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Thread: MSD can suck it!

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    darkenedrt's Avatar
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    Question MSD can suck it!

    So I've been having surging and sputtering happening for a couple weeks now. Thought it was caused from the evap vacuum leak so I fixed that and it got rid of the surging but not the sputtering and backfires. Drove the truck to Arkansas yesterday and it did awesome but the engine light came on. Ran the codes and it came up as multiple misfires. Drove it again today and this time it died on the highway

    So I limped it to the parts store and ran the codes again. This time it was multiple misfires and a P0351 for ignition coil failure. So I bought a new stock ignition coil, cap and rotor and replaced it all. Now it's running absolutely perfect! We'll see how the 280 mile trip back to Oklahoma tomorrow goes.

    It had a MSD coil so just like I've heard from alot of different people, stay away from them!

    The stock mounting bracket for the coil is gone so I got a little creative...

  2. #2

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    Do you have a MSD ignition?

    11.09@123

    Pay now or pay when it comes home on a flatbed. Sometimes both. Part of the game.

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    darkenedrt's Avatar
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    Not anymore. It was just the MSD coil. Everything else is stock now ignition wise.

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    blackknight's Avatar
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    I've never had an issue "YET" with my msd box or coil , they have been in there for about 10 years

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    ScojoDak's Avatar
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    Has an MSD coil fail on me for the first time after 8 years or so.

    ZFB.jpg
    If you haven't lived for something, you'll die for nothing.

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    I had a MSD coil take out my BCM (not PCM) and cause all sorts of hell. Swapped to stock with a new BCM controller ($$) and no problems for several years.
    HI. I like beer, burnouts, and boobies...


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    darkenedrt's Avatar
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    That's the one I had in the picture scojodak posted.

    I metered the MSD coil and the new one I got and noticed a big difference. A normally working coil should read between 0.6 and 0.9 ohms. The MSD coil was going all over the place so it was definitely fried.

  8. #8




    slammedR/T's Avatar
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    That MSD coil pictured is meant to work ONLY with a 6 series ignition box from MSD, it has the wrong primary resistance for the stock pcm and is the whole problem.
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    98Dak408's Avatar
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    I’m currently running a 1995 vintage MSD 6AL box along with the MSD SS Blaster coil with no problems. In my case, it definitely helped with lower rpm responsiveness over the stock coil.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by darkenedrt View Post
    Not anymore. It was just the MSD coil. Everything else is stock now ignition wise.
    Theres the problem. Msd coils are meant to be fired by msd ignition and are notorious for problems when mix matching in these trucks factory systems.

    11.09@123

    Pay now or pay when it comes home on a flatbed. Sometimes both. Part of the game.

  11. #11




    slammedR/T's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by moparracer89 View Post
    Theres the problem. Msd coils are meant to be fired by msd ignition and are notorious for problems when mix matching in these trucks factory systems.
    MSD does make coils specifically for use with stock ignition, also that coil could work with a ballast resistor but since MSD has coils for stock ignition not really needed anymore.
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    ScojoDak's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by slammedR/T View Post
    That MSD coil pictured is meant to work ONLY with a 6 series ignition box from MSD
    MSD 6A box here.
    If you haven't lived for something, you'll die for nothing.

  13. #13

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    After my electrical adventure on the 8th, my truck is running shitty at idle. I'm using the 6al and blaster coil too. As soon as I can get to the truck I'm pulling plugs and checking the cap and rotor.
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    OG DRTC

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    Need to pull my 6AL and send it in for repair. It works when cold, but won't fire the coil after driving and shutting truck off. I've been running an Accel stock replacement coil for past year in the truck bypassing the 6AL. If I hadn't tucked the 6AL underneath the battery tray support I'd have it out already.


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    ScojoDak's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lonesoldier79 View Post
    As soon as I can get to the truck I'm pulling plugs and checking the cap and rotor.
    I have found that MSD boxes/coils work the cap & rotor hard.
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  16. #16
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    Msd 6al box also hear , and your right after about a month that cap and rotor are hard and burnt up

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    darkenedrt's Avatar
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    I've checked the plugs and they all are burning clean from what I can tell but I think the gap has widened a bit on them. So I'm going to do new plugs soon and then ignition will be 100% new. It's running a thousand times better now but it's still having a hard time getting going from a stop and at about 1500 rpm, it kind of stalls out until I give it some throttle.

    If the plugs don't fix it (which I have a feeling they will), would it burning rich cause it to do that?

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