MSD Ignition Mounting Location

[BBK]

I imagine that some Mk. IV owners have an MSD electronic ignition in their cars.  My car (AK 1216) has an MSD box which is mounted on the battery tray on the passenger side of the car (U.S. car) and appears to have been in this location for a while (before my ownership).  The battery in my car is a small "Braile" brand motorcycle battery, which has been up to the job of starting the car and in its normal running generally.  However, a shop currently servicing my car has advised that the battery is not really up to the task and especially when my electric fan kicks in, is drawing too much power and the battery is making less than 12 volts and is impacting the running of the car.  He wishes to relocate the MSD box from the battery tray elsewhere and fitting a normal size car battery on the tray.  This should help he believes.
   
   The question then is this.....does anyone have a specific location in their engine bays (or elsewhere) where they have fitted their MSD or other electronic ignition in their Mk. IV's?  My thought was to relocate it in the fuse box area behind the metal door in the passenger footwell area behind the carpeted area on the firewall (assuming there is room in that area).  I was hoping for any other suggestions anyone might have.  Thank you!

[French Frie]

MSD boxes have three ennemies : vibrations, water and heat !  I assume there is not enough room in the place you're thinking of, and I'm sure there is definitely not enough fresh air !
   
   I would recommend the SS firewall, where the wiring diagram is supposed to be sticked, or on the footboxes, mounted on rubber mounts...
   Peter (Dkp_Cobra) made a very detailed support for his CDI box, related in his post ... He should also help you !

[nikbj68]

Hi Rob. Sounds to me more like the alternator isn`t man enough for running everything, what is the rated output of that?

[BBK]

quote:Originally posted by French Frie
   
MSD boxes have three ennemies : vibrations, water and heat !  I assume there is not enough room in the place you're thinking of, and I'm sure there is definitely not enough fresh air !
   
   I would recommend the SS firewall, where the wiring diagram is supposed to be sticked, or on the footboxes, mounted on rubber mounts...
   Peter (Dkp_Cobra) made a very detailed support for his CDI box, related in his post ... He should also help you !
   

   
   Olivier, thank you for your thoughts.  I will run these by the mechanic.  There is not a lot of room in the engine bay.  The mechanic was thinking of mounting it in front of the engine, between the engine and radiator on a fabricated mount.  Lots of room.  Plenty of fresh air there, but could be vulnerable to water.  If Peter has a link to his posted discussion on his mount for his ignition box, would love to see it.

[BBK]

quote:Originally posted by nikbj68
   
Hi Rob. Sounds to me more like the alternator isn`t man enough for running everything, what is the rated output of that?
   

   
   Nik, not sure what the alternator is pumping out but I believe it is operating within normal parameters per the mechanic.  The mechanic thinks that the fan kicking in is a big draw on the battery such that the engine idle starts to hunt to find a normal, stable idle (you can see it in the tach needle and hear the erratic engine idle speed) and the MSD box, in combination with the reduced battery output, is not putting out enough spark.  The MSD box is operating normally I was told.  Also, when accelerating, sounds like it is not running on all 8 cylinders at certain times.  When the car is stone cold and up to one minute of running, the car runs perfectly and sounds and runs sweet!  Once the car starts to warm up, it starts to operate poorly, especially when the fan kicks in.  After a number of minutes of operating this way, it seems to clear up and run a bit better.  The car had a larger throttle body fitted which was making the car run too lean.  The mechanic has now put in a stock size throttle body, and replaced the distributor (someone had messed with it in the past) and replaced the throttle position sensor too.  He says that this made it run better (I had a dead spot in the acceleration at 2,000-3,000 RPM) which he says is better.  However, there is now the issue with the fluctuating idle and intermittent poor running where it seems it is not running on all 8.  He hopes the larger stock battery will solve with relocated MSD box.

[BBK]

Also, the prior owner replaced the stock heads with Air Flow Research (AFR) heads, which, with the larger throttle body, was leaning out the engine when warm. Thus, the mechanic has tried to offset the lean condition by putting in a stock size throttle body.   He says this has helped a bit.

[AK1131]

I recently mount an EFI ignition box to the vertical mounting plate forward of the engine on the inboard side of the front suspension. The box is nearly invisible. I will send you a photo if needed.

[BBK]

quote:Originally posted by AK1131
   
I recently mount an EFI ignition box to the vertical mounting plate forward of the engine on the inboard side of the front suspension. The box is nearly invisible. I will send you a photo if needed.
   

   
   Fred, that would be great to see a photo.  Thx..

[dkp_cobra]

quote:Originally posted by BBK
   

quote:Originally posted by French Frie
   
MSD boxes have three ennemies : vibrations, water and heat !  I assume there is not enough room in the place you're thinking of, and I'm sure there is definitely not enough fresh air !
   
   I would recommend the SS firewall, where the wiring diagram is supposed to be sticked, or on the footboxes, mounted on rubber mounts...
   Peter (Dkp_Cobra) made a very detailed support for his CDI box, related in his post ... He should also help you !
   

   
   Olivier, thank you for your thoughts.  I will run these by the mechanic.  There is not a lot of room in the engine bay.  The mechanic was thinking of mounting it in front of the engine, between the engine and radiator on a fabricated mount.  Lots of room.  Plenty of fresh air there, but could be vulnerable to water.  If Peter has a link to his posted discussion on his mount for his ignition box, would love to see it.
   

   
   You can see here some pictures of my mounting position: http://www.acownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=224&whichpage=9. It is below the battery tray. No heat from the engine, no water since the battery is above. Works quite good for me. The only problem is that you have to remove the inner wing to reach the box.

[BBK]

quote:Originally posted by dkp_cobra
   

quote:Originally posted by BBK
   

quote:Originally posted by French Frie
   
MSD boxes have three ennemies : vibrations, water and heat !  I assume there is not enough room in the place you're thinking of, and I'm sure there is definitely not enough fresh air !
   
   I would recommend the SS firewall, where the wiring diagram is supposed to be sticked, or on the footboxes, mounted on rubber mounts...
   Peter (Dkp_Cobra) made a very detailed support for his CDI box, related in his post ... He should also help you !
   

   
   Olivier, thank you for your thoughts.  I will run these by the mechanic.  There is not a lot of room in the engine bay.  The mechanic was thinking of mounting it in front of the engine, between the engine and radiator on a fabricated mount.  Lots of room.  Plenty of fresh air there, but could be vulnerable to water.  If Peter has a link to his posted discussion on his mount for his ignition box, would love to see it.
   

   
   You can see here some pictures of my mounting position: http://www.acownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=224&whichpage=9. It is below the battery tray. No heat from the engine, no water since the battery is above. Works quite good for me. The only problem is that you have to remove the inner wing to reach the box.
   

   
   Peter...thank you.  Very helpful post and great pictures!  Your Mk. IV looks beautiful.

[AK1131]

Paint it black to match the frame and mount it here.
   
   http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/1bigfish_photos/DSCN4076_zpsde7036ac.jpg
   
   I thought my engine bay was clean until I took this photo.
   
   Please don't violate that beautiful firewall.
   
   http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/1bigfish_photos/DSCN4078_zps875c2ab7.jpg

[Superarnie Mk2]

Hi there,
   
   I don't know if this will be of much help to you but whilst I have been finishing the build on my Superblower, I have mounted it under the battery tray. It will be shielded from the elements by the installation of the front inner wing, but it should still get the cool fresh air from the wing vents.
   
   Please see below 2 images.
   
   
   
   Hope this helps
   
   Gary

[westcott]

My electronic components like EFI CPU and MSD ignition box are mounted to the underside of the passengers footbox between glove box and firewall, never in the engine compartment.

[BBK]

Fred, Gary and Uwe, thank you for your suggestions and for the pictures too.  All very helpful.  Sounds like airflow with lack of possible moisture contact is important.

[SB7019]

My MSD is located in the compartment at the front of the passenger footwell.  This keeps it dry and I have not noticed any problems with heat build up.