Club Cobra Gas - N Exhaust  

Go Back   Club Cobra > Engine Building, Tuning, and Induction > Ignition

Nevada Classics
Main Menu
Module Jump:
Nevada Classics
Nevada Classics
MMG Superformance
MMG Superformance
Advertise at CC
Banner Ad Rates
Keith Craft Racing
MMG Superformance
March 2024
S M T W T F S
          1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31            

Kirkham Motorsports

Like Tree1Likes
  • 1 Post By keezling

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 06-26-2016, 04:06 PM
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Columbus, OH
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA 714
Posts: 713
Not Ranked     
Default MSD Box or Coil

Ok, drove the car around in 90 degrees..Stopped to get gas and got a no start. I was not getting spark. Cools off and started up. I did the MSD test today when it was hot and got no spark from the coil with the MSD distributor connection leads shorted as shown in MSD's video. I figured I would replace the coil and wondered if there was a way to check it before I did. I was hoping to not replace the coil only to find the MSD 6AL ignition box being bad.

Phil
Reply With Quote
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 06-26-2016, 04:46 PM
DWRAT's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Cobra Make, Engine:
Posts: 1,956
Not Ranked     
Default

Most likely its your coil but if it's not now you have an extra to carry in your trunk like I do.
I lost spark on the side of the freeway all due to a bad coil, now I carry a spare.
__________________
FFR MK1---Sold
Superformance #884 --- Sold
No more Furds.
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old 06-26-2016, 05:27 PM
Tommy's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Dadeville, AL
Cobra Make, Engine: Sold my EM.
Posts: 2,433
Neutral     
Default

Phil, your symptom is the same as I had when my MSD box failed. I never tested the coil, but went straight to a new box and that solved my problem. BTW, both my coil and MSD box are located under the dash and not in the engine compartment.
__________________
Tommy
Cheetah tribute completed 2021 (TommysCars.Weebly.com)
Previously owned EM Cobra
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." - Hanlon's Razor
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Old 06-26-2016, 05:37 PM
Dwight's Avatar
Senior Club Cobra Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Florence, AL
Cobra Make, Engine: RCR GT 40 & 1966 Fairlane 390 5 speed
Posts: 4,511
Not Ranked     
Smile coil

FYI

oil filled coils need to be mount vertical

MSD will check and or rebuild your old box for a max of $80 plus shipping


Dwight
__________________
''Life's tough.....it's even tougher if you're stupid.'' ~ John Wayne
"Happiness Is A Belt-Fed Weapon"
life's goal should be; "to be smarter than inanimate objects"
Reply With Quote
  #5 (permalink)  
Old 06-26-2016, 08:14 PM
Gaz64's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Brisbane, QLD
Cobra Make, Engine:
Posts: 2,773
Not Ranked     
Default

Phil,

The trouble with a test like that is, if it has spark then the pickup is faulty, that's easy.

BUT, if it has no spark like your situation, it could be the coil, the amplifier module (6AL etc), or a poor joint in the wiring somewhere.

While it is still happening with no spark from the coil, you can measure for about 500 volts across the coil terminals with a DVM while you paperclip jump the harness.
Be careful doing this, that 480 volts is LETHAL.

If the large voltage is there, the coil is faulty, if not the module, or further testing.

If you don't want to do that, measure the coil primary and secondary resistances. About 1 ohm primary, about 3k OHm secondary, model dependant.

Gary
Reply With Quote
  #6 (permalink)  
Old 06-26-2016, 08:20 PM
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,442
Not Ranked     
Default

Sorta deja vu.

I had posted this in another thread last week...

My MSD 6AL (PN 6420) died a couple of months ago. Started failing on hot restarts a couple of times then nada. Shock mounts under the dash were intact and external heat not an issue. Age was though as it was 13 yrs old. Using a 30x Loupe I found Tin Whiskers in 3 areas of the PCB.


http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/index.html
Reply With Quote
  #7 (permalink)  
Old 06-26-2016, 08:27 PM
twobjshelbys's Avatar
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Cobra Make, Engine: Shelby CSX4005LA, Roush 427IR
Posts: 5,450
Not Ranked     
Default

I had this same problem and kept a spare cheap auto zone coil in the toolkit. It's two screws to put it in. If the car runs with the el-cheapo spare, then buy the good replacement. Else swap the MSD box. I went through two of them on my Cobra.
__________________
Cheers,
Tony
CSX4005LA
Reply With Quote
  #8 (permalink)  
Old 06-27-2016, 06:33 PM
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Columbus, OH
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA 714
Posts: 713
Not Ranked     
Default

New coil made no difference. Sparked onces and then nothing. Pulled the MSD Box and replacing it.

Phil
Reply With Quote
  #9 (permalink)  
Old 06-29-2016, 05:27 AM
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Columbus, OH
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA 714
Posts: 713
Not Ranked     
Default

Changed the MSD 6AL 6420 to the new 6AL 6425, relatively easy to install and she fired right up. Just have some wiring to do. The new connector wires are a little longer which helps with less splicing.

Phil
Reply With Quote
  #10 (permalink)  
Old 06-29-2016, 09:09 AM
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Rancho Cucamonga, ca
Cobra Make, Engine: SPF 239
Posts: 820
Not Ranked     
Default

Reply With Quote
  #11 (permalink)  
Old 06-29-2016, 05:53 PM
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Columbus, OH
Cobra Make, Engine: ERA 714
Posts: 713
Not Ranked     
Default

Is that double MSD boxes as in a backup or is it a box for 4 cylinders each?

Phil
Reply With Quote
  #12 (permalink)  
Old 06-30-2016, 06:40 AM
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Rancho Cucamonga, ca
Cobra Make, Engine: SPF 239
Posts: 820
Not Ranked     
Default

Hey Phil

That is an ex-Winston cup, fully redundant ignition system two boxes and two coils, wired to a selector switch on the dash. I've never needed it, but Its nice to have!

JASON
Reply With Quote
  #13 (permalink)  
Old 06-30-2016, 06:54 AM
CC Member
Visit my Photo Gallery

 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Cobra Make, Engine: FFR fat block tko 600 9"
Posts: 191
Not Ranked     
Default

IMHO the cure is leave the msd box mounted so everyone can oh & ah about it and run a stock duraspark box and dizzy which are bulletproof...
Joey.S likes this.
__________________
If aliens are so smart, why do they always choose to talk to guys named Bubba?
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:26 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0
The representations expressed are the representations and opinions of the clubcobra.com forum members and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and viewpoints of the site owners, moderators, Shelby American, any other replica manufacturer, Ford Motor Company. This website has been planned and developed by clubcobra.com and its forum members and should not be construed as being endorsed by Ford Motor Company, or Shelby American or any other manufacturer unless expressly noted by that entity. "Cobra" and the Cobra logo are registered trademarks for Ford Motor Co., Inc. clubcobra.com forum members agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyrighted material is owned by you. Although we do not and cannot review the messages posted and are not responsible for the content of any of these messages, we reserve the right to delete any message for any reason whatsoever. You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, and you agree to indemnify and hold us harmless with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your message(s). Thank you for visiting clubcobra.com. For full policy documentation refer to the following link: CC Policy
Links monetized by VigLink