Forum for competition engine enthusiasts. RIP Guy Croft 09/11/2020 - This forum will continue both as a source of information and as a memorial to Guy.
PULL OFF whatever is connected to the COIL POSITIVE and connect that to the MSD small red
PULL OFF whatever is connected to the COIL NEGATIVE and connect that to the MSD small white
Sincere apologies Perry and thanks for your time here but which wires of the coil positive and negative go to the red and white msd wires? As you see I have 2 spade connectors on each polarity. I connect both?
ALL wires on the coil positive
ALL wires on the coil negative
Imagine the MSD red is now your coil positive and the MSD white is now your coil negative. You MSD has now become your coil/capacitive discharge unit.
I can see why your getting a little lost Chris; standard ignition setups like Lumention and the like all become part of the setup. The MSD is actually separate and works alone.
Pull off the coil positive wires and find a nice neat way to connect to the MSD small red
Pull off the coil negative wires and find a nice neat way to connect the MSD small white
I DID SAY, IT WILL TAKE YOU LONGER TO MOUNT THE UNIT THAN IT WILL TO WIRE IT UP.
OK so the 2 spade connectors from the coil negative will attach together and connect to the small white.
The 2 spade connectors from the coil positive will attach together and connect to the small red.
This is what I meant by loop. Sorry if I mislead you.
I can actually remove the double spade connector (leaving the original wires/connectors on them) and attach the small msd wires to the copper part in the middle with a new bolt/nut.
The MSD orange and black can be wound around the original nut and washer on the new coil.
The MSD will come with all the clips and connectors you would need.
Make sure you do it properly as the MSD will 'FRY' anything that does not have a good connection.
I have recently been working with a Newtronic ignition box on a PRV engine and I can say Perry is right. It's not just MSD, but any ignition suffers from less than perfect electrical connections. For a light bulb, a few ohms and some initial contact resistance isn't much of a problem, the light will go on eventually. With ignition, it's all about how fast current can rise and how much peak current you can get out of the energy stored in the coil and/or capacitors. Then all of a sudden a few ohms matter a lot, especially if you have initial contact resistance that in effect requires a miniature arc to form before current can flow.
Make sure you use proper thickness wiring, proper connectors and use a good crimping tool to attach the connectors to the wiring. Make sure anything using bolts/threads/washers is tightened enough. Doing just this right throughout the entire circuit can make an okay running car run much better, start better and give more power throughout the entire rev range. Good crimping with the proper materials and tools gives a lower resistance than soldering, keep that in mind when doing ignition or high-current electrical work. Soldering (when done right) is more resilient to motion, so when splicing/merging cables, for instance for sensors that are usually voltage and not current dependent, that should be more suitable.
By the way, Newtronic 2-coil systems have some inherent thermal design flaws that make them fry themselves when the ignition is left on for too long without running the car/bike. Also, water resistance is less than optimal. You'd expect something designed for automotive use to be a little bit more resilient than this. If you have to work with these, be aware of these limitations. I have no experience with other Newtronic products, so it may just be the 2 coil box and the rest could be perfectly fine.
First of all it idled easier when cold. Low revs when cold so maybe the pump wasn't delivering enough.
If the carb bowls have dried out a little and piped drained somewhat this pump fills them all within seconds whereas my old mechanical pump took many turns of the engine to get anything primed. Was really frustrating.
Acceleration smooth smooth throughout every gear and no signs of hesitation whatsover. A significant increase in power also.
Felt like I had fuel injection really.
I thoroughly recommend it if you have an old mechanical pump with a possible worn shaft.
Can the mechanical pump meet 130 l/hr? That's over litres a minute but also keeping pressure under the limit as not to open the valve seats.
Mounted my MSD already. Will test it on the road later today but all ran fine while idling and revving. Crisp, clean and responsive.
2 great mods in 1 day. Happy Alfa owner. This will please my wife also as it will feel more like a modern car.