Ignition Issue, Tried Everything!

[oldbee]

Whoops,forgot #6 post. Maybe bad grd. somewhere?

 

[Fran Blacker]

Maybe go back to basic ignition no MSD. One other thing watch out for gas in oil after all this.

 

[dvw]

Hows the ground side on the box?
Doug

 

[dan juhasz]

Check all powers and grounds

 

[Bruzilla]

Gasoline can go bad in four months... as I recently learned the hard way. Disconnect the fuel line to the carb, and crank the engine to get some gas into a bottle. If the gas is anything but clear, you need to drain the gas tank and use new gas. Don't be surprised if you gas has a very yellow tint.

 

[miller]

If your getting weak spark at the coil, even after swapping it...check your wiring, and components leading up to the coil...and voltage from each.

 

[Ranger16]

For what it's worth, gas sits in my car from Oct/Nov to Mar/Apr and it always fires right up after the bowl gets filled. I've had gas sit for 8-10 years in a generator and it fired after about 8 pulls.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Mine sits those same months and when I start it up it stinks.

 

[Coronet 14]

ballast resistor Contact on rotor misaligned.

 

[Valhalla083]

After trying everything I could think of, I shipped the MSD box, distributor, and coil back to MSD and they said both the distributor and box were bad. So changing each one wouldn't fix the issue. They repaired both and now it works fine. Strange...

 

[joseph p.]

After trying everything I could think of, I shipped the MSD box, distributor, and coil back to MSD and they said both the distributor and box were bad. So changing each one wouldn't fix the issue. They repaired both and now it works fine. Strange...

i am happy you found the problem,good lesson for us all.

 

[RJRENTON]

I'm sort of curious as to the infatuation with MSD ignition systems. It seems that 75% (+/-) of the contributors are using the MSD system and at least 50% of those users have problems of one type or the other.
The MSD system will produce multiple spark discharges per cylinder at low RPMs using the internal capacitor that furnishes a higher voltage to the coil's primary which in turn steps it up to a higher voltage that is delivered to the plugs. As the RPMs increase, the time available to do this decreases due to the time required to charge the internal capacitor and subsequently charge the coil and distribute the high voltage to the plugs. At max RPMs (5000-6000) the spark will likely to occur only one or two times.
The Mopar electronic system ignition system will, with the correct coil, produce similar voltages. And the old Prestolite dual point distributor, with the dwell set at nominal, will produce reliable ignition at high RPMs. What type of ignition system did the super stars of old use: Sox & Martin, Dick Landy, Butch Leal use? They were unstoppable and selfom lost. There is an old expression that may apply to MSD: "fancy gizmos don't work or are not easily fixed when they don't". For my money, the simpler is usually better...i like my old Prestolite dual point distributor for my GTX. I'm sure others will disagree.....you pay your money and take your choice. Sometimes what is perceived influences one's decision.....
Bob Renton

 

[Ranger16]

No complaints here with the Mopar orange box, but I do see an awful lot of MSD's at the shows.

 

[RJRENTON]

Ranger16,
I guess that substantiates the old saying: "if a friend jumps off the cliff, others will follow because they don't want to be left out". Peer pressure is a bad (good) phenomenon. If you asked any of the owners, they would say that the engine is developing __________(fill in the blank) more horse power than ever before. Again, caviet emptor may apply.
Cheers, Bob Renton

 

[Dennis H]

Don't store it there again. I used a low watage light bulb to warm mine in a nasty old damp garage years ago. And, used Sta-Bil. MSD in for ten years no problems on mne.

 

[Valhalla083]

I'm sort of curious as to the infatuation with MSD ignition systems. It seems that 75% (+/-) of the contributors are using the MSD system and at least 50% of those users have problems of one type or the other.
The MSD system will produce multiple spark discharges per cylinder at low RPMs using the internal capacitor that furnishes a higher voltage to the coil's primary which in turn steps it up to a higher voltage that is delivered to the plugs. As the RPMs increase, the time available to do this decreases due to the time required to charge the internal capacitor and subsequently charge the coil and distribute the high voltage to the plugs. At max RPMs (5000-6000) the spark will likely to occur only one or two times.
The Mopar electronic system ignition system will, with the correct coil, produce similar voltages. And the old Prestolite dual point distributor, with the dwell set at nominal, will produce reliable ignition at high RPMs. What type of ignition system did the super stars of old use: Sox & Martin, Dick Landy, Butch Leal use? They were unstoppable and selfom lost. There is an old expression that may apply to MSD: "fancy gizmos don't work or are not easily fixed when they don't". For my money, the simpler is usually better...i like my old Prestolite dual point distributor for my GTX. I'm sure others will disagree.....you pay your money and take your choice. Sometimes what is perceived influences one's decision.....
Bob Renton

In a way I agree with you, but more because it's aftermarket rather than more technologically advanced. Seems aftermarket stuff is often prone to reliability issues; especially if you choose the cheap Chinese stuff.

 

[Valhalla083]

Don't store it there again. I used a low watage light bulb to warm mine in a nasty old damp garage years ago. And, used Sta-Bil. MSD in for ten years no problems on mne.

Right! I have arranged a new location for the future.

 

[PeteBell68]

So after storing my car for about 4 months in a relatives building, I returned to find my engine bay covered in condensate. Water everywhere. The car would crank, but didn't want to start. It did briefly start once, but not after that. It has MSD box, MSD coil, MSD distributor. As per MSD's directions i tried removing the two wire connection going to the distributor and making a jumper wire connection. It gets a little bit of spark. I've tried cleaning the fins and pickup on the distributor, it has resistance within the acceptable range. I've tried to rule out the ignition switch/wiring to the ignition box/battery by running the starter off the main battery and supplying the box independently from the positive side of another battery. Still no luck. The car ran fine before i stored it.. so I'm not sure what happened. Any ideas?

I actually had pretty much the same thing happen one year after winter . I tried everything and for some reason pulled the rotor from under distributor cap cleaned it up with sandpaper and boom started right away