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> DEAD ON ARRIVAL, DOA Don't Ordinarily Acquiesce
forrestkhaag
post Oct 24 2017, 09:16 AM
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Out of the blue my recent 6 build died. Here are the facts as I recall them...

Early one morning recently i decided to drag my car to our place in Scottsdale to do some desert driving as I am sick of the traffic in OC. I started the car as usual and drove it to the back of my tow vehicle. I hooked up the towbar and aux. lights (no attached to the 914's electricals).....

As I made my way towing the 914 up the grade up on the I-10 outside of Redlands, the serpentine belt and pulley gave out on the MBZ and proceeded to leave me going 65 in lane 3 of 5 surrounded by semi's and other vehicles that did not want to let me get to the shoulder. As i muscled the no-power steering and no-brakes conundrum toward the shoulder, the car spewed fluids all over the windshield because, by this time, a piece of the pulley went thru the radiator and windshield washer resivoir trashing them along the way to a fried engine.

I managed to get to the shoulder and calledthe car and A,.... then called AA then AAA............ Eventually Gomer and the flat bed showed up and picked up the dripping ML. He then headed back to Laguna while I prepared to drive the 914 behind him back home.

POPwrrrrrwrrrwrrrrwrrrrwrwrwrwrrrr,... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif)
POPwrrrrrwrrrwrrrrwrrrrwrwrwrwrrrr,... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif)

Dead............Plenty of turnover but no spark / or should I say one spark then no spark.. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif)

For the first time in 3000 miles+, the 914 would not start. Normally 1st crank and it explodes into a nice roar then back to idle... Not this time. Nothing. Zero. Zilch.

Keep in mind, I drove the car to the back side of the tow vehicle quite fine. Towing it croaked it? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif)

So I called AA then AAA again.... and low and behold, the same driver and truck came back to hitch my 914 to the back of the flatbed that had my toasted MBZ on it.

Long story but a longer day on the side of the freeway...........

Now the 914 is in AZ dead as a doornail. My pal Keith and I did much trouble shooting on the wiring / this,.. between the two transmissions that went into and one out of his car in the meantime.

All leads from the MSD plug to the P.K. wiring harness (that has been flawless for the past several thousand mile of seamless spark) show continuity. the coil is good to go - as proven by exchanging Keiths with mine and mine with keith's... His car runs mine doesnt.

We performed several Parts Classic tests to prove that the distributor is good and not fouled in any internal way. I replaced the 85 dollar little green wire (Pelican Parts... ridiculous (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif) ) then replaced the coil wire with another MSD unit with the "Power Tower" to allow a standard coil to mate to MSD proprietary wire ends.... another (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif)

anyway,... One of the MSD Tech guys was a smartass smug dipsey doodle talking down at Keith and I - and the second guy from MSD Tech that both Keith and I talked to (Joe) was a complete professional in style and manner of presenting a few tests to eliminate the coil and the distributor (ahhhgen...)

So my simple question for the folks out there is.. Has anyone with the MSD Digital AL6 experienced this kind of DOA mystery? the hills and mountain roads leading to the Grand Canyon are begging for an answer.

The simple way to add a week to no driving is to pack up the box and send it to MSD for a test / and I will do that if no sage advice comes from this lengthy narrative..

but there is always the hope (unfortunately).. that one of you guys has seen this issue before me and can relay some sage advice.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)








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Cairo94507
post Oct 24 2017, 09:24 AM
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Oh man - sorry to hear that story X2. I hope you get this sorted and are back on the road very soon. Best of luck. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
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drem914
post Oct 24 2017, 09:54 AM
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Hang in there Forrest. I know you will get this sorted out. Hope to see you back on the road again soon.
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forrestkhaag
post Oct 24 2017, 10:13 AM
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Thanks Guys! Today I am going to take the entire wiring harness out of the car and put it back in step by step. That will tell me that it is time to send the MSD box back to the factory for inspection and testing.... or maybe I will get lazy, fo for a mountain bike ride and reverse the order stated above.......... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

for general interest, a pic of our pal keith working on his car in the coveted upright position............

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)


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Steve
post Oct 24 2017, 10:19 AM
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That sucks!! Sorry to hear this. Positive note that the motor still turns over, so it probably is electrical / ignition which is not a major cost, just hassle.
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BeatNavy
post Oct 24 2017, 10:32 AM
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Forrest has in spades what every 914-owner needs: a sense of humor.

Rough day, Forrest, but hopefully it's nothing major.
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Coondog
post Oct 24 2017, 10:41 AM
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Sorry Forrest, was wondering where you have been. Banning pass is a brutal place to break down. Glad you are ok.
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forrestkhaag
post Oct 24 2017, 02:20 PM
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That stretch of highway has more potholes, potheads, and pot bellys on it than I hope to ever encounter on foot again. The god news is that I have time to systematically sort out the issue.

A question for MSD 6AL digital box people: Is there a rogue security feature kill-wire in the harness as delivered from MSD? I seem to remember something about using or not using a wire as a kill switch to ground...... maybe the white wire (unused in the diagram)

if so, that could be grounded somehow and simply killing my spark.


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worn
post Oct 24 2017, 02:47 PM
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QUOTE(BeatNavy @ Oct 24 2017, 08:32 AM) *

Forrest has in spades what every 914-owner needs: a sense of humor.

Rough day, Forrest, but hopefully it's nothing major.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)
I would think you want to isolate the white wire, because in most MSD units that is for points. At least that is how I remember. Is it a 3.0? I am asking cause I just replaced the ignition box in my 911 with MSD. Digital is supposed to be more robust; I have an older one.
Good luck Forrest!
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Elliot Cannon
post Oct 24 2017, 03:34 PM
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That much trouble almost sounds like the "suby curse". (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)
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michael7810
post Oct 24 2017, 04:04 PM
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Damn Forrest, that sucks. I have a 6AL on my TIV motor and can look how it's wired if you want...but the wiring didn't change by towing it. Hopefully it's something simple and you'll be back on the road soon. Send me a PM if you want to get together for a teener drive while you're in Scottsdale.
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snakemain
post Oct 24 2017, 04:11 PM
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Does yours have the LED that blinks when it first gets power? Just switched to a 6AL a couple months ago when my VR went to 17V and fried my Mallory Hyfire box, the Unilite module, and my new Odyssey battery. 4 things bad made it hard to troubleshoot. Chose the 6AL for the diagnostic LED and the quick-change harness if it goes bad again.
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76-914
post Oct 24 2017, 04:50 PM
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This is easy. The 914 went into shock as they are always in front of the MB's. Never behind. Console it and promise to never humiliate a Porsche again. That Suby curse that Elyut mentioned is as real as the Unicorn.
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914_teener
post Oct 24 2017, 05:16 PM
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QUOTE(forrestkhaag @ Oct 24 2017, 01:20 PM) *

That stretch of highway has more potholes, potheads, and pot bellys on it than I hope to ever encounter on foot again. The god news is that I have time to systematically sort out the issue.

A question for MSD 6AL digital box people: Is there a rogue security feature kill-wire in the harness as delivered from MSD? I seem to remember something about using or not using a wire as a kill switch to ground...... maybe the white wire (unused in the diagram)

if so, that could be grounded somehow and simply killing my spark.



Is that an indictment or an observation? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif)

Sorry about your troubles Forrest.
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Jeff Hail
post Oct 24 2017, 07:12 PM
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What kind of pick up are you using as a trigger? Magnetic or other?
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mb911
post Oct 24 2017, 07:21 PM
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I had that problem on a twin plug setup on my 3.2 ss that had 1 6al.. It overheated and would shut down.. Went to 2 6als and never had a problem again.. I wonder if you may have an impedance issue? Or something is not matched up properly?? Or just your ignition switch is toast.
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PlaysWithCars
post Oct 24 2017, 08:35 PM
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Have you gone through the basics? Fuel, spark, compression? Are you certain that you lost spark? Did you pull a plug, lay it on the engine and crank to observe if you have a spark? Is there a possibility that you are not getting fuel? (I'm assuming you have compression. It's readily apparent when that unexpectedly goes away)
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zipedadoo
post Oct 24 2017, 08:36 PM
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You might try disconnecting the tachometer. I chased a problem like this once. Turned out the tachometer had shorted out, causing the ignition to miss-fire or not at all. This was on a 1980's chevy with a factory tachometer. So your mileage may vary....(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
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Elliot Cannon
post Oct 24 2017, 09:33 PM
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QUOTE(76-914 @ Oct 24 2017, 03:50 PM) *

This is easy. The 914 went into shock as they are always in front of the MB's. Never behind. Console it and promise to never humiliate a Porsche again. That Suby curse that Elyut mentioned is as real as the Unicorn.


You DARE question the existence of unicorns?
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euro911
post Oct 24 2017, 11:30 PM
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I feel for ya, Forrest. 'Eileen' (Westfalia) is in the shop too, looks like she may have sucked a valve last night - engine only rotates 180° (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

Hopefully there isn't any serious piston damage, but if she needs a total rebuild (167k on the ODO), we're going to 2.1L (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

Hope you find the gremlin soon (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)
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