Bob P. -- Ignition Switch Woes

[davids2toys]

Originally Posted by FredG

Good thread. I have had 2 issues with the MSD ignition and they were both a pain in the ass to diagnose. One was a bad coil that worked intermittently. The other was a bad magnetic pickup that had a broken wire inside the insulation that also worked intermittently.

Had them both myself and after calling MSD tech and this forum it was not that hard. In fact their direction have a whole bunch of good quick troubleshooting which is how I ended up at the ignition switch. I found this extremely valuable from page 10 of the MSD box instructions:

"If triggering with the Magnetic Pickup:
1. Make sure the ignition switch is in the "Off" position.
2. Remove the coil wire from the distributor cap and set the terminal approximately 1/2" from ground.
3. Disconnect the MSD magnetic pickup wires from the distributor.
4. Turn the ignition to the On position. Do not crank the engine.
5. With a small jumper wire, short the MSD's Green and Violet magnetic pickup wires together. Each time you break this short, a spark should jump from the coil wire to ground. If spark is present, the ignition is working properly. If there is no spark skip to step 6 below:
6. If there is no spark:
A. Inspect all of the wiring.
B. Substitute another coil and repeat the test. If there is now spark, the coil is at fault.
C. If there is still no spark, check to make sure there is 12 volts on the small Red wire from the MSD when the key is in the On position. If 12 volts is not present, find another switched 12 volt source and repeat the test.
D. If, after following the test procedures and inspecting all of the wiring, there is still no spark, the MSD Ignition is in need of repair. See the Warranty and Service section for information."

So to add to this, the tech told me if you have spark, then that means the coil and box are good and your problem is in the distributor, most likely the magnetic pickup. My mag pick up failed 3 years ago. I had good spark with the jumper wire but the car would not start and was not getting spark to the plugs. I changed out the pickup and it was fixed! Cheap enough part to just take a shot. Just bought an extra one for the trunk. I probably will do the same with this ign switch, just change it out, but I will check out the small red wire and terminal integrity first. I already bought a new switch and I ordered a spare for the trunk emergency kit. I also ordered the die so it will accept the ERA fancy bezel.