123 ignition with MSD, It tries to catch, but no start Options

[blabla914]

So I’m wired up
Blue ground
Red ignition hot
Black to white MSD
I’ve got the green LED at Z1 on the flywheel 1 TDC
I re-installed plug leads with #1 aligned with where the rotor points with the green LED on.
I can see 12VDC on the 123 dashboard while cranking.
Just spent 2 hours double checking verifying etc.
no change.
I know lots of people are running this with MSD, Ben being one of them.
What have I missed?

Attached is a pic of my wiring. Yes I know my coil wire is a tad short.

[blabla914]

Some stuff I tried:
I verified 0 ohms from my blue wire to body ground
I threw a jumper on the blue wire to body ground just for giggles. No difference
I disconnected the tach. It’s on the same white MSD wire I thought maybe it was interfering with the signal. Nope

So I’m wired up
Blue ground
Red ignition hot
Black to white MSD
I’ve got the green LED at Z1 on the flywheel 1 TDC
I re-installed plug leads with #1 aligned with where the rotor points with the green LED on.
I can see 12VDC on the 123 dashboard while cranking.
Just spent 2 hours double checking verifying etc.
no change.
I know lots of people are running this with MSD, Ben being one of them.
What have I missed?

Attached is a pic of my wiring. Yes I know my coil wire is a tad short.

[blabla914]

I just tried running a jumper straight from the plus side of the battery to the red on the 123 just to make sure I had solid voltage supply.
No difference.

I’m thinking I have my height tension leads in the wrong places, but not sure where I would move them to

[Mark Henry]

C&P from the bird post #8 of this thread by member rwest:
Original thread here

Hi Ben,

Just looked at my setup and the black wire from the 123 goes to the white wire from the MSD.

Blue goes to ground, red goes to power and I opted not to use yellow, so it is taped up.

Rutager

It should be easy to test, take the coil lead off the cap, stick a screwdriver in the coil wire, put it about 1/8" to 1/4"from a good ground, turn it over and you should see a good spark.
You can also do this with a tester, don't ground yourself out a MSD packs a wallop.

[blabla914]

Thanks Mark I read that thread on the bird board before I purchased the 123 distributor. That’s how I’m wired.

So the next thing I’m going to try is swapping to a Bosch blue coil. I see several people on the bird board running MSD with the 123 and a blaster coil, but 123 recommends at least 1 ohm primary and the blaster is 0.7. I’m going to try making that swap tomorrow provided I can find an old blue coil in the garage.

[Mark Henry]

Trigger your MSD box by jumping the purple mag trigger wire, that test eliminates any MSD box or coil issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeEzDrKYBM0


And also go through this trouble shooting vid.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApBu9BEMBfQ


BTW the above test is good on the analog or newer digital 6AL

[mb911]

Are you sure your on z1? My guess is your just a tooth off.

[blabla914]

Thanks for posting those Mark. The car just ran on Tuesday prior to swapping the distributor. Did the check grounding the white wire. Spark is solid. Hmmmm....

[mb911]

Thanks for posting those Mark. The car just ran on Tuesday prior to swapping the distributor. Did the check grounding the white wire. Spark is solid. Hmmmm....

Its gotta be off a tooth.. I had to rotate the dizzy to get mine to fire up. There is a wide range with the LED. Lit.

[blabla914]

Swapped the blue coil with 3 ohm primary resistance from the blaster coil with 1 ohm resistance. No difference

Also checked that the distributor body has zero ohms to ground.

Ben I think you are right. My timing must be off. Going to redo that again later.

[mb911]

Swapped the blue coil with 3 ohm primary resistance from the blaster coil with 1 ohm resistance. No difference

Also checked that the distributor body has zero ohms to ground.

Ben I think you are right. My timing must be off. Going to redo that again later.

Yup very hard to find z1 on a 914-6.. I used mirrors and align the pulley and fan housing.. I will still off just a bit.

[sixnotfour]

prob. on #4 not #1 Z1

[mlindner]

And best to have it marked on the flywheel for the six's.

[mb911]

prob. on #4 not #1 Z1

That could be if he didn't check the line mark in the stock dizzy

[mb911]

And best to have it marked on the flywheel for the six's.

Yes and the dumb mistake I made was mark it where I couldn't see it once the trans was mounted

[blabla914]

IDK man.....looks like I’m right on Z1.



Has anyone done the light bulb test in the 123 manual? I would imagine it is supposed to flash as the distributor triggers. The explanation isn’t super clear.

[mb911]

Still betting on a tooth off

[sixnotfour]

If that is a 2.4 engine , that is not Z1

[mb911]

If that is a 2.4 engine , that is not Z1

Oh good point..

[blabla914]

prob. on #4 not #1 Z1

When I read this I thought this was it for sure. I was all excited to get this on and didn’t verify the rotor was at # 1, but nope.

I just flipped the motor 180 to Z1 and re set the distributor and now it’s definitely 180 out pooping out of the exhaust. I LL have to rest later. This is all the time I have for now.

Thanks for the suggestion though that was a good one