I'm having issues with my msd hei, anyone else too?

[INSIDIOUS '86]

So my procomp pro billet hei that isn't made anymore killed the vacuum canister so I figured it was a good excuse to get myself a pro billet hei. My old one was great but I had a good few weeks of tuning it to get a curve I liked and the pro billet has all the features and stuff I was looking for.

No my setup runs a Mallory 6al with rev limiter which means the msd heat module is bypassed. Although I left it in the distributor unhooked just in case of a the rare event the 6al died. That way roadside/parking lot repair would be easy and I won't be stranded with no ignition. The msd distributor has my old accel super coil on it cause im pretty sure the coil that's on the pro billets are no better than off the shelf parts store stuff from what I researched

No the problem. The truck starts up fine idles and revs fine but seems to be intermittent at mid to high rpm but sometimes clears up. Never had this issue with my Chinese distributor. Then the part that really pisses me off. I can be idling happy as a clam listening to my nice lope and the engine just flat quits. No drama just OFF all of a sudden. It will do this when I'm driving in town. Any ideas?

Coil an distributor housing are grounded. I'm going to take the cap and rotor and throw them on my DD to qualify them and see if that's an issue. Could the pickup coil inside be the issue.

-thanks for the help guys. I'm. $350 poorer and my truck runs worse.

[GASoline71]

I have an MSD Pro Billet HEI and an MSD Digital 6AL in my smallie. It has the stock in cap MSD HEI coil. I've heard the coils are worthless. But this one has been flawless since I installed it 4 years ago. It sees RPM's of over 6,000 quite often and performs just fine.

I would ditch the crappy Accel coil and replace it with the MSD coil that came with the Pro Billet.

If my MSD HEI coil ever goes out... I'm going to use one of the HVC-2 coils.

Gary

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by GASoline71

I have an MSD Pro Billet HEI and an MSD Digital 6AL in my smallie. It has the stock in cap MSD HEI coil. I've heard the coils are worthless. But this one has been flawless since I installed it 4 years ago. It sees RPM's of over 6,000 quite often and performs just fine.

I would ditch the crappy Accel coil and replace it with the MSD coil that came with the Pro Billet.

If my MSD HEI coil ever goes out... I'm going to use one of the HVC-2 coils.

Gary

The coil is the same coil I had on my older distributor it hasn't failed me so far and it's pretty damn old. Maybe to old but if it's the problem I will def be able to tell when I swap the cap and rotor on my other truck.

[GASoline71]

Maybe the MSD distributor and the Mallory box don't like each other?

Gary

[KQQL IT]

Pro billet vacuum advance deleted. Haven't had an issue as delivered. 6000ish every gear at the strip.
Took the 6A off noticed 0 change.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by GASoline71

Maybe the MSD distributor and the Mallory box don't like each other?

Gary

Idk. Really all that's change as far as the 6al can tell would be the cap/rotor and the physical distributor.

KQQL it. I've run without the 6al in the city it runs a Lille smoother and keeps the plugs a little cleaner. Otherwise the biggest difference is the fact that a 6al has capacitive charge and a rev limiter. Which is really handy considering the way I drive.

[KQQL IT]

The mine has a rev limiter in the distributor.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by KQQL IT

The mine has a rev limiter in the distributor.

As does mine but the module is not hooked up because of the CD ignition. Hopefully it's simple like the coil or the box tomorrow I really don't want to send back the distributor.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

I just fixed it. I pulled my 15yr old accel coil off and threw it in and now it stays running when I drive.

Chance I got a bum coil....or thier coils suck

[Marv D]

Yes MSD coils have gone in the crapper. They, (and many of the MSD parts and pieces)are made in Mexico now. I've had decent luck with their "E-core" stuff made to match the digital 6 and 7530 box. But any of the HEI coils, (even the ones for the EFI distributors) have been less than reliable.

[cableguy0]

I had a standalone msd pro billet dizzy with the module. It started acting up badly. I was showing 60 degrees timing at idle. Called Msd and the rep tried telling me it was impossible for a sbc to run with that much advance and that it had to be a problem with something else. Amazingly as soon as I pulled the distributor and replaced it with an Dui Hei that I borrowed all my issues went away. If I Coulda reached through the phone that tech support guy would have had serious issues. I was once a serious supporter of MSD but at this point I don't think their junk is better than anyone elses.

[Lee H]

I've had two MSD ignition modules go bad in 9 months. The new module that arrived this week is a completely different design with two grounds, one to the dist body and one to the fire wall.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by Lee H

I've had two MSD ignition modules go bad in 9 months. The new module that arrived this week is a completely different design with two grounds, one to the dist body and one to the fire wall.

Mines like that as well. My friend is using the heat module in his truck with no issues so far. I'm not using the one in mine since I have a nice Mallory 6al box.