Sena'sIROC

Okay here's the deal, 89 IROC, built to the hilt, (intake, compression, power, exhaust) ;-)

Just added a nice new shiny MSD setup, Digiital 6 plus box(used to have the MSD6-BTM), 8.5mm wires, Pro-billet 8366 Distributor(came with new HEI module, cap/rotor). The coil I am using is an Accel supercoil.

The Problem:

Cap and rotor life-expectancy is a pathetic 2-3 days.

(Tune-up parts aren't meant to last forever, but I'm sure they are intended to last for more than that!)

Suggested fixes:

Contacted MSD 4 times and did all that they said to do, ohm the wires, check the grounds on block and wiring of the box, look for singes in wires, check plug gap(.038"), make sure wires are tapered off well (used the MFY wire looms), and drill holes in top or dist. cap.

The scenario:

Despite the laundry list of things to check from MSD none helped one iota!
Rotor caps/rotors no matter what brand (I used Borg-warner, Accel, and MSD) get fouled up in a matter of 2-3 days and will lead to a no-start condition if not cleaned thoroughly.

The Suspect:

The Accel supercoil. I have had this coil since Apr '00 and have had this problem.
Even before I added MSDs' products to my car this problem existed on my stock 89 HEI setup. I had at that time Accel 8.8mm wires, and an Accel cap/rotor that I had added in Dec '99, it was Apr'00 that I added the Accel supercoil to the setup and immediately had this problem after 2 weeks. The coil is going back to Autozone, period.

I have heard this happening to people before,

Any opinions/experiences out there???

Brian P

mirage2991

I had an MSD coil for a while, the only complaint I got was it was burning my cap and rotor every 6000miles (even with the little MSD pin that goes betwen the cap and the coil). I went back to a stock one, since my car is stock and I'm not runing NO2 and also has an MSD6. I didn't see any benefits from it, but again, I'm running low cr, stock cam....

Sena'sIROC

Interesting that you say so even with the MSD brand coil that this was happening at every 6,000 miles. For me, 6K is a year's worth of driving, mind you, those are hard-driven miles. The burning up of caps and rotors has been a problem ever since adding the Accel supercoil to the tune of 2-3 weeks before adding the MSD6 series ignition.

When you went back to your stock coil did that cure your problem??

Thanks,

Brian P
89 IROC-Z 355/Turbo 700

Sena'sIROC

Forgot to ask:

What type of MSD coil was that? Was it the Blaster, Blaster SS, or Blaster 2 coil??

You also had the pin that went inbetween the cap and coil??
You must have the in-cap coil I suppose???

And when you say that you saw no benefit from it do you mean the coil or the MSD6 series CD Ignition box??


Thanks,

Brian P
89 IROC-Z 355/Turbo 700(TC clutchless wonder!)

mirage2991

all the above is a yes, I'm not sure which coil it is, but it is the inside coil....and yea when I put the stock coil back in, it stoped burning caps...
I saw about a 2mpg improvement with the MSD boxe, and nothing with the coil, except a hole lotta burned caps .
Come to think about it, I think it's the MSD blaster coil I have...some like 53000v...

Stell1579

i had on my camaro (LB9) the 6A accel supercoil and stock wires, it ate caps for breakfast.

now on my TA (LB9) i have the same 6A MSD 8.5 wires and th emsd replacement coil for that car, noticable difrence and it doesnot eat the caps as bad but it still does.

hope that helped
-Stell

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1988 Pontiac Trans Am. 305 TPI Mods=MSD 6A+Coil+Wires, K & N, SLP AirFoil,180 Thermostat, Cold Air, Hooker Aerochamber Catback

1974 Dodge Charger , Currently restoring but has a 318 with Crane Cam, Carter AFB 4BBl Carb sitting on a Weiand Stealth Intake

RIP 1988 IROC-Z
http://stell15790.tripod.com/cars.htm

Sena'sIROC

Interesting on both accounts.

Mirage, you say that you noticed no observable gain in between the stock coil and the MSD coil. I think that by virtue of the nature of the MSD CDI boxes that an aftermarket coil is only extra current to cross the gap of the plug.

Stell has personal experience as well with the Accel Coil in question, which weighs heavily with me.

Both accounts are enough to make me reconsider the usage of the aftermarket coils.

Maybe GM had a good thing in mind with the voltage and spark energy parameters when designing the HEI ignition for the 3rd Gen. However, the coil saturation was the problem above 4,000 RPM which is easily remedied with an aftermarket ignition box.

Looks like I have an Accel supercoil to take back to Autozone for a full refund in 2 days.

Thanks,

Brian P
89 IROC-Z 355/Turbo 700

86Z28TPI

I still have the stock distributor but I've never had a problem with my Accel super coil, cap, wires, all that stuff. It runs great!

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'86 IROC Z28 TPI 305. Modified air box, K&N filters, Air Foil, SLP headers and exhaust, Comp Cams 1.52 Magnum roller tip rockers and springs, lightweight valves, Accel Super Coil and wires, Adjustable FPR with rail pressure guage, and tons of elbow grease!