MSD 6AL or AL-2

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soaddrummer

soaddrummer

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Hey guys i've been on the fence on which ignition box to get. I'm in Canada and nothing really ships here for cheap. I have an 6AL I can get for $280 or I can order one in through a local parts place for $400 which would be close to what i'd pay after ordering off jegs or summit. Is tha 6AL fine or should I invest more into the AL-2? Thanks for your input guys.

I have a 340 with stock ignition right now
 
Holy christmas nuts! $400 for an MSD6 AL? Canada or not, someones got a used one somewhere for 1/4 that. I dont think its worth it and i have killed 2 for some reason...? How about a Crane HI-6 or similar? i have a Mallory Hy-Fire 5 CD, milti spark with rev limiter...not using it.
 
the 6al2 is digital....6al is analog....

unless you are going racing...the 8al2 does is not going to make a difference....and even then probably not worth the extra coin.
 
There has been a lot of guys having problems with the new 6AL Digital Box... I've heard a lot over the past 5 years and had one do some crazy things to us before we sent it back to have it checked out... I would suggest to stay with the analog box.

Even then I would look for a reliable older used one... IMO MDS's quality control has got to ****.
 
Used the HI-6 Crane box, lasted ten years. I personally prefer the older analog MSD actual capacitor box,over the newer ones,J.M.O......Sold the Mallory Hyfire 6,a decent piece.
Stock electronic,a really nice piece. Unless you plan to make more h.p., via more inches /heads/cam ,or nitrous /turbo/blower,A good coil /wires/curve kit on a stock electronic ignition ,more than gets it done.
 
you have to buy an older one to get analog the 6AL is now digital with rev limiter dials built into a hatch on the top , no more "Pills" but I haven't had any luck with mine it will start with my foot to the floor like it's flooded and will run strong from 1500 on up but let the revs get below 1400 and it pops and dies , rehook the mopar box she runs fine , I had some carb and vac issues to fix and haven't gotten back to playing with it but it is most likely going back to MSD , be aware there is usually no cash refund or store return on them , they are labeled to be returned for service to MSD directly . If you were close by I would sell you mine for 225 , I paid 300 with tax , and give you my receipt so you could claim the warranty , as it is once I get them to give me a warranty return code I will send it in then put it up for sale .
 
Right now I'm having issues with idling in drive but in park it's fine.. Reverse too it will stall if I sit there with the break on... Maybe the carb... Was thinkin maybe ignition too. Vacuum is good... Not sure what to do now lol
 
Sounds like tuning and timing , if you got those problems I would seriously look at fixing those with proper tuning before adding an unknown variable . The only real benefits of MSD are a rev limiter and the multiple spark below 3000 rpm , you might have a chat with TrailBeast regarding HEI setups before dropping 300 for MSD . I should have but got swept up by the shiny new toy on sale disease .
 
soaddrummer said:
Right now I'm having issues with idling in drive but in park it's fine.. Reverse too it will stall if I sit there with the break on... Maybe the carb... Was thinkin maybe ignition too. Vacuum is good... Not sure what to do now lol
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Let's start with a breakdown of your combination, and the time & problematic symptoms you're having. Timing settings ,vacuum readings @ idle ,what carb,& any video helps immensely here.
 
The digital boxes require fancy shielded wires that cant be within 6" of any other powered cable.... they will tell you all kinds of BS to explain why it's causing issues...

The problem we have with the race truck when we put the digital 6 box in was you would set the timing, run it all day, leave it overnight and the next day the timing would be out 10 degrees... reset it and it would be fine, leave it overnight and again 10 degree timing change... Unless some timing fairy was coming in and moving the dist overnight...
 
yeah basically I think we are being used to R & D there new product and the boxes are probably just junk . 1 of their guys told me to hook both the Mopar and the MSD setups up at the same time and see if it runs , Yeah right it's either going to run fine on the Mopar box or 1 of them is going to feed back and fry the other is going to feed back and fry it so what do we learn from that ? Like I said if someone want s to deal with the warranty I will sell my new box and harness for a lot less than I bought it on sale with the original bill of sale from a couple of months ago . It was a cash sale so there is no name or way to track who the original purchaser was .
 
I gave up on the mopar orange box after it failed within 6 months and went HEI on my daily driver. Autozone has the Duralast HEI module for $20 lifetime warranty and it has work great for over a year now. I keep an extra module in the glove box with a phillips screw driver as a backup. If you have an old orange box your good, the new ones are junk. The HEI IMO is superior, hotter spark -smoother idle and better throttle response. Make sure to mount the HEI module on a good chunk of aluminum to dissipate the heat.
On my other Dart street/strip I run an old msd 6al with a mopar dizzy and wired in an HEI as a backup.
 

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So if I were to upgrade my ignition does anyone have recommendations? I'm going to get my specs for vac and timing once I get time to do so and take a video thanks
 
soaddrummer said:
Right now I'm having issues with idling in drive but in park it's fine.. Reverse too it will stall if I sit there with the break on... Maybe the carb... Was thinkin maybe ignition too. Vacuum is good... Not sure what to do now lol
Click to expand...

cannucky said:
Sounds like tuning and timing , if you got those problems I would seriously look at fixing those with proper tuning before adding an unknown variable .
Click to expand...

Spot on, that was my thought when I read his post.



Not sure what to do now lo
Click to expand...

I would seriously get back to the tuning first and foremost.

How about throwing out there what you have already and how you have it tuned.

Timing, carb settings, vacuum, and how you arrived at your settings.
 
3` Flowmaster Headers
Edelbrock RPM heads
Edelbrock Air Gap Intake
800 cfm AVS Thunder Series Edelbrock Carb
727 Tranny with 3000 Holeshot Stall
Voodoo 513/533 lift

i also notice the vaccumm advance ins't connected if this matters....
 
I suggest you start by reading the thread titled RPM started by Straightlinespeed , this will give you detailed instructions on how to properly setup your carb and timing , it will also help you diagnose what is actually wrong instead of throwing parts at it .
 
Ok guys I bought a timing light and vac gauge. If I'm doing this right I got 11 psi on the car bb for vac but the timing I'm not sure how to read ... If I dial I. The fun at 30 it's at the 0 mark on the balancer is this correct at idel?
 
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