Just wondering if anyone has ever had a MSD box rebuilt. I have a 6AL that went bad and was wondering if there was enough of a price difference to have it rebuilt. Or should I just get a new one.
Kevin, Are you sure it is bad? They are pretty easy to check. Make sure the small red wire has 12 volts to turn the box on. If using a magnetic pick up, pull the coil wire from the distributor end, and position it 1/2" from a good ground. Then short the green and purple wires in the box side of the mag pick up wires. Everytime you break the short, you should see a spark. If using the white wire, tap it to ground. Each time you pull the wire from ground you should see a spark. Call MSD customer support at 915-855-7123(8-5 Mountain time) or e-mail them at msdtech@msdignition.com and ask them what it would cost to look at. Good luck.
Thanks ,Larry I'll have to try that out tomorrow. Its on the Stage 1 car I just bought. The guy told me he was driving down the highway and it just shut off. He said after changing coils and they didnt work he unhooked the MSD and it started up. So I'll have to check it out.
Kevin, MSD's are pretty reliable units. Check all the connections. There are 2 heavy leads that go to battery positive(red) and battery negative(black). There are two smaller wires going to the coil, black to coil -, and orange to coil +. These are the only wires that should be connected to the coil. The small red wire turns the box on, and should be connected to a switched 12 volt source(the existing wire from the ignition switch-previously attached to coil+ can be used for this) Then there are the magnetic pick up wires(green(-), and violet(+) ), if you are using a magnetic pick up distributor, or the white wire if using points(connects to the single lead from the points distributor). As far as coils, there are alot of bad ones out there that are not made in U.S.A. I fried an Accel coil in a few hours when I first installed my MSD Digital 6+. If you want to get a good coil, try the MSD part# 8200(chrome). That is the one I went with, and it has held up. It is made in the U.S.A. and said so on the box. The NAPA (IC 12)coil is also good. Let us know how you make out.
Well Larry i tried your test. I have NO spark. I'm going to give MSD a call and see if they can give me a idea of what it would cost to have it rebuilt. Concidering a new one cost $195 and has a warranty will determine what i do with it..
