Did I damage this coil? Dummy me, I put it next to the bench edge and bumped it with my elbow and sent it right to the concrete garage floor. These things don;t bounce. It dented the bottom corner in a little. It is a relatively new MSD Blaster. I hate to just go out and buy a new one if I don't have to. On the other hand, there is going to be so much new in this ignition, what with the new ECU, harness, and sensors that I hate to put a suspect part in. If it doesn't start, I don;t want something dumb like a coil being bad throwing me off. Are these things pretty much indestructible, or are they damaged fairly easily by such bone headed negligence? There was no puncture of the case. Even the paint stuck. Thanks for your opinions here.
Sam

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I doubt it......

Check the primary and secondary resistances, then check for a short to ground (the case).

Most MSD coils are oil cooled, so there's some room between the internals and the case......

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

OK, treat me like a dummy here, and don;t worry about insulting me. Where do I measure these resistances, and what should they be? Measure accross the positive and negative terminals, and between the center spark lead and the case? Where do I put my test meter leads for each of these tests? I know the positive has ignition voltage, and the negative is fired by the points, AND I know the collapsing coil voltage causes an enormous spark out of the tower to ground. But, I need really basic instructions here. Thans man.
Sam

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Primary is between the 2 terminals: (0.5 - 3.0 ohms depending on coil)

Secondary is between the center post and 1 of the terminals ( 8,000 -12,000 ohms depending on coil)

Ground is the case. (should get infinite between case and any of the terminals/posts)

Actual resistance values can either be found on manufacturers web site or summit racing (they usually have the specs)


And don't worry about a spark, a test meter doesn't have enough current (amps & volts) to do anything......

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Call MSD(tech support) and they will tell you what the resistance should be.

If the dent is shallow, <0.25", it is probably not enough to hurt anything, but if it is deep, >0.5", it may allow HV breakdown the case.

Try to keep the dent downward to ensure the gap is filled w/ oil rather than air.

If the coil leaks oil, it may work for awhile, but eventually it'll fail. If it rattles, the shock has broken it internally, so replace it. A slight sloshing is of the oil is OK - there has to be some gas to allow for thermal expansion.

Generally coils are fairly tough, but don't last forever. If it gives you a good spark now, it'll probably keep on doing so for ~1,000,000,000 sparks or so.

The dent is about 1/16". Thanks for the tips. I am getting a much better feel for coil durability and function. I will check it out, but expect it is OK. Thanks!
Sam

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