MSD distributor...can i replace PIP?

[red ink]

My car wont start. It just cranks and cranks and stinks of fuel.

I had my MSD ignition box checked and it's fine.
I Know the fuel pump primes when i turn the key on. I replaced the coil. Although i had a big FAT blue arch coming out of the coil to the base where it is mounted. I replaced the coil wire, and the rest of my spark plug wires look ok. I checked all the fuses.

I must be dumb, but i cant get the paper clip trick to work. I have a stupid A9L computer in my 95 cobra and no shop can do OBD on my car.

I have a 75mm bullet Pro M MAF and i was thinking of replacing it... but i beleive i've started my car without the maf hooked up sucking air straight from the throttle body... leading one to beleive the car can
start with a bad maf... Is this correct?

A shop replaced my distributor with a billet MSD model and i'm thinking i might want to replace the PIP. Can i do it on my MSD distributor and how would i go about it?

This sucks...My car died while Ideling and i had a hunch my 5 year old msd box was bad so i replaced it and it fixed the problem! but a week later my car dies while accelerating

My car has died on me before, when it was the alternator, the RPM gauge droped straight to zero.
This time, i was at 4800 rpm and hit 2nd gear and bam...no power, but my RPM gauge still read fine, and i while i was coasting to a stop, hitting the gas pedel made a bogging sound....

I'm sure my ground from the engine block to the frame is okay...
Experts feel free to advise...

 

[dartvader]

Don't know if that is your problem, but if your thinking about replacing the pip go ahead and try to find a stock distributor from a friend to try out first..
Don't know what it is abouth these msd dis, but once you mess with them they never the same, trust me when I say that, I would not put one on my car anymore even I they gave it to me 4 free

 

[2002BLGT]

might suddenly die get a stocker for it if the MSD is suspect

 

[red ink]

Well it's relativley new and I'm just guessing the PIP might be the problem because i searched the board for problems being able to crank but not starting up...

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

If you're getting fuel, the PIP isn't the problem. The fuel pump won't run and the injectors won't pulse with a bad PIP. It could be the TFI, however.

 

[toyman]

If you're getting fuel, the PIP isn't the problem. The fuel pump won't run and the injectors won't pulse with a bad PIP. It could be the TFI, however.

Are you sure about that? I had a faulty PIP (stator) and IIRC there was just no spark signal. I'm almost certain the fuel pump started. Can't say anything about the injectors not pulsing.

 

[HISSIN50]

The pump will still prime without the dizzy (PIP). You will lose fuel delivery after the prime-out however.

And as Matt noted, if the PIP is bad, you most-often lose spark and injector pulsing. Sometimes wiggling the PIP wiring (the connection at the housing is problematic) will cause the issue to change. This wiggle test provides a clue if the car magically starts.

You really need to do more diagnostics (confirm spark and injector pulsing while it won't start).

Why can you not retrieve codes? Both aero foxes and 94-95's are OBD-I.

Good luck.

 

[millhouse]

If you haven’t already….check your rotor! My 500 mile MSD rotor broke on me! The damn plastic weld that holds the rotor tip and spring on broke off! I originally checked to ensure I had a nice spark coming from the coil…but never check to ensure I had spark coming out from the dizzy! Of course I only found this out after parking it for 3 months (was too busy to diagnose it) and pulling all the plugs and cleaning them.

Never again will I buy anything MSD…..ever! Their ignitions suddenly quit working without notice....their spark plug wires crack with the slightest hint of heat....and their rotor's fall apart with pratically no mileage on them.

 

[bdollarbill]

Well I just replaced the pip snesor on my MSD pro billet, I was forced to do so because some jackass cut off 4 of the wires on it to put a 3 wire connctor on it, I didn't notice the change when I bought it. the biggest PITA is getting the gear back on in same exact position it was so the rollpin will go back in, I installed mine 180 degree's out had to pull gear back off 2times to get it right, apparently the hole is not drilled directly in center of gear or shaft. I purchase my pip from Autozone $24.00 took about an hour to change it out. If you want send it to me & I'll fix up up, I'm an expert now.. j/k

As far as the never buying anything MSD comment above, I would have to say they must be doing something right, they are considered the Best ignition system manf. in my opinion. I suppose ACCEL or CRane is better? I doubt it.

Bill

 

[millhouse]

Well I just replaced the pip snesor on my MSD pro billet, I was forced to do so because some jackass cut off 4 of the wires on it to put a 3 wire connctor on it, I didn't notice the change when I bought it. the biggest PITA is getting the gear back on in same exact position it was so the rollpin will go back in, I installed mine 180 degree's out had to pull gear back off 2times to get it right, apparently the hole is not drilled directly in center of gear or shaft. I purchase my pip from Autozone $24.00 took about an hour to change it out. If you want send it to me & I'll fix up up, I'm an expert now.. j/k

As far as the never buying anything MSD comment above, I would have to say they must be doing something right, they are considered the Best ignition system manf. in my opinion. I suppose ACCEL or CRane is better? I doubt it.

Bill

IMHO, they have been passed up by Crane, Accel and Mallory by leaps and bounds! There distributers for the 5.0 are absolute junk and have a CRAZY high failure rate. With all the threads out there of people asking “what’s the best ignition” you will see an abnormally high level of people chiming in about their MSD failures….not only on this forum, but on many others. I do realize that they most likely sell more than any other competitor….but IMHO, it’s no excuse. FYI, I have never in my life seen a rotor fail the way mine did….especially considering the low miles. Now their high end stuff might be considered reliable…but I’ll never buy them to find out. If you can’t support the little guys with the lesser expensive components…..you’re not getting their business when it comes time to pony up for the expensive stuff. It’s called “Might Suddenly Die” ignitons for a reason.

 

[hollywoodstang]

Send the dizzy to MSD to get it fixed. Send them a little note saying "I do not want this to break again" You get it back pop it in. If it breaks again. They will give you a new one if you keep hassling them. I NEVER QUIT!

 

[millhouse]

Send the dizzy to MSD to get it fixed. Send them a little note saying "I do not want this to break again" You get it back pop it in. If it breaks again. They will give you a new one if you keep hassling them. I NEVER QUIT!

While that sounds like a decent concept....you forget that this may be a daily driver. Not only that, but what happens when it fails and your on the road? I seriously doubt they are going to pick up your towing bills each time it fails. Those dizzy's seem to have some serious defect rates on them.

 

[hollywoodstang]

I have MSD one and it has not failed yet. I think most people who buys anything from MSD lately have this problem. Just like their new coil people been complaining about. i had newer model coil for about a month and went bad...

But for you GO TO junkyard and get yourself a used dizzy and send that dizzy back to MSD to get it repaired.

 

[cbarr300]

I've had two msd dizzys..the first one did me good til I sold it cuz I was getting rid of my cobra. Then things changed and I needed to get another one (these were the only ones that cleared my fuel rails). This one lasted 3 months and it got to the point where if you touched the wiring coming out the dizzy it would cut off. Also, if I changed the timing manually it would usually die due to that harness moving.

Here's what you should do. Go buy a motorcraft pip sensor and install that into the msd dizzy...should work like a charm. Just double check that both sensors (new and old) match up. Cured my issue.

Also, DO NOT cheap out on electronics. Cheap stuff WILL fail. I learned this the first time I swapped my PIP sensor in an old stock dizzy. The new PIP (standard electronics brand) did the same exact thing my msd dizzy did.

MSD's problem is the use of cheap electronics