1st Generation Specific (1979-1985) 1979-1985 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections

MSD 6A Ignitor Wiring

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Old Sep 1, 2014 | 10:44 PM
  #1  
austinramsay's Avatar
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From: Yuma AZ
MSD 6A Ignitor Wiring

Can I just wire my MSD 6a straight to the leading ignitor? If not, can you explain why? Thanks
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Old Sep 2, 2014 | 06:12 AM
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Cookboy's Avatar
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The msd replaces the leading ignitor.
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Old Sep 2, 2014 | 06:32 AM
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Here is how you wire the MSD 6A for direct fire:
Remove your disty cap, remove the ignitor, cut off the plugs for the ignitor but leave as much of the purple and green wire going to the plug as possible.

Run the PURPLE wire from the MSD to the GREEN wire from the disty
Run the GREEN wire from the MSD to the PURPLE wire from the disty

Hook up your two coils in series as if they were one coil to the MSD.

Run the ignition hot, constant hot, and grounds as instructed by the MSD instructions.

Connect your factory tach wire to the tach output. IIRC this wire is YELLOW with a GREEN tracer on the car, and GREY on the MSD.

Connect your spark plug wires to your coils.

The reason you can't do what you asked is that the MSD box is an ignitor in itself. You would have an ignitor in series with another ignitor and you would likely burn up the MSD box. The MSD only is looking for the magnetic signal that the distributor produces.
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Old Sep 2, 2014 | 11:09 AM
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austinramsay's Avatar
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From: Yuma AZ
Originally Posted by TheRX7Project
Here is how you wire the MSD 6A for direct fire: Remove your disty cap, remove the ignitor, cut off the plugs for the ignitor but leave as much of the purple and green wire going to the plug as possible. Run the PURPLE wire from the MSD to the GREEN wire from the disty Run the GREEN wire from the MSD to the PURPLE wire from the disty Hook up your two coils in series as if they were one coil to the MSD. Run the ignition hot, constant hot, and grounds as instructed by the MSD instructions. Connect your factory tach wire to the tach output. IIRC this wire is YELLOW with a GREEN tracer on the car, and GREY on the MSD. Connect your spark plug wires to your coils. The reason you can't do what you asked is that the MSD box is an ignitor in itself. You would have an ignitor in series with another ignitor and you would likely burn up the MSD box. The MSD only is looking for the magnetic signal that the distributor produces.
Thanks perfect answer! No wonder the last one burnt out, the previous owner had it wired like that and it died. And i was curious because ive seen a lot of people with no stock ignitor with an msd. Thanks!
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Old Sep 2, 2014 | 10:16 PM
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You can connect an MSD several different ways.

1. You can pull a signal off of the leading magnetic trigger in the distributor and have the MSD fire the leading coil
2. You can pull a signal off of the leading magnet trigger and have the MSD fire a pair of coils for a direct fire wasted spark.
3. You can place the MSD between the leading igniter and the leading coil.

The MSD box is wired differently depending on whether you use the magnetic pick up or use the OE igniter. Google MSD 6A and you can download a PDF from MSD that shows numerous options.

On my race car I pull a signal from the leading magnetic pickup and I have a MSD 6A that fires a dual pole motorcycle coil to get a direct fire wasted spark ignition.

In a past racing installations (Ford Duraspark) I retained the Ford module and used the MSD only to fire the coil. This allowed me to use the Ford Module in a pinch if the MSD box died.

For tach wiring, in the past I have used the OE tach wire connected to the trailing coil because at the time my race car still had the OE wiring harness. In my current setup, my race car is completely rewired so I have the tach connected to the tach output on the MSD.

An MSD box will last a long time if you keep it cool, use vibration mounts and make sure you have a very good ground. My current MSD box dates back to 2000.
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Old Dec 22, 2014 | 08:33 PM
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austinramsay, may I hijack your thread so I'm not creating another one on the same topic?
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