MSD repair service

[Pyrotechnic]

My dad gave me an old MSD 6A box to run on my truck. After running it for awhile, it seemed to be unreliable so we sent it out to MSD to have it checked and repaired. There was a few components that were replaced and we also had it converted to a 6T so we could run a rev limiter box. $80 and $10 shipping to get it there.

Not too long after I'm driving along, the motor has a HUGE backfire and I'm left for dead in the middle of the street. Sent the box out again, and MSD sends it back and tells me there's nothing wrong with it. $10 shipping again.

So weeks later I'm driving downtown and again, the motor dies and will not restart but luckily I was able to coast into a parking spot. I went under the hood, stuck a screw driver in the coil wire and laid it on the valve cover. I shorted the magnetic pickup wires and it seems to have spark. Weird. I get back in the truck and start it up and put in reverse to try and back out. While I'm waiting for traffic, it dies again. So as fast I can, I run back and do the test again. This time I have nothing.

This box has had this intermittent problem for a long time, and now for the first time it was confirmed.

I had tried to tell MSD that even though the box may have been passing their 4 hour burn in tests, this was an intermittent issue that showed up maybe once a month. When I questioned their testing procedures, I got an earful. They told me that their testing and repair procedures were perfect, and that the problem was for sure on my end. The tone was very rude and condescending, pretty much the opposite of what you'd expect good customer service to be.

I understand that a lot of people do a poor job of wiring these boxes, and that they get blamed for a lot of these issues. I also understand that intermittent issues are tough to find.

However, intermittent issues are a REAL thing in the electronics world. They do happen, and you can't ignore it. They chose to tell me that there was no such thing, and because of that, I have zero faith in their skill to repair anything. No testing or repair procedure is 100% effective, and claiming this and blaming the customer 100% of the time is ridiculous.

I went with the old school 6A because I thought it would be simple, robust, and cheap to maintain. Boy was I've wrong. I've wasted more money on this box than I'd like to admit. Calling them to argue again is pointless. I'm done, this box is going in the trash.

Don't get me wrong, I know that no product or service is perfect, but that's what customer service is for. Customer service fixes any problems and leaves the customer happy. Customer service was non existent in this case.

MSD...you may have saved a few dollars by refusing to fix this box correctly, but you have lost 2 long time customers. Because of this experience I can not recommend an MSD ignition box to anyone again. Infact I will have to tell everyone I know to steer clear.

[Daveboyd]

Really? Thats too bad. I have always used MSD ignitions in all of our race cars and never had a problem that wasn't infact a mistake we made no matter how much i denied it at the time.

I will continue to support MSD.

[Pyrotechnic]

I know that everyday they get bombarded with calls from people with mickey mouse wiring jobs telling them that their boxes suck. I know everyday they test boxes that have absolutely nothing wrong with them and drop them right back in the mail.

The thing is, I wired mine right and I've checked it over and over. I used the testing procedure that they told me, to catch it during one of it's intermittent failures. I do have a background in electronics. I'm not your average guy that automatically blames the box.

I know that they might have to be firm with the average customer when it comes to getting issues worked out on the customers end. The problem is that they believe that they do not make mistakes. When the customer is right and they are wrong, they will never see it.

I apologize for venting here, but I haven't cooled off yet and my wallet still hurts. I'm out over $100 and I'm looking at an expensive red brick.

[cableguy0]

I called about an issue with a distributor. Got pretty much the same attitude. i had already tested everything. Mag pickup checked out. No real way to test the module. Had all sorts of weird issues. suddenly distributor developed a rev limiter. starting breaking up badly at all rpms. Was showing 60 degrees of timing at idle. etc etc etc. They fought with me on the phone. blamed my timing light etc etc etc. Needless to say the msd on the shelf in an old friends garage. I switched back to an aftermarket hei and problem solved. Yes everything was wired right. Had worked fine in 2 different truck including the one it last lived in. Then all the sudden it ran me in circles. You know how hard it is to chase an intermittent module problem. I was way less than impressed with there tech service. The guy acted like I was hassling him by asking him question. I paid over 300 bucks for the distributor i would think that entitles me to at least a few minutes of tech support.

[Walts_restoration]

i let a guy that works for MSD over on CK5 know. Maybe he stops by maybe he doesnt i dont know. But good luck to ya.

[Walts_restoration]

from msd tech

"Thank you it does but I'm having trouble logging into the site. It says my e-mail address is banned?

Can you do my a favor and let them know I'm working on getting registered and I'll chime in as soon as possible?

Thanks for the heads up!

-Phil "

[Pyrotechnic]

Hey walt thanks for passing the story along to them. If they can get registered here we'll see what they have to say.

[Walts_restoration]

he has gmail, he is trying to get registered. I told him he needs another provider.

[cableguy0]

gmail isnt allowed because of spam issues. yahoo or most of the other free ones work.

[Pyrotechnic]

Just a small update. I went out yesterday to pull the box out from under the hood. I figured I'd try the spark test again to see if maybe the box had decided to start working. When I did the test, there was no spark so again I pulled out the meter. There was 12 volts where there needed to be, so I disconnected the coil and checked its primary and secondary resistances.

Now keep in mind, a couple of weeks ago I had checked them and they were in spec. This time, after the most recent failure, the primary resistance was ZERO. This means the primary winding is shorted, and the coil is junk.

I tried another coil that I know is good, and I still had no spark. What it looks like is the box finally blew out completely, and it took the coil with it...the $170 Blaster HVC II coil. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MSD-8253/

Not good. That's more money lost.

[68C15]

I have a reverse engineered schematic of your box and I see no reason it would take out a coil. but I DO know a shorted coil will damage a box.

shorted coil means low resistance which means way higher than normal current. that current flows through transistors in the box.

I would be looking at the secondary ignition system to see what took out the coil and then the box.

[cableguy0]

I would definately lean toward the coil was going bad and blew the fuse inside the box or cooked it completely. A bad coil will take out the rest of the ignition system in a hurry. Ignition parts all depend on each other. One weak part stresses the others.