MSD E-Curve

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7dswinger

7dswinger

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I'm trying to get my E-Curve dist. to work correctly right now.
Supposedly what your supposed to do is start the engine, move the dist. until you reach TOTAL timing, for me I want 35 all in, and then clamp the dist. down. Then you go look at the timing tables MSD gives you and select which one you want. Lets say you want it to idle at 15* you select a table that will retard the timing to that. Apparently the dist. works backwards than normal and will retard the timing, not advance the timing.

Am I right on this? It's so backwards it makes my mind hurt trying to explain haha.
 
If you know you want a 20* curve set it for that one. I think it's G from the instructions for in at 2500.
 
7dswinger said:
I'm trying to get my E-Curve dist. to work correctly right now.
Supposedly what your supposed to do is start the engine, move the dist. until you reach TOTAL timing, for me I want 35 all in, and then clamp the dist. down. Then you go look at the timing tables MSD gives you and select which one you want. Lets say you want it to idle at 15* you select a table that will retard the timing to that. Apparently the dist. works backwards than normal and will retard the timing, not advance the timing.

Am I right on this? It's so backwards it makes my mind hurt trying to explain haha.
Click to expand...

What coil are you using? For all last year the units would not work with their Solid state E-coils.

Was it tight for you to remove the cap when installed in vehicle? Many times they are close to the widow wiper motor.
 
yes, this distributor works backwards from how we would traditionaly adjust timing. I have an e-curve also and the directions that come with it suck.
 
IT seems that the "first year model" has bugs and problems might be applied here when I saw that msd had a box that you could set timing profiles on, I wanted one desperately but said to myself "let's wait till all the bugs are worked out", suckmo instructions aren't going to cut it
 
Ya the instructions suck at best. I have it set to curve K at the second, 5, 1 on the switches. Timing is all fubar right now after I drove it. Kicking back through the manifold like crazy. Got the E-Curve to work though, had to do it in a round about way though.
I'm going to call MSD on Monday about that compatibility issue, it's been on my mind lately but no issues that I can see though, I am running a 6A box with it though.
Yes it is VERY tight with the wiper motor, not sure how to solve this other than removing the wiper motor
 
7dswinger said:
Ya the instructions suck at best. I have it set to curve K at the second, 5, 1 on the switches. Timing is all fubar right now after I drove it. Kicking back through the manifold like crazy. Got the E-Curve to work though, had to do it in a round about way though.
I'm going to call MSD on Monday about that compatibility issue, it's been on my mind lately but no issues that I can see though, I am running a 6A box with it though.
Yes it is VERY tight with the wiper motor, not sure how to solve this other than removing the wiper motor
Click to expand...

So what coil are you running?

When I ran the solid state coil it would sort of run. But kick back like that and sputter.
 
7dswinger said:
blaster SS E-Core,
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MSD-8207/
Might be what's causing it then. It would kick back through the manifold and sputter on you but wouldn't with an oil filled one? Like so
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MSD-8202/
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Yep. Sputtered just like that. Totally fustrated because I was going through this on a brand new motor trying to break in the cam and not was down the cylinder walls with fuel.

I sent it back to Summit and the second one did the same thing. :banghead:

Went to SEMA at was ready to go postal if I had to. The MSD guy at SEMA admitted the SS E-core had/has capability problems with the E-curves. The earliest E-curves did not have this issue. That is why the AREngineering (AndyF) article in Mopar Muscle shows a SS E-core coil with a E-curve distributor.

Crazy thing is, I actually tested my E-curve on the old motor in my car. And it worked fine. That's what fustrated us so much. BUT when I looked back at the pictures of that trial run install...sure enough we had the old oil filled coil in there. :banghead:

To test this, just put on any old oil filled coil that you know works. That was what the MSD guy at SEMA told me and sure enough it worked. I've run the E-curve since last December. Rock solid timing.

90% sure switching to an oil filled coil will fix your problem.
 
Well I'm going to go get one from autozone tomorrow and see what happens, if it works I'm calling MSD about it Monday, see what they can do.
 
7dswinger said:
Well I'm going to go get one from autozone tomorrow and see what happens, if it works I'm calling MSD about it Monday, see what they can do.
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Do you have an old coil lying around? Or something or someone you can borrow one from?

Sucks to have to buy one just to test out. But I'm almost postive it will take care of it.

Then of course you've got to get the timing right. IIRC, they make it more complicated than it is.
 
I do have, two actually laying around but there at my parents house and that's a rough 60 to 100 mile round trip which I'm not interested in taking, spend that money and more on just gas, cheaper just to buy for me.
 
7dswinger said:
I do have, two actually laying around but there at my parents house and that's a rough 60 to 100 mile round trip which I'm not interested in taking, spend that money and more on just gas, cheaper just to buy for me.
Click to expand...

Makes sense. I thought you could take one off your other Swinger. Must not be handy either.
 
haha no that coil was thrown way away years back. Plus that car is also at my parents house :D
 
So got a coil today and installed it. Didn't help oddly enough, ran worse actually and the same symptoms were there. So I switched back the Blaster SS and it ran better but didn't help.
What else can cause back firing though the manifold and sputtering? I can understand a too lean or too rich condition but I've played with the AF ratios but that hasn't helped.
 
7dswinger said:
So got a coil today and installed it. Didn't help oddly enough, ran worse actually and the same symptoms were there. So I switched back the Blaster SS and it ran better but didn't help.
What else can cause back firing though the manifold and sputtering? I can understand a too lean or too rich condition but I've played with the AF ratios but that hasn't helped.
Click to expand...

If you drove it with the back firing and sputtering, I wonder if you could have knocked out the power valve (if it's a Holley).

When you out a timing light on it, does the timing move around, go on and off, and act sporadic? Mine was wierd right on the timing light.

Surprised the oil filled coil didn't work.

Contact MSD engineering on Monday. I don't think the Blaster SS coil could knock out the E-curve electronics, but I'd ask them.
 
I'm running the EZ EFI system so no Holley carb :D
Ya I'm calling them Monday about it, hopefully not but if that is the case I hope they cover it under warranty or will fix it for free or very little money, not in the mood to fix something or pay money for another one when they don't say you can't use the E-Core with it....We'll see what they say, hopefully good.

Whats weird is that if I set the timing to 35* at idle with 10* adv it'll run without backfiring or anything but it doesn't have allot of power and I get sh** mileage as well.

No the timing isn't sporadic or jumpy it holds very steady on mine.
 
Let me see if I get this right, if I pick curve N, 10* adv. curve, all in by 3000, then pick 10* of vac. adv., does that mean that I have 20* of adv. in total?
 
Well it turns out my alternator and battery are both shot. Battery has 200 amps out of 800 cranking amps and the alt. charges the battery at 10v and will actually start to decrease as the engine idles. So after I get a new alt. I'll be in business, luckily I have another battery at my parents house.
Good news though is that I changed the timing curve to one with a different vac. adv. curve, still 10* but comes in much slower. I had to hit the gas hard to get it up my drive way before it died and it didn't kick back like before, actually bolted up the hill.
Could be low voltage from bad alt. could have been the problem as it was happening at low rpms.
 
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