msd 6a install in 73 dart sport problems!

[art25]

Hi guys! The title says it all. im bringing my dart sport back from the dead and the ignition wiring was toast so i opted to use an msd 6a box. I wired it up as per directions on the box but it is not sparking as it should . its like the distributer is not sending anything to the box to triger the coil? any ideas or does anyone have this wired into thier car and could tell me what i did wrong? thanks.

 

[abodyjoe]

can ya tell us how you have it wired? don't look at the directions look at the car and tell us.

 

[art25]

orange wire to positive on coil small black to negative on coil. thick red to battery positive. thick black to battery negative. the switch wires i have the red to an ignition hot and the other is grounded. opposite side of the box i have the two wires connected to the distributor. i tried those in alternating positions with no luck. im hoping this is an easy fix. thanks

 

[moparsegura]

I would say start by jumping the ignition wire from the MSD to constant hot with a inline fuse....just to make sure you have a good hot...then check for spark.

 

[abodyjoe]

like this? lower picture?

 

[art25]

here is one other thing i noticed by accident actually, i took the plug off of the cap and then turned the ignition hot on and i got a spark, but nothing when i crank it only when the power hits the box from turning the key to the on position for a moment.

 

[moparsegura]

run it with a different switch like a fused toggle to make sure it's not the MSD, then figure out what's wrong with your ignition switch/wiring. For some reason when your switch goes to ignition 2, it drops out your ignition 1 power

 

[805moparkid]

try not grounding the white wire..

 

[art25]

ok based on that picture pretty close. magnetic pickup side is good, battery + and - is good. the white wire i have grounded so i will disconnect that and cap it. and instead of the original coil positive wire i have it wired to an ignition hot. That is what the original positive side of the coil i believe. i did it like that because somewhere down the line this car must have had a ground problem and the one plug was very corroded and the wire deteriorated inside it. ( hence the msd install). All that said i'll cap the white wire and give it a shot tomorrow unless anyone comes up with something else. Thanks alot and i will let you know how it goes.

 

[doug 371]

try not grounding the white wire..

yep

 

[70aarcuda]

your red wire to the switch....it must get 12 volts while the engine is cranking...and must get 12 volts when the key is on run...

mopars have two circuits...run and start...

if you are just wired to a keyed switch...it will never start...

 

[805moparkid]

your red wire to the switch....it must get 12 volts while the engine is cranking...and must get 12 volts when the key is on run...

mopars have two circuits...run and start...

if you are just wired to a keyed switch...it will never start...

this plus white wire and you should be good to go!

 

[abodyjoe]

ok based on that picture pretty close. magnetic pickup side is good, battery + and - is good. the white wire i have grounded so i will disconnect that and cap it. and instead of the original coil positive wire i have it wired to an ignition hot. That is what the original positive side of the coil i believe. i did it like that because somewhere down the line this car must have had a ground problem and the one plug was very corroded and the wire deteriorated inside it. ( hence the msd install). All that said i'll cap the white wire and give it a shot tomorrow unless anyone comes up with something else. Thanks alot and i will let you know how it goes.

yea i would unground that white wire. its just not used. not sure why you grounded it.

what kind of ign switch are you running? a stock one or aftermarket? as mentioned mopars have two ign wires coming from the switch. one puts power to the coil in start position and the other puts power through the ballast in the run position.


here see if this picture helps. its a drawing we made when we rewired my car. you can see the two ign wires coming from the switch. http://automotiverewire.com/phpmyvi...&pagename=FILE:71 Dart Ignition Switch Wiring




.

 

[art25]

Put the ignition on a toggle switch right off the battery unplugged the white wire and i had ignition. Thanks to everyone that helped me out, its much appreciated.

 

[abodyjoe]

good to hear.