Ignition Drop Out

[adequatespeed]

I am using a pro billet dizzy with a single wire trigger, an MSB 6AL, blaster 2 coil, MSD super conductor wires and a start retard box.

I have recently started to experience a problem with what can only be described as drop out on the ignition. I have perfect ignition then it wil ldrop out for about 1 second. This tends to happen most when the engine is cold buit not always.

I have an LED indicator fitted to the taco output of the 6AL box and i can see that the ignition is totally killed for about 1 second (it is always the same amount of time) then it returns perfectly. (there is no fuel problem as I can hear it explode in the exhaust when the ignition returns).

This is etither caused by a fault in the distributor or most likely a fault in the MSD or a faulty Coil. It seems as if the 6AL box could have detected a short in the coil and taken about a second to recover.

Could you please advise as to what i should replace or do next. I was planning to fit a second LED indicator to the distributor to confirm that it is still providing a signal when the ignition fails.

I have checed the wiring and am running a screened trigger wire fromteh dizzy in a sepatare loom to the coil wires.

Any ideas?

Mark

[msdtech1]

The problem you described could be caused by many things. First I would check the wiring of the system to make sure it is not a loose connection that is intermittently making and then breaking contact. The easiest way to do this is to start the engine and the part by part jiggle the wires around to see if the problem occurs. Make sure you all the wires on every part in the system. Second, I would put a volt meter on the 12 volt line feeding the MSD Ignition main power (heavy Red) and ignition key (small Red) wires. When the problem occurs, look to see if there is voltage on those lines. Third I would check the magnetic pickup in the distributor. It may be a heat issue on the pickup. This is probably not the problem because you said it happens when the engine is cold, but it is worth checking. If you have a heat gun, heat the pickup where it attaches to the distributor. If it fails to start after heating it up then that's the cause. Do not burn the pickup, just get it nice and warm. The last thing I would do is bypass the start retard box and see if it still quits on you. If you get engine kickback from not having the start retard, just readjust your timing for the test.

MSD Tech1

[adequatespeed]

I have checked and changed all the connectors in the system. The wiring is sound. I have tried pulling and moving thr wires whilst running with no effect.

I am going to fit an LED indicator on the dizzy input to establish if it is a distributor problem or not.

I strongly suspect that it is not a wiring problem as the time period is the same every time.

My thought were it could be a coil fault.

[msdtech1]

That is a possibility, I would suggest trying another coil if you have one and see if the problem still exists.

MSD Tech1