Troubleshooting ignition problems, but it's all Greek to me.

[MongooseGA]

The Magnacor wires and Bosch plugs in the car are brand new. I shouldn't have to replace them along with the MSD, should I? They may have 50-100 miles on them. The cap is new as well.

[James Brown]

yep your good to go there

[MongooseGA]

Originally Posted by James Brown

yep your good to go there

Thanks a bunch. I checked through the store here at Pelican and did not see a proper non-rev-limiting rotor. Would you happen to know of a vendor that sells them and which model VW I'd need to be looking at for compatibility?

[James Brown]

crap, yeah ill look, i think it from a msd install thread on here

[James Brown]

Buy the Napa EP407. $3.99 each....Works just fine...
look at this thread "rotor for MSD ignition"

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by James Brown

that is not a rev limiting rotor but it is a resistance one, you need to get a non resistance one from a VW for the MSD unit (it never ends) looks like the one on the left

sorry Harry

James:

Nothing to be sorry for. I was going to post the same pictures when I found them.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by James Brown

Buy the Napa EP407. $3.99 each....Works just fine...
look at this thread "rotor for MSD ignition"

James:

Thanks for stepping up. I know there is a lot to getting this right. Part of the reason, when I was in the same place (failed Permantune), I punted and got a Bosch CDI box.

[James Brown]

i still think the bosch unit is the gold standard in CDI's but time has tarnished them and replacements are expensive.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by James Brown

i still think the bosch unit is the gold standard in CDI's but time has tarnished them and replacements are expensive.

Agreed. I guess we need to move with the times.

[MongooseGA]

Harry and James- Thank you both so much. I placed my order tonight for the MSD system and coil. I will check locally for the rotor while I wait for the items to arrive.

[MongooseGA]

I just considered something that completely slipped my mind the other day. After getting the wheels put back on the car and carefully using the correct jack points to bring her back to ground, I noticed she was sitting VERY high off the ground. At first I chocked it up to the suspension drooping for the better part of 2 months, but it was simply too much to be that. I checked under the car to find that someone in the house decided it would be a good idea to hide my $800 Arai motorcycle helmet under the car, just about dead center. The full weight of the car was literally resting on top of the helmet. After a few minutes of panic and racing to get her back in the air, I removed the helmet and set her back down. All was much better. To make things more interesting, there was not a single bit of damage to the helmet (PHEW!)

Question here- is there anything running dead center of the car such as hard fuel lines that could have possibly been crushed by the helmet? I did get fuel flow going into the cylinders while cranking, but it was not a large amount by any means. I'm not wise as to how much should be coming out at those connections while cranking the key. Any thoughts?

[James Brown]

nothing there, the arms are important but that is about it

[MongooseGA]

Originally Posted by James Brown

nothing there, the arms are important but that is about it

That's good. The arms weren't touched, just the floor pan I'm imagine, then.

[MongooseGA]

All-

I swung by the car this morning before going to play babysitter to a buddy who ended up in a bike accident last night. I noticed that my car doesn't have the original black 6-pin connector everyone's using with their MSD installs. It's got 2 white connectors hooked to eachother. I imagine this is what the PermaTune would have been installed with?

I'll try to get some pictures sent over, but I'll likely scratch my head for a bit tomorrow before starting the install.

[MongooseGA]

Connector from the PermaTune to the car:






Wiring mess:

[timmy2]

The White 6 pin conector is a suitable replacement for the Black connector on your harness.
It is exactly the same casting and I have seen both black and white on various harnesses from the factory. The tabs on the side are easily removed to make it true to factory form.
If you want to send me some pictures of the current harness installation I'd be happy to help you figure out what has been done and what should be fixed if needed.
From the close up pictures it looks like a mess.
My email address(s) are in the first post here:
Building SC and Mid Year Engine Harnesses

[MongooseGA]

Originally Posted by timmy2

The White 6 pin conector is a suitable replacement for the Black connector on your harness.
It is exactly the same casting and I have seen both black and white on various harnesses from the factory. The tabs on the side are easily removed to make it true to factory form.
If you want to send me some pictures of the current harness installation I'd be happy to help you figure out what has been done and what should be fixed if needed.
From the close up pictures it looks like a mess.
My email address(s) are in the first post here:
Building SC and Mid Year Engine Harnesses

Hey Dennis,

You've got an email.

[manbridge 74]

"Reverse engineering prohibited" written on side of Permatune unit is straight up funny.

[James Brown]

it's really a blessing

[MongooseGA]

Today is the day! Let's hope she fires.