Hot 442

After my rebuild, I replaced the stock distributor with an MSD Pro Billet and a new coil. It's just a typical coil not a 6AL. I read an article in Car Craft or Hot Rod on this particular distributors installation, whereby they recommended you wire the coil with a new full 12v pos wire to the pos terminal of the coil as opposed to using the stock resistor type wire that is ignition activated.

What are the issues with using the stock resistor type wiring from the ignition switch? If I have to run a new wire, where might I tap into as an "ignition on" 12v source?

oldcutlass

If you use the resistor wire you will not have a full 12v to the coil, which leads to misfires, overheated coil due to low voltage, and an unhappy motor. All you need is a good 12v source that is on when the key is in the run position. Alot of people just replace the wire at the firewall connector.

You can also get a spst relay and control it with the resistor wire and run a wire direct from your battery. When the key is placed in the on position the relay energizes and supplies voltage to your ignition system.

dc2x4drvr

I run that distributor, you can get a full 12v off the BAT position on your fuseblock.

Hot 442

Thx.

dc2x4drvr - How do you like the distributor?

So would running a wire to the coil off the green wire from the DCVS be a bad idea then? Can the voltage to this wire change throughout driving conditions or is it always a constant 12V?

What should I do with the factory resistor wire...leave it connected to the coil where it belongs and add the new 12V feed as well?

dc2x4drvr

Take the resistor wire off the coil, and tape it back into the harness. I would run a little heavier gauge wire from the BAT position on the fuseblock through a firewall grommet out to the coil. The distributor is easy to setup, I've had no issues with mine.

MDchanic

I'd be a little concerned about using the green wire.

It's kinda small and it's fused.

Cars with HEI had about a 12ga wire for the HEI, and ignition circuits are not fused, as a blown fuse at a bad time could cause you or someone else serious injury.
I don't really like the IGN tap in the fuse block either - you'd hate to disloge it while driving.

I'd just tap into the heavy pink wire from the ignition switch, like you're supposed to.
It doesn't matter whether you leave the resistor wire attached or disconnect it and tape it off - it will have no effect on anything whatsoever.

- Eric