MSD ignition

[Galant306m]

Brought to you by silvertune

Alright as it stands with Big Maps success the weak point in the engine management has fallen to the ignition system. Depending on the setup and the tune the stock ignition breaks up somewhere around the 400whp range. You can gap the plugs down to an absolute max of .02" but if you intend to make 400 or more horsepower than the ignition upgrade is REQUIRED.

There has been a lot of talk about converting to coil packs but there is really no need to. The weak point in out ignition is the coil in the distributor; it is simply too weak. The answer is an MSD ignition setup. This has been documented before BUT THE WRITE UP IS WRONG AND YOU WILL BLOW YOUR ENGINE UP IF YOU FOLLOW IT. For that reason I am writing this one.

The ingredients:
MSD 6a or 6al ignition box.

Technically you can run the nicer boxes but there is really no point, the only thing you need from this box is its ability to fire the MSD coil since ECUFlash takes care of all your adjustments. Might as well save the money and stick with the basic 6a or 6al.

RPM Chips

The MSD boxes have a built in rev limiter function that kicks in about 400 RPM's quicker than the rating. Sadly they only sell these chips in a 30$ kit of 5 but make sure you get a set that has a chip that will let you rev to your desired RPM.

MSD Coil - either Blastter SS (shown) or the Blaster 2's are good too.

The purpose of this whole mess is getting this coil to run the car.

MSD Coil Wire

This will connect the external coil to your distributor. The wire comes with a tower that you install in the distributor cap to make that connection.

What spark plugs to use?

NGK BKR7E's, pretty much the best boost plug you can run. For the MSD gap it at .03" or a little less depending on how far you want to go.

Last but not least, the necessary wiring.



There is no need for a tach adapter. The writer of the previous write up did not understand that the tach adapter doesn't run the tach, it runs the MSD off a special tachometer signal. Mitsubishi never put any of the special tool and tuning crap in the eclipse and the ignition trigger is no different, no adapters necessary.


First thing's first, these components are surprisingly large so do yourself a favor and find a place for the MSD box before anything. KEEP IT AWAY FROM DIRECT ENGINE HEAT.

I removed my cruise control when I went turbo. I pulled the studs out and there is just enough room to get the MSD box in there. I used rubber bumpers with stick patches on them to keep it in place, so far it hasn't moved.

Next find a place for your coil, also away from direct engine heat.


Now open up the wire package and pull out the wire and the tower.


Pull the tower apart by unscrewing the upper fitting. I bought a brass screw to replace the steel one.


Now grab your distributor cap, make sure it's new or almost new since conductivity is incredibly important. Pictured is a 74 cap since that's what I have in the car right now.


Flip the distributor over and see the little button in the center of the cap. It is spring loaded and makes contact with the rotor. Make sure this stays clean!



With that button in the center you can't drill for the tower there. Move over a little bit such that you can fit the tower and all your plug wires on the cap and drill a 1/8" or so hole in the center of the ridge.

Drill it all the way through.

Now take a 3/8" "shelfed" drill bit like shown, using the first hole as a pilot and drill down until you uncover the metal strap.


Do this from the top and bottom.


Put the screw in from the bottom and the wire bundle from the top.


I got my Dremel out and cut the heck out of the tower to make it fit tightly and seal itself against the cap.


Seal up the bottom also, I used RTV silicone.


Finished cap.


Now for the wiring. The MSD box needs a power and ground AT THE BATTERY. It is 100% required that the leads go right to the battery. This is the thick red and thick black wires, positive and negative respectively.

Get the correct sized ends to get the cables on whatever battery leads you have.

Mine's been relocated to the back so I had to run the wires up the car.


Soldered and heat shrinked.


Thin orange goes to coil positive, thin black to coil negative.


Next order of business is at the distributor. Pull the pigtail off and strip back a good 6 inches of tape so you can lay the wires where you want them. Cut the Black and white wire and the white wire next to it.


The black and white wire goes to the thin red wire, this is the source for your ignition on for the MSD box.

(The flash makes the wire on the right look white but it's actually the black one)
The white wire is the RPM signal wire that goes back to the ECU. It gets grounded every time the ECU fires (or now attempts to fire) the coil in the distributor. I extended it a little bit than TAPPED the white trigger wire on the MSD into it. YOU MAINTAIN THE CIRCUIT BACK TO THE ECU, what you are doing is wiring the MSD trigger in parallel with the ECU.

When you do this your factory tach will no longer run. HOWEVER you CAN still log RPM and timing with Evoscan so don't worry about maintaining the ability to tune the car. Look up aftermarket tach's that work with the MSD box tach output and pick one you like. The tach output from the MSD will not power the stock tach but it will run almost anything autometer and a few others. Make sure you confirm compatibility before you purchase.

Now put in your distributor cap if you haven't already and install the plug wire.


Put your plugs in if applicable and button it back up.


Proof that you can log RPM even with the MSD.



Wiring Summary:

MSD Box wires:
Thin Orange - coil positive
Thin Black - coil negative
Thick Black - battery negative
Thick Red - battery positive
White - white signal wire on distributor (trigger wire)
Thin red - Black and white wire on distributor (ignition on)

Solder and heat shrink your connection and use logs of zip ties to keep wiring clean of belts and heat. It's very simply and VERY worth it. PM me with questions.

[Silvertune]

Thank you Mitch.

[foxbrand]

thank you

[TruBLUE]

What about those of us that have coil pacs are there any upgrades beyond a ngk/ntk set up?