Show of Hands-HOw many people have had an MSD magnetic pickup fail???

[Dimis]

Resto,

Apologies in advance for both my ignorance & hi-jacking the thread but - What other reputable alternatives/options do you really have?

Thx,

[RestoCreations]

Not sure. I bought the mallory, but it is not easy to adjust the advance and it has a lot of the same symptoms that the msd distributor was having, which leads me to believe there is something going on with the digital 6 box.

The alternative i may use is a pertronix system with a mechanical and vacuum advance. Mechanical advance is simple to adjust on such a distributor...simply set the timing so that 36 degrees comes in at around 2500 for best performance. if the vacuum canister needs to be changed to one that pulls in at a different level of HG reading, then they are ten bucks.

[8litercobra]

Had intermittent ignition failure while driving. Engine would cut off, but would crank right back up as if nothing were wrong. Checked the MSD distributor, found a cracked mag pick up. Replaced cracked module. No more problems to date.

[86Sebring]

I had 3 MSD's fail so far, BB Vette, sbf Healey replica and most recently in a sbf Mustang. Replaced it with Pertronix and never had issues again.
The worst was the inconvenience of getting stranded on my way to a car show, about 90 miles away. Me stay away from MSD now...

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by TButtrick

When your products fail SO FREQUENTLY that you have to have this type of decal pre-printed, there is a serious quality control problem. Personally I have had one new 6AL and one new magnetic pickup fail in 8k miles. The web is full of forum discussion about MSD failures.

Here is their CEO: Dan Gresham | LinkedIn

[WardL]

I've had no problems - knock on wood - but you guys are scaring me. What spare parts could I carry around to get me home if I had a failure on the road? Short of a complete back up box? Maybe a spare cap? What is the most likely failure of any kind to have on the road? We need a way to track these road failures online so we can keep an accurate running total versus old Cobra stories.

[TButtrick]

I find a AAA card and a cell phone are the best things to carry and depending on the neighborhood, add a 9mm to the list.

[decooney]

As to the original post and question, I've had two "pickup coils" fail, one on my car, another on a friends car. Nothing since the fix.

Solution: Ventilated distributor cap. I now carry an extra pickup coil in my tool bag for long trips.

[kevins2]

Originally Posted by decooney

As to the original post and question, I've had two "pickup coils" fail, one on my car, another on a friends car. Nothing since the fix.

Solution: Ventilated distributor cap. I now carry an extra pickup coil in my tool bag for long trips.

This brings up a good question (for me at least). Will carrying only the magnetic pickup give you the protection of not being stranded on the side of the road (from an ignition standpoint)? I read somewhere (not on this forum) that an engine equipped with an MSD ignition will still run even if the control box fails. Not sure I understand that yet if that is even true...

Regards,

Kevin

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by kevins2

This brings up a good question (for me at least). Will carrying only the magnetic pickup give you the protection of not being stranded on the side of the road (from an ignition standpoint)? I read somewhere (not on this forum) that an engine equipped with an MSD ignition will still run even if the control box fails. Not sure I understand that yet if that is even true...

If the box fails the car will not fire and run. If you are going fast enough it will coast for a mile though. Ask me how I know.

There's a reason the NASCAR cars have two of them installed on race day.

[TButtrick]

Looks like an easy check to verify pick up if you have a scope or can borrow one. This illustrates a good signal. 5ms cycle would be 200Hz frequency @ 3Krpm. 38Vpk-pk with a min +300mv to 400mv threshold for ignition trigger. Most scopes these days can display frequency/duty cycle and/or pk-pk voltage as an automatic measurement. You can also turn on the scopes infinite persistence to catch intermittent drop-outs. Turn these measurements on and rev to 3krpm. Should look like this pic.

[CHANMADD]

Buy an HEI style from Summit, $160. Odd dollars , no wires, no box, no problems.

[*El Ocho 1*]

Bumping this old thread.....wondering if this is what happened to me.

Stopped at a light & I notice my tach starts to go wild, jumping up & down. (engine was still idling normally at around 850rpms.) Then car just dies. push it to the side of the road & battery was low, so I gave it a jump. Engine would just turn & turn, but wouldn't start up. Figured it was spark, so I checked distributor cap & saw that the rotor & contact points were pretty corroded. So I towed it back home & ordered a new cap & rotor.

Installed them the other day but car still doesn't want to start. cranks, fires a few times & dies again. I saw that the magnetic pick up is a bit rusty, could that be it? Really dont want to order a new MSD 6A box, expecially since I just sold the Cobra, & I'm just repairing it for the new owner (I have to give him a car in good working order. It's the right thing to do).

any help would be appreciated guys. Thank in advance

[cdnus]

Fluctuating tach is the box. Probably getting to hot. Is yours mounted under the hood?
I know this because mine was and when it got hot it would drive my fuel injection crazy because of the tach signal feeds the EFI?
Made changes to keep the box cool and problem went away. I replaced the box after solving the problem just in case it was internally damaged.
Hope this helps.
Craig

[RallySnake]

I used a number of MSD boxes in 30 years of running my Cobra in Solo2's and rallies. I had many failures and it evolved into a complete dual NASCAR type system. Two years ago, I converted to a stock Ford EDIS system controlled by a Megajolt box. These parts are cheap on eBay. The engine runs SO MUCH smoother. You do not realize how many power pulses an engine misses with the mechanical advance, single coil, distributor system. It took months to get used to the consistent power delivery, quick starting and much better gas mileage with this Ford system from the 1990's. I hid the coil packs under the surge tank.

The simple truth is that aftermarket companies do not have the resources to produce the same quality as major manufacturers.

[decooney]

If you decide to rule out the pickup coil, it's easy. Grab an ohm meter, and run it across the two pickup wires coming out of the distributor. See if it measures between 500-700 ohms. I just rechecked the MSD site, and that still seems to be the current spec.

I've seen two (2) MSD pickup coils go bad and one was mine. I keep a spare pickup coil in my trunk tool bag in case mine or others go out on friends cars on drives. Cheap, and easy to check or replace if needed. And, of course the MSD boxes go bad occasionally but mostly due to too much vibration or too much heat. I moved my MSD box inside the cockpit of the car away from any engine or exhaust header heat. No problems.

[Bernica]

Well, here's my last and final MSD setup. Obviously done with them.
Went to Pertronix dizzy and ignition. So far, so good.

[Bernica]

Originally Posted by elmariachi

There's a reason the NASCAR cars have two of them installed on race day.

And the ones they use are different from what you get from Summit etc, although there is a version that is available from them with all the vibration and thermal isolation etc....

[8litercobra]

Had a mag pick-up inside the distributor fail by fracturing. I was lucky....the failure caused momentary shut-offs. The car always restarted quickly, usually before I had coasted all the way down. Also lucky when I saw the fine crack in the pick-up. Great wrench I ain't.

[DanEC]

MSD - May Suddenly Die (at any moment). I think Kevins2 came up with that.

Has anyone checked to see if any Lucas engineers immigrated here and went to work for MSD?.