MSD 6AL, Blaster II Coil, Pro-Billet Dist. - No spark????

[wiedemab]

I just want to get a sanity check on my issues here. As listed in the title I have the following components on a small block Chevy.

MSD:
6AL
Blaster II Coil
Pro-Billet Distributor

They are wired as such.

MSD 6AL -
large red wire to battery positive
large black wire to battery negative
small red wire - to key on accy source

orange wire to coil positive
black wire to coil negative

purple and green wire with plug-end is connected to the magnetic pickup plug on the distributor

I've had the engine running in the bare chassis with this exact wiring configuration, but now that I've wired the entire truck and I'm trying to start it...........well - - - it no worky!!!!

What I've tested - -

Positive power feed to 6AL box - good
power feed from 6AL to coil - - Not Good....this should have power when the key in the "On" position correct? It does not.

If I test the coil power while cranking I get a slight voltage reading, but nothing significant (< 1V). This leads me to believe that my 6AL box is bad. Does anyone else have any other suggestions.

I'm hoping that someone chimes in and tells me that I'm an idiot and I forgot to do "XXXXXX" and that will fix my problems. If not, I guess I'll pick up another 6AL and give it a try.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Brandon

[wiedemab]

I called MSD tech support and was not impressed. I realize that my 6AL is way outside of the warranty and was looking for someone to help me troubleshoot and possibly give me some pointers on how to fix it if I were to want to replace an internal fuse etc.

What I got was a "canned" response of "you need to send it back to us and we'll see if it can be fixed. If so, it'll be anywhere from $20 - $80".

I got the impression that this is such a common occurrence that they have a card on their desk that says - - if someone calls with a Bad "X", you simply say "Y" and thank them and move on. I would have felt better if he would have acknowledged that this is somewhat of a problem with these items (if that is in fact the case) and there could be several things that may be the issue and spelled out the possibilities.

I'm just going to buy another Ignition box - from someone else.

[MarkM66]

IMO, I'd avoid those boxes on anything you plan on driving very far from home.

It's just one more thing that can leave you stranded. Not to mention something that's unnecessary.

Just get a ready to run dist. and sell yours to recoup the cost.

[wedged]

quite often, low battery voltage will cause an MSD ignition to not fire. Even if it seems to crank ok.

[camcojb]

did you try this?

http://www.msdignition.com/page.aspx?id=3206

[NovaBlue71]

Brandon, we have a extra msd 6al box, pro-billet, msd coil we can ship it to ya if you want to try it and see if that fixs your problem. Let me know if we can help. Joe

[wiedemab]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. Joe, thanks a bunch for the offer to let me try your stuff out. I appreciate all of the help.

I'm not too proud to post that this entire issue was me being a complete dumbass. I owe MSD a bit of an apology - well, not for the less than stellar customer service, but for any stated or implied knock to their products.

I knew that the 6AL small red wire went to a "key on", but I had instead wired it to an accessory location on the switch, which is not powered when the key is in the start position. Once I figured this out, swapped the wire over to the correct "ignition" side of the switch it worked fine.

I've come to the conclusion that in most cases where I become adamant that I've done everything correct and that the issue must be with a product or someone else's problem - - that should be my first clue that it's probably something stupid that I've done.

I need to remember more often what my Dad told me when I got my first Dirt Bike - - he said "just when you think you've got it figured out, it'll bite you in the ass". More generally, just when I think I know what I'm doing, I continue to prove to myself that I don't. Live and learn.

Thanks again everyone - - - For anyone that searches this, not that you would be as dumb as me, but if you are - - be sure you wire it to the "ignition" and not the "accessory". Someone on PT.com I think was trying to tell me this could be my problem, but I totally missed their point.

[JKnight]

Don't feel bad Brandon. This is exactly the type of thing I would do. While that may insult you more than it makes you feel better, it remains true. I'm about to fire up my car for the first time since its re-wire and I'm sure I'll have a couple similar "It couldn't possibly be wrong, I checked in four times" moments.