electronic ignition help

[monacojosh69]

I am looking to purchase an electronic ignition box to replace my old point type system. Will the orange or chrome box be sufficient to give me noticable gain in hp and torque. I've heard that going to electronic ignition makes a big difference

if anybody has used one of these ignitions i would appreciate input on the difference it made and if you like it
thanks

[FC7GTX]

I can't say everybody would notice an increase in HP. Sure switching from a single point ignition with 50,000 miles to a Electronic Ignition you would probably feel a difference. I installed an Orange MP system on mine because of the hotter/more consistent spark, improved idle and start quality and high RPM firing. With those things in mind it would stand to reason you are picking up HP/Torque/RPM. Its just the way to go....There are a variety of electronic ignition systems that work well. I've heard a few orange box failure's but I can say my system has been on the GTX for 4 years without a problem....Its a good street package....

Chris

[FC7GTX]

I've aslo heard these guys build and sell a great system.

http://4secondsflat.com/

[ehostler]

Yes, Don over at FBO Systems can set you up with a superior ignition system for close to the same price.

[monacojosh69]

thanks i think i will probably go with the orange (maybe chrome) MP electronice system. It's really cheap and i've heard good things about it

[ehostler]

The orange box is realy not that great. It is mostly a street box. It tends to be off in phasing and it has a negative impact on your advance curve.

The chrome box is a better choice, but I don't know that I would want to drive one on the street.

I am currently running a MOPAR Performance electronic distributor with a Jacobs Pro Street ignition system. Replacing that orange box with the Jacobs was a deifference between night and day. I still need to send all of it to FBO and have Don properly phase the distributor and properly dial in the advance curve.

[rumblefish360]

I drove the Chrome on the street for a long time. No problems. Beats the Orange box.
Don has a nice unit I'll be testing soon. (Comparo style)
I also have the jacobs Pro street universial unit. Hooks up to any coil (Singular) and lights it off. VERY powerful unit. I would have been better off with a milemaster.

[ehostler]

My Pro Street kit is not a universal kit. The universal kit requires the use of the old ECU. I have the correct Pro Street setup with the magnetic pickups. The electronic distributor connects directly to the Jacobs. I couldn't see spending the same money on a universal kit that would still need the inferior ECU.

[rumblefish360]

I used the kit on various cars that NEED to pass the sniffer. In example, a '94 Hyundia Excell got a taste of it (with a Jacobs coil) and banged out 42 mpg's. Just a little fussing around and a Jacobs system was all it took.
It was getting a best of 37 before I got a hold of it.
I would like to get the one you have. Ya got a web address there big E.

[ehostler]

I bought mine from a company in TX, off of ebay. They had picked up a large number of them from Jacobs, when they were relocating. That was about 2 years ago.

The first one that they shipped me was crap. The next one was one of the EZ install/universal kits (they shipped the wrong replacement by accident), then they shipped the correct replacement and it works great.

Since I bought the Pro Street kit, it also had the great Jacobs coil. That thing tosses some pretty good spark.

[rumblefish360]

LOL, you ain't kidding. First time I seen that coil was a a local cruise night. This guy held the coil wire about 2 inchs away from the cap. The car still ran and reved while sending lighting to the cap. In large bolts no less.

[flipper35]

My orange box dropped about 8* off at high rpm. I use the Jacobs Pro Street system now. Ed, mine is the universal kit and it runs directly off the distributor. I wonder if they have changed a bit. Left the old system in in case there was a problem. That system does pack a punch. A friend of mine happened to be holding the coil wire when I turned the key off and it discharged. We both happened to be leaning against the fiberglass body and I got a major jolt as it went from the coil to him to the car to me and finally grounded through the lift. Also had the dist done at FBO systems. I used to think I had a bad traction problem before the Jacobs/dist change. Now it is time to look for some real tires. The BFG 295/50/15's are worthless at low speeds.

[ehostler]

The current universal/EZ install setup is triggered from the coil. So, the distributor still runs the ECU, then the ECU triggers the coil, and the coil feed the secondary trigger unit in the Jacobs and then the JAcobs sends the spark to the distributor cap.

The setup that I have can either be connected to the old wire coming off of the distributor or you can connect the mag pickup (from the distributor) directly to the Jacobs.

I didn't realize the amount of power that coil had, until the first time I went to check for spark. Man that coil wire put on a heck of a show. Lots of spark coming out of the end of the wire, looking for any ground they could find.

[flipper35]

Mine goes from the magnetic pickup on the distributor to the Jacobs system then to the coil. The old unit is still bolted in place but there are no wires plugged into it. So maybe mine is an older unit. No secondary trigger like in the instructions. Either way I am sure someone can get him the right system. I love mine, works great. Except for the anti-theft thing I forget once in a while and it starts to miss when I drive away from filling up or something. Embarassing to say the least.

[ehostler]

I have the anti-theft by-passed on mine. Maybe this Spring I will get the wire harness into the car, so that I can setup the anti-theft and the Max Power as well.

[flipper35]

I didn't feel any seat of the pants difference when I hooked up the max power switch. There may be a slight difference, but I wouldn't put the switch as a top priority thing.

[hydro]

There seems to be a lot of chatter here about various parts of the issue, Jacobs etc, but I didn't really see anyone address the whole issue in a single post, so I'll throw in my 2 cents worth. There are basically two steps.

First, you mentioned points in the original post, so you will have to replace or at least modify your distributor. The one in the Mopar electronic conversion kit will work well as will the rest of the aftermarket ones.

Second, the electronic ignition control box will need to be added, using either the Mopar orange box or better yet an aftermarket multiple spark unit like MSD, Crane or others. (Is Jacobs a multi spark system as well?)

You might want to address both of these from a single source to be sure all of the parts are directly compatible and come with wiring diagrams that can be understood.

Lastly, while you are in there, replace the old voltage regulator with a new electronic unit if it is not already done. I re-did my Satellite from the orange box to the Crane Hi-6 and their matching coil with the mopar electronic distributor a couple of years ago and it works great! Starts, idles and generally runs much better.