MSD placement

[jca25 1,034]

I'm looking for some placement ideas on the MSD in the engine bay of my xd van, was thinking of putting it under the battery tray but looks like i will need to make up a plate for it. i don't want to put in inside the car. Ur welcome to put some pics up to show 

[slydog 7,873]

Hmmmm maybe under the washer bottle but have to ask why not in the cab ?

[jca25 1,034]

Hmmmm maybe under the washer bottle but have to ask why not in the cab ?

Keep the wiring short as and not to worried if it is seen, i was thinking that as a possibility 

[gerg 10,871]

Have to be careful about signal noise from other wires near the trigger circuit. The coil wires need to be separate from them too, otherwise it may self-trigger. Keep runs as short as you can. I run mine under the washer bottle and a bit forward of it, away from passenger side exhaust (clevo). I've hit deep puddles and it's never missed a beat. They're supposed to be reasonably water-resistant (off-road racers use them a lot).

[jca25 1,034]

Have to be careful about signal noise from other wires near the trigger circuit. The coil wires need to be separate from them too, otherwise it may self-trigger. Keep runs as short as you can. I run mine under the washer bottle and a bit forward of it, away from passenger side exhaust (clevo). I've hit deep puddles and it's never missed a beat. They're supposed to be reasonably water-resistant (off-road racers use them a lot).

 

Thanks might look at that spot again and it's on a clevo it's a show car that we are building so won't get driven in the rain a great deal is there anything else to keep a eye out for with them??

[Outback Jack 6,352]

I agree with gerg, jca.

We mounted Ash's bogan ute msd under washer bottles on xf.

There is a panel that runs at a nice angle below there and makes for a tidy install.

 

To be honest wait until motor is in and accesories are on it then work around that.

The msds have a coated cuircut board for water protection. Think the most important thing is the wiring. I loom all my wiring separately for the msd and we mounted it where it is because it's closest point to dizzy.

Like all wiring, the longer the run, the more resistance is created, so keep it short.

Ash's is for a crossy but seen as the dizzy on Ford V8's is at the front as well it will be fine.

Jack.

[slydog 7,873]

TBH mine is in the glove box area just like a Nascar and I have zero issues and the benift is the better environment for the box to live in.

 

I know longer wires mean more resistance but if it can fire my engine that spins to 7500 without issue I doubt it would have any effect on any other.I think too often people over think the situation for zero gain TBH as the difference is less than 1mtr and the trigger needs .9 volts to work and the box needs no less than 9 volts and thats the important one.I get 13.6 volts @ 1500rpm in the cab so by 2000 or so I'd be pulling a full 14.4 volts and been doing so for years.

 

Now the 2 guys I know who have had there MSD in that spot have both broken the MSD from it been there too.  

[Outback Jack 6,352]

Did they rubber mount the msd Sly? Vibration is their biggest enemy.

Vibrations crack cuircut boards.

 

In a show car Im not sure.

If you want to hide all the wiring in the bay maybe inside is the go.

If you want to show off all the bits, in the bay.

 

Jack

[Thom 6,651]

TBH mine is in the glove box area just like a Nascar and I have zero issues and the benift is the better environment for the box to live in.

 

I know longer wires mean more resistance but if it can fire my engine that spins to 7500 without issue I doubt it would have any effect on any other.I think too often people over think the situation for zero gain TBH as the difference is less than 1mtr and the trigger needs .9 volts to work and the box needs no less than 9 volts and thats the important one.I get 13.6 volts @ 1500rpm in the cab so by 2000 or so I'd be pulling a full 14.4 volts and been doing so for years.

 

Now the 2 guys I know who have had there MSD in that spot have both broken the MSD from it been there too.  

 

My old man has his under the dash in his a model, it's been there for over 10 years and never had an issue with it

[gerg 10,871]

I did mine that way simply so I could use the supplied wiring without needing any more joins. The only extra I needed was battery 12v + & -

 

The instructions recommend that you mount it in a well-vented spot. I read up a lot about this very issue and found that glovebox mounting wasnt necessary and not recommended by the manufacturer due to cooling issues. But each to their own really, whatever works.

 

My take is that they made it with a finned alloy case for a reason: to shed heat.

[ashXFute 498]

Here's where me and Jack ended up mounting my msd.

[jca25 1,034]

I agree with gerg, jca.

We mounted Ash's bogan ute msd under washer bottles on xf.

There is a panel that runs at a nice angle below there and makes for a tidy install.

 

To be honest wait until motor is in and accesories are on it then work around that.

The msds have a coated cuircut board for water protection. Think the most important thing is the wiring. I loom all my wiring separately for the msd and we mounted it where it is because it's closest point to dizzy.

Like all wiring, the longer the run, the more resistance is created, so keep it short.

Ash's is for a crossy but seen as the dizzy on Ford V8's is at the front as well it will be fine.

Jack.

 

Thanks jack, the engine is in it has all the power steer and that is on for mock up so i could work out the few things like MSD mounting 

TBH mine is in the glove box area just like a Nascar and I have zero issues and the benift is the better environment for the box to live in.

 

I know longer wires mean more resistance but if it can fire my engine that spins to 7500 without issue I doubt it would have any effect on any other.I think too often people over think the situation for zero gain TBH as the difference is less than 1mtr and the trigger needs .9 volts to work and the box needs no less than 9 volts and thats the important one.I get 13.6 volts @ 1500rpm in the cab so by 2000 or so I'd be pulling a full 14.4 volts and been doing so for years.

 

Now the 2 guys I know who have had there MSD in that spot have both broken the MSD from it been there too.  

Under stand where you are getting at slydog but dont really want this big red box hanging out the dash as i take it u are talking bout the spot above the glove box for mounting it. What was the reason behide them breaking the MSD in that spot

 

I did mine that way simply so I could use the supplied wiring without needing any more joins. The only extra I needed was battery 12v + & -

 

The instructions recommend that you mount it in a well-vented spot. I read up a lot about this very issue and found that glovebox mounting wasnt necessary and not recommended by the manufacturer due to cooling issues. But each to their own really, whatever works.

 

My take is that they made it with a finned alloy case for a reason: to shed heat.

I was thinking the same with it after reading the instructions how hot do they get do you know?

 

Here's where me and Jack ended up mounting my msd.

Thanks ash

[slydog 7,873]

No my MSD is in the glove box.Dont read into it just think what you see when you open the glove box.They all come with rubber mount kits aswell.

 

There were broken by a balancer on 1 and a pully on the 2nd. Lol fuck em cos there both knobs.

[slydog 7,873]

The instructions recommend that you mount it in a well-vented spot. I read up a lot about this very issue and found that glovebox mounting wasnt necessary and not recommended by the manufacturer due to cooling issues. But each to their own really, whatever works.

 

 

I would argue the car cabin is ALOT cooler than any engine bay if it's moving or not. Jase Stoodley has data of the intake temps @ the finish line and its above cabin temps and his intake is via the front of the car and sealed. I think MSD are trying to cover them selves there from some mong suing em in the event of failure IMO.       

 

That said have you ever touched your MSD and found it hot to touch ?

[gerg 10,871]

Yeah good point sly but under the washer bottle would have good airflow (from the gap down the side of the radiator). I've never touched it after driving but I'll try and remember next time

[slydog 7,873]

Plenty of moving air for sure...

[hendrixhc 10,920]

Not sure if any parallel can be drawn to the ICE box but the instructions says DO NOT mount in the engine bay due to signal to noise.

 

I think the ICE box is to nice to hide away and hopefully it will fit on the console in plain view!

[jca25 1,034]

No my MSD is in the glove box.Dont read into it just think what you see when you open the glove box.They all come with rubber mount kits aswell.

 

 

There were broken by a balancer on 1 and a pully on the 2nd. Lol fuck em cos there both knobs.

Can u send us a pic of urs sly so I can work out if I should put it in the cab

[jca25 1,034]

Not sure if any parallel can be drawn to the ICE box but the instructions says DO NOT mount in the engine bay due to signal to noise.

 

I think the ICE box is to nice to hide away and hopefully it will fit on the console in plain view!

 

I wanted to go a ice in the first place but the msd came up really cheap $130 round about bran new so that made up my mind

[Outback Jack 6,352]

Howz it going in JCA?

Hope its being nice to you.

 

jack.

[jca25 1,034]

Howz it going in JCA?

Hope its being nice to you.

 

jack.

Hey jack I ended up putting it behind the shock tower where the charcoal cannister normally goes it's still seen but make it still neat in that spot. I'm thinking of changing the washer bottle and putting the fuel pump and reg beside the washer bottle will put a pic up later

[wagoon 2,429]

^^^This is the spot Im thinking of mounting mine as well. It should be far enough away from any electrical interference, still get airflow and be protected from damage from things like rocks, broken belts etc.

[broken-wheel 659]

mount it in the cabin don't make mistakes, so much easier to tune and have access to the cable, just get a bulkhead for the map sensor tube or tie it all the vacuums crap under the dash, the gold box fits in the factory EST behind that kick panel just fine as well but you'd still want to run the serial cable to the glove box so might as well mount it in the glove box, cut the back of the glove box out and it will look nice when you open the glove box. The MSD coil (big cube thing) you can bolt to the engine, that fucking thing will survive a nuclear holocaust and you can still weld with it

[jca25 1,034]

mount it in the cabin don't make mistakes, so much easier to tune and have access to the cable, just get a bulkhead for the map sensor tube or tie it all the vacuums crap under the dash, the gold box fits in the factory EST behind that kick panel just fine as well but you'd still want to run the serial cable to the glove box so might as well mount it in the glove box, cut the back of the glove box out and it will look nice when you open the glove box. The MSD coil (big cube thing) you can bolt to the engine, that fucking thing will survive a nuclear holocaust and you can still weld with it

sorry its all mounted now in the bay, but mine is just a 6al msd so it doesn't have all that other stuff to go with it just had to run a few wires and that was it. the van is built as a show car but if i want to drive it i still can, if you check out my thread you will see my interior is very clean and i don't really want to cut it up 

[PRO250 1,506]

Mine shit itself again today im starting to hate MSD got left 80km from anywhere

my new coils a monsta I don't know where to put it it says keep away from heat but I think ill still screw it to the engine