Throw the BOX!!?

[1967coronet]

Just me but if anyone wants a 100 % stock looking set up for their pre 72s .
Leave it stock.
Nothing at all bad with the points distributor if they are in decent condition.
They will rev to 5,500 or more if you have a good points set.
No more miles than most of our cars are ran a set will last a long time.
My old 67 is far from original so going with the pertronix was no big deal.
I do though still carry the points plate set and condenser, ballast is still on the Fire wall. just in case.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Just me but if anyone wants a 100 % stock looking set up for their pre 72s .
Leave it stock.
Nothing at all bad with the points distributor if they are in decent condition.
They will rev to 5,500 or more if you have a good points set.
No more miles than most of our cars are ran a set will last a long time.
My old 67 is far from original so going with the pertronix was no big deal.
I do though still carry the points plate set and condenser, ballast is still on the Fire wall. just in case.

I mostly agree but I'd suggest seeking out vintage points and condensers, especially condensers...

 

[sebring+]

That sounds like heat soak to the coil OR maybe the Orange Box. Where is the Box mounted?

On the fire wall.

 

[sebring+]

Everyone talks about going the Pertronix route, but that is not a plug and play with the stock chrysler ignition system. Plus with all the bypassing, etc, it will not look stock.
For the modified car folks, that it fine, but what about us folks who want to look as stock as possible? (We hide the orange box)
What can WE do?
I have the original ignition system in my 70 Challenger R/T with that ignition retard module on the distributor that does not work right and the car runs like crap!
I keep getting different opinions on what to do from many Mopar guys.
What can I do that will look as stock as possible?
My old Orange boxes on other cars work beautifully for decades, but I hear from many people that the new ones made overseas in the Orient somewhere suck and keep failing.
HELP

All I know is I bought a pertronix pick up to replace the points, Good plug wires and a flame thrower coil.

Put it on my 66 mustang.

100K miles and 20 years later and it hasn't missed a beat!

Don't know about Pertronix products today.

 

[RemCharger]

There's a reason parts stores stock tons of replacement HEI modules. And it ain't cuz chrysler guys are wanting them

 

[Sixpactogo]

UPDATE:
2 HOURS LATER CAR FIRED RIGHT UP!!

GOTTA BE A HEAT situation BREAKDOWN WITH THE IGNOTION.
Positive had NO spark but had GOOD fuel 2 hours ago.

The most common reason for your issue is the piss-poor case ground on your orange box. I've only had one fail and it was because of a bad ground. What happens is the box will get hot and open up the transistor inside the box. When it cools down the transistor heals itself up. I always verify less than .03 ohms between Neg post and the case. My 78 440 powered truck has over a half million miles with the same ECU. Had the plate coil fail once along with a couple of ballast resistors but not the ECU. I'll bet yours has a high reading.

 

[Geoff 2]

Post #45.
Another reason why parts stores more HEI modules than Chrys ECU boxes could be that there were probably 100 times more cars using HEI.........than Chrys ECUs.

 

[Budnicks]

Agreed butttttt, If you read the Mopar factory literature that cover the chrome box it states that they are designed for high RPM usage & shouldn't be used for extended idle periods or the module can overheat and fail.....

BTW I still have a chrome box I bought back in 1978.. The potting compound started melting and running down my firewall around 1982 so I removed it and shelved it... It still works, I've plugged it into a few cars as a diagnostic test... But I suspect if left in a running car for long it'll fail....

I keep telling myself I should refill it with modern potting compound..

I think your 1st statement is for the MP Gold Race Box, 'not the Chrome box'
the chrome box is just a upgrade over the orange box, for better HP/street-strip use
that "Gold" Race Box is not supposed to run for over like a 1/2 an hr continuously,
intended for sort intervals like 1/4 mile track usage & uses a special coil too
been that way since the 70's. Pro-Stock era

but I could be misspoken/mistaken

I had one (2005-ish MP Chrome DEI Ignition Box) on my RR for almost 19-20 years,
drove everywhere with it, no hot start issues, no failures, (5pin or 4pin)
has several of them on several different MoPar over the years, same set up, same results
later 4-pin style Ballast Resister even etc., you do need to ground it/box well to the body
& have good chassis/body grounds to the engine/battery too, or they won't work very well
on any CEI Box

I also have an NOS' MP Gold Race Unit too (same era MP Unit late 90's early 2000's),
they have a 'real' heat sink under/around, the "real" transistor
I tried it out, made sure it worked, then took it off & put it back in the box...

before I went to an FBO unit

you can barely see it/MP Chrome box
to the upper left/cut in 1/2 by the shitty photographer
I'd go out & take photos of them, but it's snowing & cold outside now
even if it's in the garage... I'll stay in where it's nice & warm thank you...

if someone really needs it, I can go out & find them, take the photos

carry on

I now have Firecore dist. (plug & play) & FBO Box w/rev limiter, full 12vlts & low ohm Pertronix coil
Hei-style male cap, good combo of Summit 90* 40ohm res. & E3 180* 40ohm resistance plug wires,
DEI wire shields, bypassed the ballast for a full 12 vlts, otherwise, it's plug & play, & a hotter/better box
www.4secondsflat.com

 

[old guys rule]

From what I understand the newer ECU from Mopar are junk. The old ones that are new bring big bucks these days as they are Dependable. Can't beat MSD as long as it's not a Chinese knock-off...

When did the newer orange boxes become Chinese junk?

 

[toolmanmike]

When did the newer orange boxes become Chinese junk?

@HALIFAXHOPS knows I bet

 

[old guys rule]

@HALIFAXHOPS knows I bet

I'll check with him too. My bad for not looking there's a ton of info on ignition boxes on here.

 

[threewood]

All I know is I bought a pertronix pick up to replace the points, Good plug wires and a flame thrower coil.

Put it on my 66 mustang.

100K miles and 20 years later and it hasn't missed a beat!

Don't know about Pertronix products today.

I have two Pertronix units, a II in my Belvedere and a III in my GTX. The II is around 9 years old. The III is 7 years old. No issues from either of them. I wouldn't go back to points.

 

[Sixpactogo]

I have heard the newer orange boxes have a high failure rate. I don't have any newer ones so no real info on them but I do suspect a lot of the complaints are due to the installer not verifying a good case ground. I have seen a ton of complaints on this site and I believe most are due to improper grounds.

 

[Demonic]

most are due to improper grounds.

Not necessarily. 15 years ago I did a point conversion on a '71 383 with a Mopar kit. I ran an extra ground right to the battery negative. No help, the box had an oscillation - constant arc from primary + to the secondary tower. Coil was fine, no cracks. A stock box from a parts car cured it.

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

Around 2000 the orange boxes went downhill. Big clues are AUTHORIZED or REPLACES on the sticker of the MP box. Biggest fail of the real boxes is mis matched ballast resistors, seriously!

 

[Pool Fixer]

Mopar Distributors and Ignition Controls for Street-Strip-Motorhomes
I drive my cars and reliability is the number one priority.
I've got a laundry list of why this ECU and coil is a good choice.
IMO the best choice. Plug and play.
Other things are either over kill or a PITA.
No need for anything other than a stock distributor.
Halifax has done some for me.
MSD? I swore of those years ago after being stranded.
As far as I know one can only push so much "power" through stock wiring.

Up until last year when I installed a sniper efi, I was running one of the first batch FBO mopar ign boxes and one of his re- curved stock electronic distributors. Never an issue. Still have them saved for a rainy day lol

 

[Speedbird]

If I understand the guru, mismatched resistors are another good reason to get rid of the ballast resistor with a FBO box.
Failed resistors are infamous.
I know that doesn't work for everyone, but I've have daily drivers that have been on the road non-stop for 20 years with those boxes.
Nothing is perfect, but it's the best I've found for reliable transportation.
And I keep some spare OE type boxes in the road bag just in case.
Keep it simple.
And as much original Chrysler as possible and reasonable.
Reliability was one design consideration of the engineers.

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

Here is a just FYI chart for example.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

Here is a just FYI chart for example.
View attachment 1647086

one of the keys here is note 3 which says to use the "...ECU, coil and resistor combinations listed". Many of us are not using the specified coils. For example, I'm using an epoxy filled cylindrical MSD Blaster high vibration coil. It was shipped with an included 1 ohm ballast resistor.

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

I did a lot of testing. I am sure someone will say they are running a chrome or gold box for years. Not with a .25 ohm resistor I bet that will let it get to 10K but prob a 1.0 ohm which will keep it cooler but will limit the rpm max for sure. Tested a bunch of combinations to play with so basically the lower the ohm the more RPM and heat it will generate. Usually why a ballast resistor burns out is the key on and engine off. We are all guilty of that one. At say engine off key on they draw on the average 4 amps through the ballast, running 2.3 or so big difference.