DIY: MSD Ignition System Install

[beeza]

Here's the distributor.Wires from the MSD connects to the ICM (under the cover) and the stock coil removed:



And here it is again,all installed:



Make sure you Reset the ECU after any modification.

Sponge bob says,Job well Done!



Extra Comments:

Running the MSD system will allow you to advance the timing 2 or 3 degrees.

So you can play around with advancing the timing to see if it yields any results or just set it at stock/factory setting.

Adjusting Ignition Timing

Now there is a lot bad stuff out there on the MSD system and I believe the reason lies in:

* Sub par install causing many problems like misfires,cutting out and many other random electrical problems all caused by a sub par install.

* Ignition parts wearing and causing problems,examples are:

- Rotor wearing and not producing a good spark.This can cause the timing to go out because of rotor pitting/burning Link
- Plugs wearing making the gap too big and causing misfire
- A modified distributor cap if not done correctly will cause problems

I think this happens and the MSD gets blamed a lot.I know in the industry MSD are known as MS where's the spark D but my system has been going strong for a while now.The thing is to keep an eye on the parts and keep the crap off them so they spark well!

So routinely I do the following:

Remove plugs,clean the spark plug holes,sparkplugs and set the gap:

The handy tool



Put 2 or 3 tissues on the end and swirl em' around:







NGK Iridium's all the way! 60,000km and going strong!!

EDIT: On one of my NGK's,it was allowing oil up into the sparkplug cylinder because the crush washer was completely flattened after taking them in and out a few times.This was causing misfire.It only happened on one plug and I took them all out and in a few times...just know this may occur cause I have had misfire problems on and off for a while and now I finally know what was causing it.



atm it's a 1.6mm gap.I have ran it smoothly at 1.9mm before,misfired at 2mm:





Give the edge of the rotor a light sand with fine sand paper to take the carbon deposits off and expose the metal edge:



Clean the carbon deposits off the points on the inside of dizzy with a flat head screwdriver and fine sandpaper:



Now,the only other part in the system is the leads.I was running MSD leads,they worked great,I changed too OEM leads for something to do,works great too.You could upgrade to Vision triple core leads and a Solid Vision rotor (off ebay).These items won't give you any performance but rather recover performance lost from the parts degrading if you have any.
My stock rotor is fine and for the leads you will need to check if the impedance is gaining in them to see if they are holding up alright.Both leads I have used have been fine.

More???

Other components in the Air/Fuel/Ignition System and what to do to ensure Maximum benefit from the MSD system:

- Good Cold air feed.

- Walbro 255lph fuel pump,not a must but better to get that 10 yr old pump out of there!

- Insulate fuel lines to keep the fuel cool,proven power gains 2-3 kws.

- Change that old fuel filter and get ya fuel tank drained and cleaned.

- Stick to BP 98 octane fuel.

- Get those old injectors cleaned.For $40 an injector,you can have the flow rate and spray pattern calibrated.For example an injector may read flow rate -2 and spray pattern - 3.After calibration,they will read flow rate -5 and spray pattern - 5.

- Fuel Pressure regulator,Only needed on bigger setup's.I have one but after trying different settings,I have decided to stay at stock pressure 36 psi.I have tried upto 44 psi and it seems to run best at stock pressure.Without a dyno it's difficult to know if there's an optimal pressure.

Thanks to dsp26 for sharing your aftermarket ignition stories so I could learn.Thanks John (ECU-MAN) for the ICM that I blew.Thanks to CRXer for your knowledge mate.And finally thanks to the guys at Bundall auto marine electrical for hooking up a device to the terminals on the ICM,so we could determine which one was positive and negative.

It ended up Black being positive and green negative...No wonder I blew the ICM,good one Honda