MSD 6AL and Timing Control install.

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zracer22

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Can a MSD 6AL and MSD 8980 Timing control be installed to replace the CIS-E knock box? If so, can the stock HAL Sensor be used or will I need a crank wheel and magnetic pickup? I'm replacing all that crappy VW wiring so I may as well upgrade the ignition if possible.

Thanks, Mark

And yes....I know that it's not IT legal!
 
Courtesy of Ryan Williams

msd.jpg
 
no problem-just watch the "phasing". The MSD may trigger opposite polarity to the VW ignition. i.e: it may trigger when the signal falls, rather than when it rises. Also, the power supply to the Halls unit (terminals 1&3) may be 5V coming from the ignition amp. But if it's a racecar, why bother? Clean up the wiring, run the GTI/Digifant distributor (no mechanical advance/no scatter) and a very simple harness, Halls-module-coil?
Simple/reliable/more than adequate. phil

no problem-just watch the "phasing". The MSD may trigger opposite polarity to the VW ignition. i.e: it may trigger when the signal falls, rather than when it rises. Also, the power supply to the Halls unit (terminals 1&3) may be 5V coming from the ignition amp. But if it's a racecar, why bother? Clean up the wiring, run the GTI/Digifant distributor (no mechanical advance/no scatter) and a very simple harness, Halls/module/coil.
Simple/reliable/more than adequate. phil
 
GTI/Digifant distributor
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Click to expand...

keep in mind that there is a difference between the CIS and Digifant ignition distributors. The shutter windows are offset enough relative to the rotor to cause some trouble. The offset is presumably to account for the ignition "delay" (the amount of time that the respective electronics need to respond). Although I haven't looked at them side by side for a few years, I believe that the Digifant unit actually has the longer delay built-in. Not sure which one would be better for the MSD.
 
The distributors are functionally identical; The proccessor in the Digi ECU needs about a 60* advanced signal which it can retard to arrive at proper (7-35*) controlled timing. If you by-pass the digi ecu, you must make a major timing adjustment. How do I know this? When I built my street driven racecar, I wanted to put a toggle switch to select between proccessed/variable timing and straight-up fixed total advance so I wouldn't have pinging or detonation problems on the street. Can't do-but no problem running 30* timing on the street w/hi test. As far as I know, the shutterwheel/rotor locations are not offset. phil
 
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