MSD 6530 Installation

Programmable 6AL-2 Ignition Control

PN 6530

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Parts Included:

1 - Ignition Control, PN 6530 1 - MSD Pro-Data+ Software 4 - Vibration Mounts and Screws

Accessories:

MAP Sensor, see page 6 Hand Held Programmer, PN 7550 Manual Launch RPM Control, PN 7551

WARNING: During installation, disconnect the battery cables. When disconnecting, always

remove the Negative cable ﬁrst and install it last.

Note: Solid core spark plug wires cannot be used with an MSD Ignition Control. Note: If you're programming the timing functions of the ignition, the distributor must be locked out.

3 - Deutsch Connector Harnesses 1 - Mag Pickup Harness, PN 8860 1 - Parts Bag

GENERAL INFORMATION

BATTERY

The MSD Programmable 6AL-2 Ignition Control will operate on any negative ground, 12 volt electrical system with a distributor. The MSD can be used with 16 volt batteries and can withstand a momentary 24 volts in case of jump starts. The Ignitions will deliver full voltage with a supply of 9-18 volts and will operate with a supply voltage as low as ﬁve volts. If your application does not use an alternator, allow at least 15 amp/hour for every half hour of operation. If the engine is cranked with the same battery or other accessories such as an electric fuel or water pump are used, the amp/hour rating should be higher.

COILS

The MSD Programmable 6AL-2 Ignition can be used with most stock coils and aftermarket coils designed to replace the stock coils. There are some "race only" coils such as the MSD Pro Power Coil, PN 8201, that cannot be used with a 6-Series MSD Ignition Control. For more information on recommended coils, consult the supplied Coil Application Chart or check with the manufacturer of your coil. If you have any questions concerning coils, contact our Customer Service Department at (915) 855-7123.

TACHOMETERS

The Gray Tach Output Terminal produces a 12 volt square wave signal with a 20% duty cycle. Some vehicles with factory tachometers may require a Tach Adapter to operate with the MSD. For more information on Tachometers and MSD Tach Adapters, see the Tachometer Section on page 15. If your GM vehicle has an inline ﬁlter it may cause the tach to drop to zero on acceleration. If this occurs, bypass the ﬁlter.

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2 INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

SPARK PLUGS AND WIRES

Spark plug wires are very important to the operation of your ignition system. A good quality, helically wound wire and proper routing are required to get the best performance from your ignition, such as the MSD Heli-Core or 8.5mm Super Conductor Wire.

Note: Solid Core spark plug wires cannot be used with an MSD Ignition.

A helically, or spiral wound wire must be used. This style wire provides a good path for the spark to follow while keeping Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) to a minimum. Excessive EMI, such as the amount that solid core wires produce, will interfere with the operation of the MSD.

Routing: Correct routing of the plug wires is also important to performance. Wires should be routed away from sharp edges and engine heat sources. If there are two wires that are next to each other in the engine's ﬁring order, the wires should be routed away from each other to avoid inducing a spark into the other wire. For example, in a Chevy V8, the ﬁring order is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2. The #5 and #7 cylinders are next to each other in the engine and in the ﬁring order. If the voltage from the #5 wire is induced into #7 detonation could occur and cause engine damage. To add more heat protection to your plug wires, MSD offers Pro-Heat Guard, PN 3411. This is a glass woven and silicone coated protective sleeve that you slide over your plug wires. For extra protection of the spark plug boots, MSD offers Pro-Boot Guard, PN 3412.

Spark Plugs: Choosing the correct spark plug design and heat range is important when trying to get the best performance possible. Since there are so many engine combinations and manufacturers, MSD does not recommend which plug or gap is exactly right for your application. It is recommended to follow the engine builder or manufacturer's speciﬁcation for spark plugs. With that, you can then experiment with the plug gap to obtain the best performance. The gap of the plugs can be opened in 0.005" increments, then tested until the best performance is obtained. MSD judges the plug gap by compression and components:

These examples are just starting points to get you going in the right direction. Every application is different and should be tested and tuned.

Compression Spark Plug Gap

Up to 10.5:1: 0.050"-0.060"

10.5:1-13.0:1: 0.040"-0.050" Above 13.0:1: 0.035"-0.045"

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

Sealing: Do not attempt to seal the MSD. All of the circuits of an MSD receive a thick conformal coating of Humi-Seal. This sealant protects the electronics from moisture. If you were to seal the unit, any moisture or water that may seep in through the wiring grommets will not be able to drain and may result in corrosion.

Welding: If you are welding on your vehicle, to avoid the chance of damage, always disconnect both Heavy Power cables of the MSD (You should also disconnect the tach ground wire too).

Distributor Cap and Rotor: It is recommended to install a new distributor cap and rotor when installing the MSD Ignition Control. The cap should be clean inside and out especially the terminals and rotor tip. On vehicles with smaller caps, it is possible for the air inside the cap to become electrically charged causing crossﬁre which can result in misﬁre. This can be prevented by drilling a couple vent holes in the cap. The holes should be placed between the terminals, at rotor height and face away from the intake. If your environment demands it, place a small piece of screen over the hole to act as a ﬁlter.

Initial Spark: It is normal, yet not very common, for the MSD to produce a spark when the ignition is ﬁrst connected to the battery. This is due to the capacitor being charged.

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INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS 3

MOUNTING

The MSD can be mounted in most positions, except directly upside down (if upside down, moisture or water cannot escape). It can be mounted in the engine compartment as long as it is away from direct engine heat sources. It is not recommended to mount the unit in an enclosed area such as the glovebox. When you ﬁnd a suitable location to mount the unit, make sure the wires of the ignition reach their connections. Hold the Ignition in place and mark the location of the mounting holes. Use a 3/16" drill bit and drill the holes for the supplied vibration mounts. Install the vibration mounts, then mount the Ignition.

WIRING

GENERAL WIRING INFORMATION

Wire Length: All of the wires of the MSD Ignition may be shortened as long as quality connectors are used or soldered in place. To lengthen the wires, use one size bigger gauge wire (12 gauge for the power leads and 16 gauge for the other wires) with the proper connections. All connections must be soldered and sealed.

Grounds: A poor ground connection can cause many frustrating problems. When a wire is speciﬁed to go to ground, it should be connected to the battery negative terminal, engine block or chassis. There should always be a ground strap between the engine and the chassis. Always securely connect the ground wire to a clean, paint free metal surface.

Ballast Resistor: If your vehicle has a ballast resistor in line with the coil wiring, it is recommended to bypass it.

ROUTING WIRES

The MSD wires should be routed away from direct heat sources such as exhaust manifolds and headers and any sharp edges. The trigger wires should be routed separate from the other wires and spark plug wires. It is best if they are routed along a ground plane such as the block or ﬁrewall which creates an electrical shield. The magnetic pickup wires should always be routed separately and should be twisted together to help reduce extraneous interference.

Common Mag Pickup Wires

The chart shows the polarity of other common magnetic pickups. If using a different magnetic pickup, use the MSD 2-Pin connector, available as PN 8824, for a direct plug-in installation.

Distributor Colors

Mag+ Mag-

MSD Org/Blk Vio/Blk MSD Crank Trigger Violet Green Ford Orange Violet

46/48000

Accel Accel Chrysler Org/Wht Black Mallory Org/Blk Vio/Blk

Series Org/Blk Vio/Blk

51/61000

Series Red Black

Figure 1 Common Mag Pickup Wires.

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4 INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

WIRING

Heavy

Ignition supply wire, 14-gauge. Connects to battery positive (+) terminal or battery

Red

2-PIN

Heavy

Ignition ground, 14-gauge. Connect to battery negative (-) terminal or engine block.

CONNECTOR

Black

Orange Connects to the coil positive (+) terminal. This is the only wire that makes contact

2-PIN

Black Connects to the coil negative (-) terminal. This is the only wire that makes contact

CONNECTOR

WARNING: High voltage is present at the coil primary terminals. Do not touch the coil or connect

Violet/ Magnetic pickup, 2-pin connector. Plugs into an MSD Distributor or Crank Trigger

Green 2-Pin

junction. Note: Do not connect to the alternator.

Primary Coil Leads (18-gauge)

to the coil positive terminal.

to the coil negative terminal.

test equipment to the terminals while the engine is running or cranking.

Trigger Wires(18-gauge)

pickup. Violet is positive, Green is negative. When this connector is used, the White and White/Blue wires are not connected.

White/

Blue

Hall-Effect or ECU trigger. This wire connects to the trigger wire of the Hall-Effect pickup. It can also be connected to an ECU trigger source (low voltage and current). See page

6. When used, the White and Magnetic Pickup wires are not connected.

White Trigger input for electronic ignition ampliﬁers, an ECU’s trigger or points. When this wire is used, the magnetic pickup and White/Blue wires are not con-

nected.

Red On/Off switch wiring. Connects to a switched 12 volt source.

8-PIN

Dark Blue Launch Rev Limit. When 12 volts are applied to this wire it will activate the Launch Rev

CONNECTOR

Light Blue Burnout Rev Limit. When 12 volts are applied the Burnout Rev Limit is active.

Gray Tach output. This wire provides a 12 volt, 20° signal that is compatible with most tachs

Pink Retard Step. This retard is activated when 12 volts are applied and rpm is above the

Connects to an external MAP or gauge pressure sensor.

Limit and reset the Launch Retard. This overrides other rev limits.

and data acquisition systems.

Step1 Rpm value.

3-Pin Connector, MAP Sensor

Brown/Violet +5 volt supply

Brown/Yellow Ground

Dark Brown Map Signal

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INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS 5

WARNING: The MSD 6-Series Ignitions are capacitive discharge ignitions. High voltage is present

at the coil primary terminals. Do not touch the coil or connect test equipment to the terminals.

PRESTART CHECK LIST

• The only wires connected to the coil terminals are the MSD Orange to coil positive and Black to coil negative.

• The small Red wire of the MSD is connected to a switched 12 volt source.

• The MSD power leads are connected directly to the battery positive and negative terminals.

• The battery is connected and fully charged if not using an alternator.

• The engine is equipped with at least one ground strap to the chassis.

• If running a 4 or 6-cylinder, the cylinder count must be modiﬁed in the Pro-Data+ Software. Default is 8-cylinder.

LED

The LED on the side of the MSD monitors several operating conditions of the MSD. If the LED indicates that there is a problem with the ignition system, follow the steps through the Troubleshooting section. The LED will appear to be on steady at above idle speeds when everything is functioning properly.

• When 12 volts are applied to the small Red wire, the LED will turn on to indicate power.

• When cranking or running, the LED will blink for each trigger signal.

• Code 2 will ﬂash for low battery voltage.

• Code 3 will ﬂash for high battery voltage.

• Code 4 will ﬂash for converter off (ignition problem).

DISTRIBUTOR

WITH

MAGNETIC PICKUP

MSD CRANK

TRIGGER WHEEL

(12V TO ACTIVATE)

TO 12V

IGNITION KEY

VIOLET

GREEN

PN 8860 HARNESS

LAUNCH

BURNOUT

RETARD

AMPLIFIER/POINTS

VIOLET

GREEN

DARK BLUE

LIGHT BLUE

PINK

TACH OUTPUT

(NOT USED)

HALL-EFFECT

(NOT USED)

GRAY

RED

WHITE

WHITE/BLUE

RED

ORANGE (TO COIL +)

BLACK (TO COIL -)

MAP SENSOR

HEAVY RED

HEAVY BLACK

TO BATTERY

Figure 2 Wiring the Programmable 6AL-2 Ignition with a Magnetic Pickup.

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6 INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

MAP

INDICATES CONNECTION

•

SENSOR

(12V TO ACTIVATE)

TO 12V

IGNITION KEY

INDICATES CONNECTION

•

MAGNETIC PICKUP

(NOT USED)

LAUNCH

BURNOUT

RETARD

VIOLET

GREEN

DARK BLUE

LIGHT BLUE

PINK

TACH OUTPUT

HALL-EFFECT

(NOT USED)

GRAY

RED

WHITE/BLUE

RED

ORANGE (TO COIL +)

BLACK (TO COIL -)

FROM POINTS

OR ELECTRONIC

IGNITION AMPLIFIER

(ORIGINAL COIL - WIRE)

WHITE WHITE

Figure 3 Wiring the Programmable 6AL-2 Ignition with Points Trigger.

DISTRIBUTOR

HEAVY RED

HEAVY BLACK

MAP SENSOR

TO BATTERY

MAGNETIC PICKUP

(NOT USED)

(12V TO ACTIVATE)

LAUNCH

BURNOUT

RETARD

AMPLIFIER/POINTS

NOTE: MENU SELECTION MUST BE

HALL SENSOR.

VIOLET

GREEN

DARK BLUE

LIGHT BLUE

PINK

TACH OUTPUT

(NOT USED)

GRAY

WHITE

RED

WHITE/BLUE

ORANGE (TO COIL +)

BLACK (TO COIL -)

TO 12V

IGNITION KEY

TO GROUND

12 VOLTS

GROUND

TRIGGER

HEAVY RED

HEAVY BLACK

HALL-EFFECT

TO BATTERY

Figure 4 Wiring the Programmable 6AL-2 Ignition using Hall-Effect Trigger.

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