obd1 B16 head, LSVT, hybrid distributor, MSD BTM, MSD wires, NGK heat range 7 plugs, external blaster 2 coil

Ok, last thurday I come out to my car and start her up. My regualar routine is to turn the ignition to 'ON' to allow the pump to prime, then crank it, let her idle for 1-2 mins and then proceed to drive. Well, she cranks over a few times more than usual, then finally starts with a little hesitiation at first. She idles at about 1500 rpm during the first phase of warm-up... a touch higher than I'm used to seeing, but I let it go as she has her quirks sometimes.

During the 1-2 mins warm up, I decided to go to the trunk to get a socket to check on any loose nuts under the hood. By the time I reach the trunk, she silently shuts off... no drama, just stops running. I immediately notice.... WTF ? Musta ran for about 1 min prior to shutdown.

With a dazed and confused look on my face, I make my way back to the driver's seat and crank her again.... no dice... this time, she just turns over. I tried cranking her a few times to no avail. The rpms don't even try to jump. It almost sounds like when you crank it while doing a compression test (w/o the plugs in) I then did the following:

*Checked the plug wires at both distributor and plug
*Checked the plugs (they were a nice dark tan, with black around the outer edge and WET...gas)
*Swapped the plug wires for stocks (using MSDs)
*Grounded the Blaster coil to the chassis
*Supplied alternate power to the coil by way of an external wire.
*Disassembled distributor (small deposit of oil on bottom of casing, no fouling)
*Distributor cap is not new, rotor is slighly worn
*Tried to get an arch from blaster coil wire to a ground... no spark

I have yet to get an ohm-meter to check the coil wire, but I believe I am not getting any spark and hopefully will know more tonite. I have not swapped the MSD as I mounted it in a hard to reach place. I suspect either the coil wire or MSD itself.

I don't think it's the cap/rotor as they should have shown prior signs of failure. I don't think it's the plug wires as I swapped 'em for stocks with no progress. If the actual coil went bad, I should have gotten sighns of that too. I had noticed jumping rpms over 5K sometimes, but THIS never happened !

I am contemplating switching the distributor back to internal coil (stock), but don't want to bust the small mission of rewiring if that's not the problem. What's the possibility of my MSD failing ? It is kinda old... about 3 years. (If so, will MSD warranty it ?)

Please help... I have been down since last Thursday (left town) and need her running again by Monday !

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I know it's a lot to read... but can anyone offer at least a logical suggestion ?

 

Last time, my rotor ripped one of my msd wires under the cap. If thats not it..i'm guessing its either a bad coil or icm...i'd say coil. I dunno about msd's going bad...i'm not sure tho. Put stock coil in...try that first.

 

I tried hooking in a blaster 3, it didn't work, but not sure if the 3 is compatible with the MSD BTM model. I am just trying to avoid rewiring the internal coil.... ugh.... pull distr.... clip wires....

 

You said you noticed rpm jumping above 5k? That sounds like the ignitor. I'm pretty sure the blaster 3 coil is compatible with the BTM model, but not 100%. Got a buddy with an ignitor you could try?

 

ok...ok.... the infamous 'Ignitor' Forgive my ingnorance... but I have read about ignitors going bad... but where, exactly is the 'ignitor' and is it easy to get to ? I don't have my helms here at work (don't bash me... HAHA) What are the symptoms (if any) of a failing ignitor ? Or can it just DIE ? I can read up on it later... but where would I find the ignitor anyways ?

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The symptoms are exactly what you described. Jumping tach at high rpm. Also sometimes the car won't start, and it may at a later time. Sometimes they will fail slowly and sometimes they will just go. The ignitor is the ICM, same thing. That is the box inside the distributer with the wires coming off it. Two bolts from underneath hold it in. It is easy to get to, you will probably have to take the rotor off.

 

If it isnt the icm, the dist. housing could be bad. I remember my friends icm and housing went bad, it also jumped at higher rpms...good luck

 

Ok, did a bit of educating myself... the ICM and the Ignition coil are two seperate parts of the distributor. I bypassed the MSD external coil and rewired the internal coil, the car started, but ran like ***... I think the distributor timing was off when I reinstalled the distributor.
The internal coil passed the reistance test with 0.8-0.9 ohms on the leads and 17.5-17.9 on the spring... so the ignition coil is OK. I am suspecting the ICM as well and will run the tests this evening... right now, the teg is DEAD AS A DOOR NAIL.... gonna post a related problem in the FI forum today..

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