Msd Pro mag 44 question

If the batery goes down to 10 volts during a run on a blown hemi with msd 44 and the retard box. Will the engine performance suffer? I mean eventhought there is no engine miss , could it cause the engine to loose power? I always felt that as long as it started then we were ok!! please advise. Thanks!

 

Mag

If No One Has Any Answers Try Dave Leahey 740-362-0251

 

8-volts

Don't know about 10 volts but runs like crap with 8 volts. I now use a Milwakee 14.4 volt battery with a special made lock on adapter. Lasts forever with out going down but you can slip in in your 3/8 impact charger when ever you want for a quick charge.

 

Magneto's do not use any type of battery to run them. They self generate power using the genterator. A battery is only needed for the program & will not effect the spark.

 

Thanks guys!
Well let me tell you, during that day (this is a pro mod car) we had made 6 hits (3 to half track) and had started the car close to 10 times . After the 2 hit we started to check and run between 45-60 minutes and we DIDN'T charge the battery. So as luck would have it , On our last last I was going for a full run and the car was weak and didn't rpm anything over 7,500 rpm!

This is a pro mag 44 with retard box and capacitor but our voltaje to the unit after ( I never checked before) the run was 9.8 - 10 volts.

Nitrohawk would you please elaborate? seems you know more on this subject! Thanks guys!

 

It is true that the magneto generates the spark on its own. However most
are using a retard box and either a six shooter or one of MSD's other retard boxes. That is where the trouble lies. When the voltage drops that supplies the six shooter or retard box it causes problems that result in poor performance. Without the retard box you wouldn't need a battery. If you are using a grounding type shutoff switch it is ok to run the capacitor. If however you are shuting the engine on and off with a switch to the retard box never use the capacitor as it will delay the switch opening by 4-5 sec. and the engine will continue to run for this amount of time after the switch is turned off. I use the power to the six shooter and retard box and have for a couple of years to turn engine off. It will stop the motor dead even if it is in the middle of a run. I checked with MSD and was told by them using this method was ok. You can use a std. 2 pole good quality switch which is much more reliable and less costly than a high amp grounding switch. Just my preference. To answer your question though it has been my experience that voltage as low as 8 to 9 volts will cause poor performance. Charge it up and make a run. See if that solves the problem. It did for me.