR one) MSD unit. The coil is mounted in the horizontal orientation using the stock coil bracket.


Bob
 
Don't get me started on those boxs. I went through many of them and can not simply understand how that company can stay in biz.
3 in a month, customers come (Came) back alot. It was so bad, I had to stop useing them. They were costing me money even on the so called repaired boxs. Even though they got one back 3 times. It still failed.

Good customer service IMO and by compare to other places and company I have delt with. But that box just keeps on failing on me.
I'll never purchase another one. When this one goes, it goes out the window at 90+ miles and hour.

(Now, My Jacobs system, whooooooooooaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!! Now thats a box and whew!!!! Thats a system.)
 
i just went with the fbo system and so far, no worries.
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good luck with that... every one i know with that set up has eaten up ballis resistors and ecu's like crazy.. something isn't right in that set up.fbo replaced the parts for free wich is good but that still don't help when your on the side of the road... carry an extra ecu and ballis with ya to be on the safe side....


sa far as the msd goes. could be a ton of things... is it too close to heat? are you sure its the msd? could it be the pick up in the dist. going? i've had that happen a few times. and like already said make sure all grounds are good....
 
rumblefish360 said:
Don't get me started on those boxs. I went through many of them and can not simply understand how that company can stay in biz.
3 in a month, customers come (Came) back alot. It was so bad, I had to stop useing them. They were costing me money even on the so called repaired boxs. Even though they got one back 3 times. It still failed.

Good customer service IMO and by compare to other places and company I have delt with. But that box just keeps on failing on me.
I'll never purchase another one. When this one goes, it goes out the window at 90+ miles and hour.

(Now, My Jacobs system, whooooooooooaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!! Now thats a box and whew!!!! Thats a system.)
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hey rumblefish360, what do you have the jacobs stuff on? years ago, i put that system on an 89 wrangler 4.2 and man, like a cat shot in the ***. it sure did like that tickle and mpg improved, also seemed pretty reliable as well. handed it down to my boy and was still going strong when he unloaded it a couple years later. what are your thoughts about applying this system to a 451 w/ some grunt,like maybe 7000/7200. right now i`m using the fbo stuff but haven`t raced it yet. seems like it might work but waying options. thanks and good luck to you
 
you could have a bad pick up in the distributor also. Had intermittant problem like that with my msd pro-billet distributor!
 
abodyjoe said:
good luck with that... every one i know with that set up has eaten up ballis resistors and ecu's like crazy.. something isn't right in that set up.fbo replaced the parts for free wich is good but that still don't help when your on the side of the road...
carry an extra ecu and ballis with ya to be on the safe side....
Click to expand...

sa far as the msd goes. could be a ton of things... is it too close to heat? are you sure its the msd? could it be the pick up in the dist. going? i've had that happen a few times. and like already said make sure all grounds are good....
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Not defending FBO system because I have never used one, but haven't all of us carried "extra" ignition parts with us for years.....LOL.
 
dustertogo said:
Not defending FBO system because I have never used one, but haven't all of us carried "extra" ignition parts with us for years.....LOL.
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i agree but thats because the chrysler stuff has been proven to be junk... for the money your paying for FBO stuff you shouldn't have to... from what i read on different boards the fbo stuff is no more reliable then the chrysler stuff so why spend the money? heck if that the case you may as well just run a napa box.....
 
i have installed many msd systems and all but a couple of items were bad. they replaced them without a problem. i go with abodyjoe on this that maybe heat or grounds may be the problem. also jump starting the battery and welding on the car are big no-no's with msd. my chrysler performance dist(with kit)= cast base, too much shaft endplay, 29* centrifugal advance=horrible. the msd dist can have multiple amounts of centrifugal advance(bushing), and you can control how fast the timing comes in(springs). it is so tuneable. the caps are all brass, hei towers for more positive wire retention and much more precision dist shaft. just like chevy and hei, their stock units have crappy modules and unreliable coils. go with a msd hei and you got a better unit.
 
the msd dist can have multiple amounts of centrifugal advance(bushing), and you can control how fast the timing comes in(springs). it is so tuneable.
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your not kidding.. i love how easy mine is to tweak the advance curve.
 
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