RedsTA

Last weekend i installed the MSD dual connector coil on my 94 TA. Tonight i installed the MSD 6a box with the LT1 harness. I matched all the wires to the color coded wire spots, used the diagrams from MSD, but had problems once i started the car.

Does great until about 2k rpm and will just rev up until you let off the gas and it can drop to the next gear. Also doesnt want to drop into 1st or anything and take off from another gear. When in 3rd or OD, it acts very sluggish and doesnt really want to go until you give it enough gas to go to second.

Any ideas on what i hooked up wrong? I unhooked it all once i got back home and just ran the coil again, and its running strong again, so i must have screwed something up in the msd box install. Only thing i didnt have connected was the tach for the msd box, but didnt think i needed that, and one side of the coil. Other than that, everything was hooked up. Any ideas?

Thanks for any help

94zgreenmachine

I only had to make two connections to get my msd to work, I grounded the box to the same stud that holds the ICM and coil. I extended the positive lead to the junction block located just ahead of the battery on the inner fender(passenger side). I also soldered a thicker wire that I used to extend the positive side. Other than that, you should only need to use the harness for a splice free install.

Hyperspeed97z28

http://www.msdignition.com/downld1.htm

they will have diagrams based on what car it is ...

RedsTA

Well, i connected one lead to the box on the strut tower, the other lead to something on that side right next to it, i cant really remember its getting late. And then just connected all the harness wires color to color. Sounds like we did the exact same thing. Were you running a MSD coil or stock coil? Somebody else was telling me that they had a problem they think sounded similar to them, and they went back to the stock coil and it fixed it.

And yeah, thats where i got my diagrams from for the hookup. Im almost certain everything is hooked up right... is there anyway the connector to the coils are on backwards? Im pretty sure they only clip on one way, but a possibility?

dover179

I could be wrong here, but I put in an MSD coil and 6al box on my car and no problems what-so-ever. The coil I used only had one connector, pretty fool proof. I just took the old coil out and put the new coil in. As far as the box goes, I used the harness that I got with the box and it all hoked up without splicing any wires at all. All I had to do was run the power wire to the battery lead and hook up the ground, plug in the harness and it was good to go. Did you get the correct wire harness? I don't know about the coil since mine was just the single connector, but maybe you need the single connector one or the correct harness for the box since that seems to be the problem.

94zgreenmachine

That is pretty much how my install went. He has a 94, like mine, so he should have the dual plug coil. Still, the only difference should be our coils, but if the harness was used it shoulod be a splice free install.

I dug up my MSD destructions. Lets just check some part numbers. The 6AL is the same for GM, FORD< DODGE, etc. So the two main things we need to have is the coil and the harness. You should have coil # 8226. The harness you need is #8876. Try running your wires to the battery terminals instead. At this point we NEED to make sure everything is hooked up correctly.
The msd comes with RPM pills. Check to make sure you do not have the lower RPM pill in there for whatever reason.I put the 6k pill in, and have bounce of the rev. limiter many times!. Using the stock coil, put the 6k rpm pill in there and run it to see if the rev limiter is kicking in. If it is working, try swapping the coil to see if the same thing is happening. If , not you may have a faulty coil. You can use the MSD for a stock coil but the MSD would be recommended.

Hyperspeed97z28

Just look up that link i posted and double check everything ...

this is a fool-proof install or so it should be ...

Im sure you just got something mixed up ....

RedsTA

The 6a has a rev limiter? I thought only the 6al had the rev limiter? And i konw that the pills didnt get messed up, i bought it from my friend because he had to sell his 5.0 and he used it for a month and ended up selling it to me with a blaster 2 coil. So i bought it for 50 dollars, bought the GM dual connector coil from MSD, it works fine been running it for the past weeks. Im sure i got the right harness, had it double checked through oreily, and it says it at the top of the box lol. All the wires hooked it easy and everything, i dont know what it could really be.

Tonight i started to think it was something to do with throttle response. I was rolling down a hill going to a my girlfriends house and loss all throttle response, and car just revved down. Let it sit for a few minutes at her house, took it around the block and it did it in the exact same spot... going up the hill it didnt want to go at all.

Dont know a lot of things that it could be, fuel filter, spark plugs, wires, all came to mind... if not the coil might have had a bad connection.. since it stopped doing it when i screwed with it the night i uninstalled the MSD box.

As for the installation of the msd box, i have the red and black wires wired over to the battery cap (black to black and red to red), so there isnt anything wrong there.

94zgreenmachine

Your right, the 6A doesn't have the rev limiter. Sorry about that. That would eliminate only being able to rev so high and then shift .... Did your buddy have to do any splicing of wires or do they make a harness for rustangs? Call MSD and see what the tech line says. Could have a bum box.Something, unexpectantly , may have happenend from when your buddy uninstalled it.At the least maybe they could check it out for you for a minimal fee. My box was the easiest thing to install. The only hard thing for me was deciding where to put it!

RedsTA

Well, he had to cut a couple wires, but that was it. I think it was only the battery wires. Which i had to extend anyway, so wasnt a big deal. Im starting to think its not the box now, my car has been acting up since. Its not allowing me to drop gears quick, just sits for a second then will drop down, i dont know what to think. Either torque converter or transmission came to mind.

94zgreenmachine

Try reading codes. Just because the SES light is not on does not meAN THERE IS A PROBLEM.(Damn caps button) places like auto zone and such will scan for ffree. It wouldn't hurt to try.

RedsTA

Yeah, my friend was going to see if he couldnt get one from his work and bring it by this weekend. Yesterday before work, I noticed that my IAT hose wasnt plugged into my CAI. Put it in and its running fine now, MSD box on last night it stuttered terribly before taking off. Should I maybe have to let it run for a few minutes to get the pcm to readjust or?

This is rediculous, only idea I have left is a bad box, but I dunno what would have broken on it sitting on his shelf.

94zgreenmachine

It should just take off and go from the second your done. The pcm shouldn't have to learn anything.Have you tried the MSD coil by itself? If so, what happened? If the car ran fine with the MSD coil alone and it ran fine with the stock coil, I think you would have a problem with the box. Damn electronic garbage doesn't take much to fry it or for something inadvertently to happen. Have you checked the voltage at the battery. The msd needs a full 12 volts to work correctly not going below 10 volts max.. It's possible. Call the MSD tech line and see what they can help you out with. It wouldn't hurt any.

MichiganSkip

Have you tried removing the box and see if it still acts up?