PullMyFinger Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 I forget where I bought it but I found this one for $42.50Billet Catch Can by WeaponR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesoam Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Due to a recent turn of events I cant spend much time at the house. So I went and got some mental down time working on the 850.I fabricated and painted a killer braket to hold the MSD coil and removed the ignition control module from the factory bracket. Car runs great for 1 day. This morning I am about 2 miles from the house on my way to the office and the car just dies. Right there on the spot....dead. In the middle of rush hour traffic. So I get out and pop the hood and a nice little woft of smoke comes from the coil area with the ever present smell of burnt plastic. Yup, the module is fried. Apparently the bracket it is mounted to has a zinc oxide heat sink seal that keeps the little unit from cooking itself. Sooooo, 230.00 later I have a new coil and module unit and a new plug wire. Back to stock I go.http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php?s...5&hl=coil+friedpretty sure its the coil...i had mine mounted to the metal plate...ran fine for a WHILE, then it started fading...then one day it checked out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NataSS Inc Posted March 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 It was actually the ignition control module. Got it up and running last night as soon as I plugged the new one in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesoam Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 It was actually the ignition control module. Got it up and running last night as soon as I plugged the new one in.it is def the module but it can't handle the coil...there is a link in the thread for an in line resistor that should be used from MSD... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NataSS Inc Posted March 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 So what in the hell does the resistor do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PullMyFinger Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 I've had the coil in for about 2 years without any resistor and no issues. Whats the deal? Am I on borrowed time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PullMyFinger Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 I found this info at MSDIgnition.com:"...Most late model vehicles with electronic ignitions do not require a ballast resistor, check your ignition and manufacturers specifications to determine if a ballast is required in your application."MSDIgnition.com Blaster Coil Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacob Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 So what in the hell does the resistor do?The resistor is going to limit the current rush through the coil and through the ignition module. While this might preserve your ignition module, it is going to negate any effects that the aftermarket coil might offer (i.e. lower resistance, more current, "hotter spark"). You might as well stick with stock if your going to do that :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PullMyFinger Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 The resistor is 8 ohms, MSD says that the Blaster SS Coil has a primary resistance of .355 ohms and a secondary resistance of 6.2k ohms.It mentions the ballast for the standard Blaster Coils but makes no mention of it for the Blaster SS Coil.So the 8 ohm resistor just limits what the coil gets. Am I understanding this correctly? If thats the case then it doesn't seem like it would be affecting the performace of the Coil, just preventing the ignition module from overloading and melting.Where would the ballast be installed then? Before the ignition module, on the positive power lead???Somebody please shed some light on this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacob Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 The 0.8 Ohm ballast resistor goes in between the ignition module and the Blaster coil. Your exactly right - it limits the amount of current that the coil gets. For instance, at 12 volts, if the primary resistance is .355 ohms, then you will get 33 or so amps through the coil in an instant. when this field collapses, a high energy field is generated in the secondary coil, which causes a spark of some odd 44KV. Now say you have .8+.355 ohms. Now you only have 10 amps flowing through the coil. When the field collapses, it isn't going to have anywhere near as much energy as it did with out the resistor. The thing is, that the stock ignition module is not rated for 33 amps, it is probably rated at about 15. So when you hook up a low resistance to it, it is inevitably overload. By raising the resistance, you are limiting the performance of the coil significantly. So nothing is free, either upgrade your ignition module AND your coil, or leave both stock. Just MHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesoam Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Miles, after my incident and hearing of a few others from other owners through the grape vine. I will not be using their aftermarket coil's on any of my cars...ever againI do indeed feel it is not a stable component. You all can debate this all you want but the evidence presents itself.on a side note it has been discussed multiple times that our STOCK ignition components are plenty capable for the levels of HP that most people are generating on this board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacob Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 I will not be using their aftermarket coil's on any of my cars...ever againIt just sucks that you had to learn the hard way. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PullMyFinger Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Wow, interesting stuff.MSD says that newer electronic ignitions do not require the ballast resistor. Yet, more than one person has melted their ignition module. NataSS's could have been because he removed it from the heat sink. But what about yours Mesoam? It just melted all on its own?How can we tell if our ignition module needs the resistor? I mean, clearly it seems to be very close to the threshhold at *least*. I've had mine in for 2 years and George has had his in for a while too. Neither of our's have melted.Is there a way to calculate what happens when the resistor is put between the module and the coil? As in... compared to stock, is it still an improvement or is it a wash at that point. Or possibly even putting out less than the stock coil.I'm beginning to understand the concepts here, but what are the actual differences. The ballast resistor is certainly cheap and looks very easy to install on the lead wire before the coil. I'd like to do that before my module melts, if its going to. But I'd go back to the stock coil if we can determine that it would indeed be better than the MSD plus resistor.What if we source a ballast resistor rated for someplace between .355 and .8 ohm? Like maybe .65 or something.And if putting the .8 ohm resistor before the coil completely neutered the coil, why would MSD even sell it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacob Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 It says that "most" newer electronic ignitions do not require the ballast resistor. And remember, your ignition is likely 10+ years old, which isn't exactly "newer". VIDA specified that your stock ignition coil be between 0.4 - 0.7 ohms. The MSD pushing .355 ohms is RIGHT on the fringe. It also said that the HI side of the coil is 8-9k where as the Blaster is 6.2k. Based on this, I would say that adding a .8 ohm resistor in line would knock the performance of the MSD coil below stock spec. It is a complete possibility that there are some fluctuations in the manufacturing processes, and I would say that your MSD coil is probably closer to .4 and that is why you haven't fired your module yet. Or maybe you used poor quality connectors that introduced some additional resistance into the line, and that is why its still working. As long as you don't go changing anything, if it has lasted 2 years, you are probably good to go. Consider yourself lucky. For those out there looking for the MSD name on your mod's list, try going all out with the MSD 6AL. I used one on my Audi and it worked perfectly with a traditional MSD coil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PullMyFinger Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 You used the 6 AL on your Audi? It says its for 4, 6 and 8 cyl even fire only applications.How difficult was that to install? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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