When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hi all! I have 1978 D150 LRE with a 360ci engine. I’m having trouble with the MSD Ready-to-Run Distributor. I installed it exactly the way the instructions said. Orange = Negative side of coil. Red = Positive coil. Black = Ground. Grey = Tach. The orig harness had a black and red wire for the coil and a 2-pronged connector that connected to the HEI distributor. I assume the red wire connected to the ignition so I attached it to the + terminal of the coil and attached the black wire to the coil. I have no idea what to do with the 2-pronged connector.
1) What do I do with orig 2-prong connector?
2) The engine won’t start unless I run a wire directly from the battery to the positive side of the coil. This would normally indicate a bad ignition switch but the system worked fine before I installed the MSD. Does the 2-pronged connector have anything to do with this? Or did I wire something wrong?
In your instructions for the MSD does it say that you need 12 volts at the plus side of the coil, if it does you might need to bypass the blast resistor to get 12 v at the coil.
In your instructions for the MSD does it say that you need 12 volts at the plus side of the coil, if it does you might need to bypass the blast resistor to get 12 v at the coil.
The instructions show the 12 volt going through the ignition key (see image below). When I bypassed the ignition box with a lead directly from the battery to the positive side of the coil the engine started....but then I could turn it off without pulling the wire off.
I figured it out. The wires from the distributor leads were crossed (duh!). Bassically just need to cap off the original connector from the ECM since it’s no longer needed. Thanks anyway.
Weird thing happened now. It ran for about 10 minutes then all of a sudden it shut off on its own as I was checking the timing. I checked spark at the plugs and there nothing. I checked the coil and it appears to be fine (1.6 ohms on the primary coil). There is ohms on the secondary coil but I don’t know what it should be. I checked the ignition lead from key ignition and it shows 9.5 volts. Could it be the distributor or rotor crapped out?? They are brand new but nothing surprises me anymore. Going to check those next.
You were right! I bypassed the resistor and it started right up and continued to run normal. MSD should really include that in their instructions for older cars. Thank you so much your help!!!!
I tried to set the timing and curve but didn’t get very far. The timing marks fluctuated a lot! I think I got the base timing set at 14 degrees BTDC. As I was increasing the RPM the timing marks were outside of the indicator range but I did notice that it didn’t change much after 2600. I figured the springs in the distributor needed changing to get a better curve but I ran out of time today. I was happy that it kept running. Will investigate it this weekend.
What do you recommend for total timing on a 360ci? My base timing is 14 degrees. Should I set the curve for 18-20 to get 32-34 total timing or go a little higher? I forgot this type of distributor doesn’t have springs and bushings...I have to turn a dial to set the e-curve based on the MSD charts.
It depends on modifications to the motor, if is stock try 35 or so unless there's pinging, then back off as needed. It sounds like it should be easy to try different curves and settings to find what works the best. After you get the timing were you feel it works start adjusting the carb.🙂
How do you set the different timing curves with an MSD? Is it also possible to adjust the vacuum advance or just replace these units?
I have only some numbers for an slant, but 15 base 18 mech and 18 vacuum. But it depends on engine config.
Currently I have add an Megajolt with waste spark system on my car. And try to set up. And give some more advance on early rpm range. But I dive the car also with lpg and petrol.
How do you set the different timing curves with an MSD? Is it also possible to adjust the vacuum advance or just replace these units?
I have only some numbers for an slant, but 15 base 18 mech and 18 vacuum. But it depends on engine config.
Currently I have add an Megajolt with waste spark system on my car. And try to set up. And give some more advance on early rpm range. But I dive the car also with lpg and petrol.
It depends on the MSD setup you get, if you have the distributor and go with a programmable box you can do it on your computer.
