Just installed the Mallory Hyfire VI-CD using the MSD #8877 single connector style wiring harness. It seems to be working fine. But why is it when I change the start retard from 0.1 to 10.0 while the car is idling at 800, it immediately gets real rough. You MSD guys might not experience this since you have plug-in pills and such, but with the Mallory it takes one button to jump from 0.1 to 10.0 (supposed to only affect < 500rpm). So...hmm...wondering if the box is working correctly on other things as well.

hmm...

 

What is a start retard?? If you have a retard system with your ignition box then I would set it at 0. If you set it greater than 0 you will be pulling timing.

 

Start Retard will pull the amount of timing you specify when engine RPM is below 500rpm.

Also to add, around 2750 while accelerating moderately, it feels like its hitting the rev limiter for one revolution then back to normal. And my Security light is on now...but the car starts fine.

 

Are you SURE it's the start retard? When mine's idling and I change the start retard it affects nothing, but one day i was idling down my street and accidently knocked the regular retard all the way up to max and it didn't sound too pretty It was pretty funny though. Does the car idle fine otherwise?

As for other things not working, i wouldn't worry about that. Tested the nitrous system out yet? If not then set the window switch from like 3500 to 4000. Don't worry about it not being enough time to feel it, you'll definetely feel it. As for the rev limiter, I have never hit mine A4 with the mallory box so I couldn't tell you if it was any different than normal or not. PM me later if you want.

 

Loadre my man, was hoping you'd find me here. Yes I'm positive its the start retard (mode 4). It defaults at 0.1, and by pressing the down arrow once, it goes to 10.0, and man everything gets choppy and the car sputters. I'm talking just sitting in the parking lot at idle. Right now I'm running the bypass connector and everything is back to normal, but the SECURITY light is still on my dash. With mode 4 (start retard) set to the lowest (0.1) it still stumbles or misses once between 2500 and 3000.

Haven't tested the N2O out due to another problem I'm having with my BLMs dropping to 108 as soon as it goes into closed loop. All signs point to it being a bad MAF sensor so I'm going to swap with someone and see if that fixes it. After that and the ignition situation, I'll make sure I'm not getting any knock and then its juice time. Seems like far off, but it's getting there!

 

Has the security light come up ever since you installed the box? Me thinks with the bypass connector in there it shouldn't be doing that because it's basically running stock type ignition. I went through the exact same woes you're going through when we installed my box. Mine stumbled like crazy for the longest time. You might wanna run out there when it's dark and see if your wires are arcing or anywhere around your coil is. We wrapped my coil (stocker) in electrical tape due to the fact the increased voltage was making it arc a little more than we liked. I seriously doubt the .1* of start retard is what's hurting it. Have you tried switching the MSD connector around and connecting it the opposite way? I dunno what it looks like but I remember you having problems knowing which way was which or something to that effect. It might be a longshot but it could be stemming from your BLM problem. I'll try to run over what all we did to cure my stumbling problem and see if I can think of anything new. Next, we might have to compare what's wired where on our setups, etc, and see if that helps. Laters man.

Edit- Prolly a lot of grammar mistakes cause I'm about to pass out from lack of sleep....

 

Loadre - okay I went out tonight and checked for arcs - nothing to be seen. And it was dark so any hint of light would have been recognized (had to do this for plug wires once before).

So I made a diagram of how my setup is currently:
http://www.in-design.com/~gatorman/mallorydiagram.jpg

Yes the Security light has only come on since the ignition install. I still don't understand why it sounds so horrible at idle when I change the start retard (which shouldn't affect it since its over 500rpm). Even at the least amount, 0.1 degree, it doesnt sound right. I was doing back-to-back tests between the Mallory and the stock ignition (using the bypass) and you can hear and feel the difference at idle.

Where I had to join wires, I used butt connectors and wrapped a 3" section overlapping the two with 3M electrical tape. I also staggared the connections so they werent all parallel to eachother (else they wouldnt fit in the split-loom).

So the way I see it, the wiring can't be the problem, cause it runs just fine with the bypass connector in - and the bypass connector utilizes every bit of wiring up to the box itself, then returns the signal down the reverse direction.

What about the unused cables on the Mallory box...I just coiled them up together. Should the ends of those be taped off for any reason?