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MSD failure?

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by snj5, Sep 3, 2005.

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  1. snj5

    snj5 F1 World Champ

    Feb 22, 2003
    10,213
    San Antonio
    Full Name:
    Russ Turner
    #1 snj5, Sep 3, 2005
    I think my MSD may be failing - the 6al box is too hot to touch and it acts down on power when underload accelleration, almost like it is not advancing.
    Heat soak?
    Anyone have experience with this?
    thanks
     
  2. ria

    ria Formula Junior

    Nov 2, 2003
    732
    ohio
    Full Name:
    phill
    #2 ria, Sep 4, 2005
    i have a MSD 6AL on a car that i have not a 308 it gets warm wen motor is up and NOT hot. call MSD ( 915-857-5200 ) al paso TX to sent your MSD box in for service. tech support ( 915-855-7123 )
     
  3. chrismorse

    chrismorse Formula 3

    Feb 16, 2004
    2,150
    way north california
    Full Name:
    chris morse
    #3 chrismorse, Sep 4, 2005
    Russ,

    Were you able to find a good, (high amperage potential), source of power for the Big Red Wire??

    Where did you mount it?

    I just mounted the 6AL in the left trunk well, (where the po had installed two MSD-5 units. Even without much airflow, it seemed it would run cooler than in the engine compartment.

    I too noticed that it was quite warm to the touch after running and was not sure if the problem might have been that i used the stock red ignition wire for both red wires. It pulls fine to red line. (I really wanted to tap off of the starter but had only a small floor jack and little time - as soon as i find acces to a lift, i will move the big red wire).

    What coil are you using?

    How old is the unit?

    Are you using the 8000 rpm limiter chip?

    I'm not quite following your supposition about "like it is not advancing". Does the box have some advancing capability with rpm, or is this strictly a function of the distributor advance mechanism?

    Probably not pertinent, but what triggering source are you using, (points, crane, petronix or other)? I recently did the Norwood conversion, (chyrsler mag pick up, ford rotor and $16 chevy 8 cyl cap). loving it.

    It will be interesting to see what the MSD response is.

    best,
    chris
     
  4. snj5

    snj5 F1 World Champ

    Feb 22, 2003
    10,213
    San Antonio
    Full Name:
    Russ Turner
    #4 snj5, Sep 4, 2005
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Took the power off of the original coil pack power, mounted the unit in the trunk.
    Took it out this am and it ran great - Took it out this am and after a 30 - 40 minute test run, the box was again very hot to touch. Do these things heat soak, fail and recover?
    Perhaps I just had some odd vapor lock going on. Ideas?
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  5. FLYZDINO

    FLYZDINO Karting

    Aug 31, 2005
    71
    #5 FLYZDINO, Sep 6, 2005
    I had an MSD on my Dino 246 that went bad, it got progressively worse, the car would just die and would not restart untill it cooled down,it was hard to diagnose. I replaced it and it runs great. pull unit and send the unit for rebuild, I'm running a Accel super stock coil from advanced auto parts. I am thinking of adding a rev limiter. but if you read the thread about over reving maybe I don't need to, since the Dino engine was a F-1 engine in the 60's.
     

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