VR6 coilpack atlernative

[tripwalking]

The vr6 ignition wire set from VW will come with the spark plug terminals crimped on. The coil terminals are easy to crimp to the wires.

[Audi_SoupeGT]

Very Helpful Thanks!!

[tripwalking]

Here's the actual MSD instructions for crimping the terminals.

[Em1TypeR]

just did mine. picked up a coil at the local scrapyard from a ford that looked like it had been replaced on that vehicle. $20

[Radioactiveman]

I have an msd set up for sale just need your ICM. I sold the car, and removed this before I did. All three coils ohm at 13.5 if I remember correctly. Wires and bracket are from four seasons, and the coils from summitt.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...except-the-ICM

[koccorey]

Unfortunately my car is still doing the exact same thing after hooking up a pack a fellow vortexer sent me and changing a speed sensor that gave intermittent failure codes before. I'm gonna try switching out a few more sensors this weekend. If any one can help me out in anyway I'd appreciate it. I really would like to get the car running this weekend.

Does anyone know where I can rent a code scanner for obd1?

Well, I decided to give this a go again. I went to the junk yard and got two ICM's. I came home and tested them on my car and they work. The crazy thing is the ICM I used before works also when hooked up to the stock coils and all the ICM's gave the same ohm reading about 3.5 ohm's or so. So that leaves me to believe that the MSD coils are bad or maybe bad wiring. I tested the MSD coils that I originally used for the set-up and also tested a brand new set I have and they all gave around 5.63 ohm resistance when tested at the spark plug terminals so I'm thinking there good. I'm gonna take the wires out and see if I can get better contact. If I'm missing something would someone point me in the right direction? Thanks for any help.

[koccorey]

After looking thru this thread again I think I may have figured out my problem. I've read that it does'nt matter what side you wire the positive and negative on the MSD coils but after looking at a few set ups on here I think it will effect the firing order so what I'm going to do is switch the negative and postive wires and see how it runs then.

[o2bad455]

After looking thru this thread again I think I may have figured out my problem. I've read that it does'nt matter what side you wire the positive and negative on the MSD coils but after looking at a few set ups on here I think it will effect the firing order so what I'm going to do is switch the negative and postive wires and see how it runs then.

I don't think +/- could affect the firing order, but I would try to do all 3 the same. I've been having pretty good luck with my 3 accel coils (without resistor), which seemed to spec out better than the MSDs. I have had one issue where one output terminal (of 2) on one coil (of 3) has failed twice in about 2 years -- same coil and terminal both times (the furthest back). I suspect an installation or plug wire issue, possibly aggravated by driving fast in the rain, but it's hard to tell for sure.

[koccorey]

After testing everything and everything turning out to be working (ICM's & coilpacks) I figured I'd try this with new wiring. If the + and - don't effect the firing order the only other thing I think it could be is a connection problem with the wiring. So I'm gonna re-wire it and use different spade connectors to go into the bottom of the coils so I'm sure there making contact. I should have this done this evening so hopefully I'll have this set-up working.

Thanks

[tripwalking]

+ and - doesn't matter, as long as all three are wired the same.

[koccorey]

Well I finally got this working. Rewired it and it started right up! My problem was that the spade terminals were'nt making full contact in the bottom of the coils. I had to widen the openings a little with my dremmel so they would seat all the way in the terminals. I have'nt driven with this set-up yet but it seemed to idle better. I have them set-up on the aftermarket coil mount bracket that everyone uses but I want to see if I can mount them in the stock location so I can put all my engine covers on for a clean look. I was looking into ways to do this last night and I saw that I could put three bolts thru the inside of the original ICM/coil housing were the stock coils bolt in. That way I can put the ICM/coil housing back in the stock location first then bolt the MSD's to the ICM/coil housing so everythings in the stock location.

Question for people using the MSD ignition box in addition to the MSD coils, have you noticed a difference? What are your impressions with this set-up?

Thanks everybody for the help and suggestions. I'm glad I finally got this working.

[koccorey]

Well I finally got this working. Rewired it and it started right up! My problem was that the spade terminals were'nt making full contact in the bottom of the coils. I had to widen the openings a little with my dremmel so they would seat all the way in the terminals. I have'nt driven with this set-up yet but it seemed to idle better. I have them set-up on the aftermarket coil mount bracket that everyone uses but I want to see if I can mount them in the stock location so I can put all my engine covers on for a clean look. I was looking into ways to do this last night and I saw that I could put three bolts thru the inside of the original ICM/coil housing were the stock coils bolt in. That way I can put the ICM/coil housing back in the stock location first then bolt the MSD's to the ICM/coil housing so everythings in the stock location.

Question for people using the MSD ignition box in addition to the MSD coils, have you noticed a difference? What are your impressions with this set-up?

Thanks everybody for the help and suggestions. I'm glad I finally got this working.

Anyone?

[koccorey]

Well started driving the car with this set up the last few days. I noticed a better idle and better throttle response so far. Can't really say if the mileage is better yet because lately I've been rushing everywhere. I ended up leaving them on the aftermarket coil bracket for now. I mounted them with the sparkplug terminals facing the driver side. I was able to get the plastic coil cover on this way with a little trimming to clear the MSD's. I'm using the factory 7mm Mk4 wires and Bosch Iridium Fuzion 4 tip plugs right now but I plan on trying this set up with the Denso Iridium's since I've seen good performance with them before. I've never tried the factory vr6 plugs since I had the car. Which plugs work best with this set-up?

[koccorey]

Is everybody moving over to the ford coilpacks or what?

[zcg666]

Well im still watchimg this one. Till everyone works all the kinks out before i take a shot at it. or until i have enough money to dump on blown ICMs. Just got through with installing the new timing chains and tensioners and clutch. Vr6 beast running smooth as hell now dont wanna **** it up yet

[koccorey]

I hear you man. I had tried this before a few months earlier with no success so I put the project on the shelf and did my timing chains, 262 cams and a few other things. You'll realize it's really not that complicated once you get it done. Just make sure everything is well insulated by using high quality parts ; silicone instead of hot glue, use heat shrink tubing on the ends so there's no chance of things arcing also use some liquid electrical tape and make sure you have good contacts in the bottom of the coils and you should be good.

[camo_vw]

my coilpack was dying so i picked up an msd conversion(was already assembled)...
Installed it...


Went to start it, then nothing...had my firing order wrong(followed the normal order just had them on the wrong posts)

took it for a spin(after the throttle body adaptation period) and it was smooth until i was getting on the freeway and buck nasty started. miss firing worse than my oem cracked coilpack(luckily i had all the old bits in my car and swapped it all back on the side of the freeway in the dark). started up. guess i will be looking into why i am having problems tomorrow..

[USMCFieldMP]

This reminds me of why I'm glad I run the Ford Coilpack now. I got so tired of hunting down problems on the MSD's.

[camo_vw]

turned out to be a bad ICM

purrs like a kitten again

[koccorey]

turned out to be a bad ICM

purrs like a kitten again

That's cool man. I have'nt had any problems so far. I bought a set of factory ngk platinum plugs I want to try soon as soon as I learn how to properly gap them wider. I'm thinking about taking the gap to 0.4.

[GTI Jay]

I see many people have been having problems with this setup. I really don't understand why. I installed this setup to my car back in november. Just thought I'd give my input here since I found the msd setup here and used the information and made it work for me. My current setup is Bosch iridium plugs stock gap, autotech shock therapy wires and msd coils with a bracket from vr6coilbracket.com. Very good quality bracket. During the installation I used the msd wire crimping tool to get the msd boots on the end of the shock therapy wires. I can honestly say that everything went perfectly for me. Disassembled the stock coil as described, wired everything up as described. I did NOT use a resistor as mentioned at the beginning of the thread. When everything was all assembeld I reset the ecu by disconnecting the battery and touching the 2 terminals together with ignition in the on position to drain any existing power in the system so the ecu can re learn everything from scratch. Connected the battery and it started instantly. Idled smoother than ever rpms revved and fell faster than ever. Pulls quite a bit harder at higher rpm it seems like. Stock coilpack was replaced once before my last stock coil. I have never had one problem with this. Ever since I installed it about 6,000 miles now I have never once had a problem with a misfire due to the coils/wires after this install. Pretty reliable so far for me. I have to say I am quite happy that I found this thread and successfully did this. Just kindof wondering why people are so reluctant to try it because they are afraid it's unreliable? Quite happy with the performance. I'd say it was worth my time and $$. Don't really see why people are scared of cutting 70$ wires where I cut 150$ wires and I have never once done something like this. It was really quite easy. Thank you very much for this thread. hope I helped someone out.

[8716v]

looking forward to doing this. got my msd's on order. will make my own bracket at work, then on the car it will go.

[tripwalking]

Glad it worked out for you jay! I drove my vr with msds daily too, never had one issue either. It should be completely reliable if installed correctly (just like anything else!).

[dubguy420]

Were can I buy just an Icm?

[atoson]

bump and I will read this topic latter.

[HAPPYnotEMO]

in to track. Might be doing this soon

[HAPPYnotEMO]

I want to note that after pricing it all to "DIY" you cant beat the price on the kit (without wires) from vr6coilbracket.com unless there is something I missed somewhere.

I haven't purchased anything yet, and no I have no association with the owner/friends/relatives.
This is obviously a very good step to make when trying to get the most out of your motor.
Hitting a point where you can start tuning with trial and error with different plugs for the a/f ratio is awesome

[GTI Jay]

I have been reading this quite a bit I might have missed this but what are plugs are you guys running? I currently have Bosch iridium gapped at .055 and it's running great. And as far as iridium plugs go I know they tend to last the longest. What would be the best spark plug for use with the msd coils as far as brand, electrode metal type, heat range? I have no problems whatsoever with my setup currently. Just looking to see if there is anything else I could do to get more out of it. I was thinking about going with the stock ngk plugs and open the gap up but I don't know if it would make much difference. Someone have any info on this?

[K1vr6]

Some here is using the Msd 62153 dis 4 please I need info

[00mk4]

just finish this swap on my mk4 huge improvement!

[tripwalking]

Any pics?

[Skimmer0220]

Success!! Got mine finally done after having the parts for over a year and the ride is much much smoother pics



It's a bit messy and needs to be cleaned up some but it's done


Sent from space through a satellite

[jungle]

i'd really like to see a back to back comparison....it sounds like most of you who have good things to say about this conversion are going from a bad oem coil pack to this one....and well of coarse the car will seem better.

[Skimmer0220]

i'd really like to see a back to back comparison....it sounds like most of you who have good things to say about this conversion are going from a bad oem coil pack to this one....and well of coarse the car will seem better.

My old coil pack ran just fine but it was an upgrad


Sent from space through a satellite

[DigitalN.]

Just finished putting in my MSD kit, super easy to do. I bought the bracket and MSD wire ends from the VR6 bracket site, and all I had to do was make my own wiring since that is easy enough for me. Took me about an all to put it all together, and it runs like a top now! Going to space out my spark plugs this weekend and see how big of a gap I can start running as well.