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In a recent thread about ignition preferences, 1restorick said, "I like CD ignition and the MSD is very reliable..."
Some say the opposite.
I've installed a lot of these and I'd like to give you all the results of my experience; it may help you or your friends in the future.
They can be very reliable, as Rick said. The few I've seen fail had one or another of these characteristics,
It was installed upside down (risk of water not draining).
It was installed too close to the exhaust system.
At one point the battery was hooked up backwards, a big box charger was used, or a even a booster was used to start the car. AND the installation didn't have an MSD 8830 Noise Filter Capacitor installed.
It's easy to avoid installation errors. But using a capacitor on the heavy red and black supply wires is the best way to protect the MSD from potential electrical destruction.
Few people use these; the name gives no clue about its essential function.
But with that capacitor installed, your MSD box may outlive the car.
If you're on a tight budget, you can get a capacitor on eBay or at a local electronics store.
Buy one with minimum ratings of 16 volts and 25 mF (millifarads). You can buy bigger, but over about 40 or 50 mF has no extra advantage.
Sometimes you see those ratings described as 25,000 and 40,000 μF (microfarads) respectively--it means the same thing.
