MSD Coil Pack

morgie · Post by **morgie** » Sun Dec 15, 2002 8:40 pm

Do you think that this "MSD Mitsubishi 4 tower coil" could fit our leg. 2.2l turbo ? it was designed for 1993-98 2.0L Eclipse

looks pretty much the same as the stock coil in the car...

specs :
Primary Resistance: 0.051 Ohms
Secondary Resistance: 12K Ohms
Maximum Voltage: 36,000 Volts
Inductance: 7 mH
Turns Ratio : 77:1

Aaron's ej22t · Post by **Aaron's ej22t** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 2:06 am

yes, it probably could be made to fit, but the connector on the side is different from our cars coilpack. there is a harness with wires running into the coilpack on ours. if you found a connector that would go into that msd ignition, then you could just cut the stock one and put a new connector on it, i think.

morgie · Post by **morgie** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 2:30 am

like the radio shack add sais : "You've got questions ? We've got answers"

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 2:17 am

Why not try the MSD DIS-2 like me?

zak · Post by **zak** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 4:14 am

Why not try the MSD DIS-2 like me?

Do you have it installed? Any pros/cons? I'm looking at getting this after reading about Dave's experience with it. Kinda pricy, but seems worth it. (along with newer Diamond coil pack from 95+ 2.2 legacy)

morgie · Post by **morgie** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 4:41 am

Maybe because this coilpack is like 70$USD... and the complete MSD-Dis2 is 700$CAD + tax and i dont want to spend that much money !!!

i am planning on changing the coilpack of my leg. and i am now looking at alternatives..

stock 2.2lTurbo CoilPack is 189$CAND...

Post by **Legacy777** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 3:08 pm

I've got the MSD Dis2 unit on as well. It DOES help!

Don't expect much gains at all if any from just a coil pack.

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 7:31 pm

You just need to find a good deal. I got my MSD unit in new condiction (used but still smelt new!) from an I-club member for cheap.

I agree, just a coil alone probably wont make a noticable difference if your old one is working.

I went to the junk yard and cut the plug from an old coil and on the engine side. I soldered these to the MSD harness. My MSD is COMPLETLY PLUG AND PLAY! It only takes me about 10 seconds to return the car to stock, I didnt have to modify any wires on the car

zak · Post by **zak** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 8:42 pm

ciper, you wouldn't happen to have a picture of your msd harness and what it looks like with the plug soldered on, do you? That sounds very tempting to do

morgie · Post by **morgie** » Wed Dec 18, 2002 4:09 am

that's the key thing here.. my stock CoilPack ain't working properly

that's why i want to change it and don't want to pay 700$ for that

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Wed Dec 18, 2002 5:20 am

? Ive seen them sell for 300-400 CANADIAN. Ill take a picture when the weather returns to normal. Its crazy, we are getting about 2 inches of rain per day!

Anyone have the part number for the Diamond coil pack or list of years it was used for future users who read this thread? Ive found a few part numbers for a diamond coil. 22433aa240 which has been replaced with 22433AA370 or 22433AA400 as listed on ravensblade. Maybe we should decide on a specific model then just ask a dealer the part number for that car!

looked back, I got mine which was basically new for 275$ US or 429 Canadian shipped.

Okay, MSD specs from above:
specs :
Primary Resistance: 0.051 Ohms
Secondary Resistance: 12K Ohms
Maximum Voltage: 36,000 Volts
Inductance: 7 mH
Turns Ratio : 77:1

Subaru specs that I could find:
Manual
Primary Resistance: .62-.76 ohm
Secondary Resistance: 17.9-24.5 Kohm

Auto
Primary Resistance: .63-.77 ohm
Secondary Resistance: 10.4-15.6 Kohm

I have contacted someone at Diamond in hopes of getting more specifications on the coils. If someone with the diamond pack could find the DIAMOND part number that would be great.

I have a question though, why would the auto and manual differ so much?

Part number for the "MSD Mitsubishi 4 tower coil" 8229

The mustang part MSD 8241 looks to be a better fit, at least judging the resitance values. Maybe the Mitsubishi coil specs are a typo and have the extra zero??

Ford mustang part 8241
Primary Resistance: 0.53 Ohms
Secondary Resistance: 12.8 Ohms
Maximum Voltage: 40,000 Volts
Inductance: 5.8 mH
Turns Ratio : 83:1

Found this info for the Mitsubishi part
"The following Blaster Coils share the same special windings and high voltage output as the other Blaster 2 coils, but do not include a ballast resistor. When you are using an MSD Ignition Control, the ignition is responsible for delivering the voltage to the coil, so a ballast is not necessary."

http://www.xmission.com/~dac/library/DIS.htm

BTW, The MSD is EASY to connect. All wires except battery + and ground connect to the coil harness, either on the engine side or the coil side. You could optionally connect an ignition kill wire but Im trying to demonstrate how easy this item is to install.

Probably the hardest part is finding a place to mount it. If you buy the diamond coil like suggested you could always cut into its harness to wire it up and if you wanted to return to stock just stick your old coil back on.

EDIT: WOW!!! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 1875127934 Buy now is VERY good...... I wouldnt mind if you outbid me. Yet I also wouldnt mind putting one on my second legacy

See morgie, its not that expensive if you look around.

Also http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 1874737063 which is okay

Post by **Legacy777** » Wed Dec 18, 2002 3:36 pm

I did the swap. I'll get the Diamond coil pack number tonight. Remind me if I forget.....ok?

The difference between the autos & manuals is because the autos had the hitachi coil packs while the manuals had the Diamond coil packs.

I told the guys I wanted a coil pack from a 95 legacy. The 95 had the diamond coil pack. So if you ask them for one for a 95, you should be in good shape, because it still has the female connectors.

As far as returning the ignition to stock. It's pretty simple with MSD's little bypass plug thing you get. very cool.

here's some pics of mine

eastbaysubaru · Post by **eastbaysubaru** » Wed Dec 18, 2002 5:59 pm

Intersting setup. What's the benefit of running the DIS 2?

-Brian

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Wed Dec 18, 2002 9:43 pm

The DIS-2 will discharge multiple sparks at FULL power on low rpm, where the stock will run one long spark that drops in power quite a bit over time. Basically it helps you to have the maximum amount of spark possible at all times. That link I posted above does a good job explaining.

Legacy777: Great location! I never thought of that. I mounted mine right between the brake master cylinder and the center of the engine bay where the ignition module lives, laying flat so that the dip switches are towards the right and the sticker on top is showing upwards.

BTW, I have your ECU! Ill pm you later.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 4:30 am

I'm wondering, with this talk of replacing coil packs with later-model Subaru coil packs...

I have a little plastic housing containing the igniter (ignitor?) in the center of my '93 Turbo's firewall. This is basically two big ol' transistors. My understanding was that at some point along the line Subaru decided to integrate the ignitor (igniter?) into the coil pack assembly. If I were to swap in a coil pack from a 1995 or newer Subaru, what would I do about this?

I guess I could extend the wires from where my igniter is now over to the coil pack, or I could cut the wires between the new igniter and coil pack... What's the "right" approach?

ciper - I outbid you. My parents are paying for it for my Christmas present. :)

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 5:10 am

vrg3: realize you didnt meet the reserve though. I suggest using buy now so its over with. His reserve could be just less than the buy now price.

I dont think the ignitor integrated. Im pretty sure even the wrx has a seperate coil and ignitor set up.

BTW, is the WRX a waste spark design?

morgie · Post by **morgie** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 5:34 am

The part guy at my dealership told me that the "coilpack" of the WRX wouldn't fit my legacy .. simply because in fact, the WRX has 4 small coilpacks located right above each sparkplugs ?!

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 6:30 am

ciper: I did the Buy It Now (tm) deal. Some other guy outbid you before I did that though.

You may be right that the ignitor's not integrated, but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that it was. Off the top of my head, I don't seem to remember seeing one in the middle of my '97 Legacy GT or '97 Impreza L's firewalls, either.

The WRX isn't waste spark. As morgie describes, it's coil-on-plug. I would guess that that means the ignitor is certainly separate from the coil. For what it's worth, the SVX was coil-on-plug too, I believe.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 7:41 am

Here's where I read it:

http://www.endwrench.com/pdf/elec/FtIgn ... gOpS00.pdf

"The solid state igniter is located on the firewall on early Subaru direct ignition
systems, and is integrated into the coil assembly on more recent Subaru vehicles."

The document goes on to describe it in a bit more detail, with some rather unhelpful pictures.

Post by **Legacy777** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 3:54 pm

Benefits,

As ciper mentioned, it produces multiple sparks until like 3000-3500 rpms. It says on some of the pages what the details are.

I for one noticed the car had more pull at the lower end. Some of the RS owners have tried the Dis2 and say it's bs, doesn't work.....which may be the case for their cars, but I know several people, including myself who are running these things with the diamond coil pack and have been very happy with them. They are tad pricey......but search around....you can prob find some good deals.

I looked to mount it back on the firewall area some how....but just didn't see a place I liked. My mom's bf helped me build the bracket when I was up in seattle this past summer. The location is pretty good. Only issue I don't like is the fact water could get in the dip switches. I'll just have to make sure it's bagged up if I do any hosing in the engine bay.

I replied to your PM on nasioc about the ECU.

Re to the discussion about the ignitor being integrated. I believe the ignitor was integrated when they made the move to the male style coil packs vs. the female style coil packs. I think that was in 96 or 97.

Anyway....I know that the one for the 95 will work, as I had a buddy check his 95 before I bought mine. I do have a pic of the coil pack.....I gotta get it out of my camera.......I've been home for a grand total of 1 hr in the past two days.....excluding sleeping.....I'll post pic & SOA part #'s.

Our ignition system is a wasted spark design. You can easily tell by looking at a wiring diagram for the ignition system.

ciper · Post by **ciper** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 7:53 pm

morgie: They will fit, with the correct modification. I already have two and plan to get the rest

Now that you guys know my secret plan what do you think? Even if the WRX isnt a waste spark I plan to run the front two cylinders together just like they are now. I already started making a "harness" for it. Trust me, the bay looks really weird with no coil and spark plugs.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 8:01 pm

Sounds like a good plan! It looks like you're aware of the issues you'll need to tackle. Basically, you need to know how the ignitor works in the WRX and wire it correctly. If the WRX has a four-channel ignitor (which would make sense to me) you just wire each pair in parallel; the ECU's ignitor output line should be able to drive both of them.

You gotta post some pictures and let us know how it works!

Post by **Legacy777** » Fri Dec 20, 2002 4:52 am

Here's the part # for the diamond coil pack 22433AA370

Here's a pic

zak · Post by **zak** » Fri Dec 20, 2002 6:26 am

what is involved in replacing the coilpack? I plan on doing this real soon. I guess looking at it, there isn't that much involved. Any secret tips that I need to know? Thanks,

Post by **Legacy777** » Fri Dec 20, 2002 2:39 pm

It's cake....

Unplug spark plug wires

Unplug connector for coil pack

Remove the four bolts holding it down to manifold......

Replace

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MSD Coil Pack

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