No power and I mean like NO POWER!

[dagassa]

Hey all,

I installed my MSD6AL-2 ignition a few weeks back and have had ZERO issues! All the connections were soldered and shrink wrapped and tied up nicely in a loom. Today, I got around to putting in my MSD Tach Adapter. Super simple install. There's a ground, a Tach output that goes to the MSD box, a 12v keyed source and trigger wire. Again, all wires soldered (except one), shrink wrapped and tied up in a wire loom. I cleaned everything up, re-connected the battery and it fired right up. Tach works perfectly! Shut the car down went inside for a few minutes and then went back out to pull the car forward......DEAD! Absolutely no power! Dome lights didn't come on or anything. Literally, no power!

For shoots and giggles, I have one of those "Jump Boxes" (inflates tires as well) and I hooked it up to the battery. Opened the door and my dome lights were working but that's about it. I also checked my battery and it's measuring 12.64v. I'm completely stumped?

Now, back to my connections. For the ground, I went from the the MSD Tach adapter to the headlight ground (see pic). Is that substantial enough? For the 12v keyed source wire from the Tach adapter, I used one of those two in to one wire crimps. I attached that one to the same keyed 12v source that I used for the MSD6AL-2 box. Good there?

Any insight is appreciated!

[stangPlus2Birds]

Hey all,

I installed my MSD6AL-2 ignition a few weeks back and have had ZERO issues! All the connections were soldered and shrink wrapped and tied up nicely in a loom. Today, I got around to putting in my MSD Tach Adapter. Super simple install. There's a ground, a Tach output that goes to the MSD box, a 12v keyed source and trigger wire. Again, all wires soldered (except one), shrink wrapped and tied up in a wire loom. I cleaned everything up, re-connected the battery and it fired right up. Tach works perfectly! Shut the car down went inside for a few minutes and then went back out to pull the car forward......DEAD! Absolutely no power! Dome lights didn't come on or anything. Literally, no power!

For shoots and giggles, I have one of those "Jump Boxes" (inflates tires as well) and I hooked it up to the battery. Opened the door and my dome lights were working but that's about it. I also checked my battery and it's measuring 12.64v. I'm completely stumped?

Now, back to my connections. For the ground, I went from the the MSD Tach adapter to the headlight ground (see pic). Is that substantial enough? For the 12v keyed source wire from the Tach adapter, I used one of those two in to one wire crimps. I attached that one to the same keyed 12v source that I used for the MSD6AL-2 box. Good there?

Any insight is appreciated!

You have at least two issues.
I start with the easy one - the ground for the MSD. That's a horrible ground. You're grounding to paint through a sheet-metal screw.
Does it work? Well, it's worked for ~30+ years. BUT, that does not mean that it's a good/correct method, nor does it mean that it'll continue to work.

Fix: Get rid of paint under that screw. Clean to bare metal. Use stainless bolt, washer, nut. Use some dielectric grease on the metal and washer - to prevent rust on the metal. Tighten the bolt, washer, and nut. Maybe $10, and 30mins of work? But, do it, and don't worry about it later. Overkill? Maybe. But, it's $10 dollars and ~30mins or work. And, using sheet-metal screws may cause problems.



Now for no power to the vehicle:
It sounds like there's a problem with the battery connections or where the battery wires go.
Do you have molded battery cable ends? How do they look?
Did you drown the terminal and cable end in dielectric grease, then put a terminal cover over them?


Good Luck!

[dagassa]

You have at least two issues.
I start with the easy one - the ground for the MSD. That's a horrible ground. You're grounding to paint through a sheet-metal screw.
Does it work? Well, it's worked for ~30+ years. BUT, that does not mean that it's a good/correct method, nor does it mean that it'll continue to work.

Fix: Get rid of paint under that screw. Clean to bare metal. Use stainless bolt, washer, nut. Use some dielectric grease on the metal and washer - to prevent rust on the metal. Tighten the bolt, washer, and nut. Maybe $10, and 30mins of work? But, do it, and don't worry about it later. Overkill? Maybe. But, it's $10 dollars and ~30mins or work. And, using sheet-metal screws may cause problems.



Now for no power to the vehicle:
It sounds like there's a problem with the battery connections or where the battery wires go.
Do you have molded battery cable ends? How do they look?
Did you drown the terminal and cable end in dielectric grease, then put a terminal cover over them?


Good Luck!

I will run the ground from the Tach Adapter direct to the battery in the morning.

Regarding the battery, I ran the power wires from the MSD6AL-2 through the radiator support and direct to the battery terminals. They've worked flawlessly since I installed the ignition box a few weeks back. The leads from the MSD box are 14ga. The MSD instructions suggest that if you increase the length of any of the leads from the box, that you go up in size on that lead so I ran 12ga wires to the battery. I'm 100% certain that they are ok. As for the actual battery cable ends, they are stock Stang pieces and they have zero corrosion on them!

Outside of the Tach Adapter ground wire, the only other part of the installation that I have any sort of doubt on is the 12v keyed source from the Tach Adapter. Again, I tapped in to the 12v keyed source that I used for the MSD ignition box with one of those dang Quick Splice connectors (see pic). I crimped it pretty hard. Maybe I severed the wire? Also, I did get power back to the interior of the car when I attached the jump start box to the battery terminals. It wasn't enough to turn the car over but I did get lights.

[stangPlus2Birds]

Those quick connects can cut the wires. They are sized for specific wire gauges. Still, if the wire isn't centered, maybe old, etc, the "knife" slot may cut the wire in half. Again, those quick connects are used a zillion times a day. But, that does not mean that every single use works 100% fine.

If you lost vehicle power, it's because the battery positive, ground wire, or battery "went bad". Corrosion is a common problem that may come and go. Also, with the top posts, it is possible for the post to have a 'bad/stressed" internal connection. That was more common back before the 80's. They started making the supports stronger. But now, they make batteries cheaper. So, who knows.

The best way to find out is to take a voltmeter or test light, and see how the voltage is at the ends of the positive and negative cables. And, at the battery posts.
As long as the power to the vehicle problem is present, with a test light, voltmeter, and some clip jumper probe wires, it shouldn't be too hard to determine if it's the battery or one of the cables.

If it goes away, carry those items in the car. I had a flaky solenoid once in another car. At the time, I wasn't sure if it was the ignition switch, wires, etc. So, I got/made long extension probe wires and carried my voltmeter. After about 5 weeks, it happened again. Oh yea, a flashlight is also a good thing. Thankfully, I was near enough light. I hooked up the long probe wires, and found out that it was a flaky solenoid. After trying ~8 times to start the car, it started fine. And, the car kept starting fine until I got the new solenoid.

So, sometimes, it's easy to find the problem.
Other times, it requires planning in advance and being able to do the correct tests when the issue happens again.

Good Luck.

[dagassa]

Those quick connects can cut the wires. They are sized for specific wire gauges. Still, if the wire isn't centered, maybe old, etc, the "knife" slot may cut the wire in half. Again, those quick connects are used a zillion times a day. But, that does not mean that every single use works 100% fine.

If you lost vehicle power, it's because the battery positive, ground wire, or battery "went bad". Corrosion is a common problem that may come and go. Also, with the top posts, it is possible for the post to have a 'bad/stressed" internal connection. That was more common back before the 80's. They started making the supports stronger. But now, they make batteries cheaper. So, who knows.

The best way to find out is to take a voltmeter or test light, and see how the voltage is at the ends of the positive and negative cables. And, at the battery posts.
As long as the power to the vehicle problem is present, with a test light, voltmeter, and some clip jumper probe wires, it shouldn't be too hard to determine if it's the battery or one of the cables.

If it goes away, carry those items in the car. I had a flaky solenoid once in another car. At the time, I wasn't sure if it was the ignition switch, wires, etc. So, I got/made long extension probe wires and carried my voltmeter. After about 5 weeks, it happened again. Oh yea, a flashlight is also a good thing. Thankfully, I was near enough light. I hooked up the long probe wires, and found out that it was a flaky solenoid. After trying ~8 times to start the car, it started fine. And, the car kept starting fine until I got the new solenoid.

So, sometimes, it's easy to find the problem.
Other times, it requires planning in advance and being able to do the correct tests when the issue happens again.

Good Luck.

Long story short, it was the solenoid. I took the Tach adapter completely out of the car, put the battery back in and still, nothing. I grabbed a new Motorcraft solenoid from my local Ford dealer this morning, put it in and everything came back immediately! Dare I say, good as new.

Thanks for the reminder to check the solenoid!!!

[darkd0r]

Bad solenoid shouldn't have any impact on dome light. Be ready for further trouble. Corrosion the thickness of paper between the battery cable and the post will stop current. External corrosion of battery cable and clamp bolt is only a symptom, not a cause.

[droopie85gt]

Bad solenoid shouldn't have any impact on dome light. Be ready for further trouble. Corrosion the thickness of paper between the battery cable and the post will stop current. External corrosion of battery cable and clamp bolt is only a symptom, not a cause.

Could have been the battery connection on the solenoid was the problem with corrosion or being loose or whatever. All the power feeds attach to that bolt.