MSD 44 Grounding ???

At our last race I had a guy looking at our setup KB Hemi with a MSD Mag 44 and he told me that I should have the actual generator and or mag drive grounded with a strap or wire going to a good ground? I didn't see anything in the instructions showing this. Never had an ignition problem either. What's your thoughts?? Thanks

 

Thanks Mike. I have that done but was just wondering if I was missing something? He said something like, everything being aluminum made for a poor ground? Just checking. Thanks

 

I Was Wondering About Grounding The Heads To The Chassis Myself,did It On My Other Car, And Just Have One Head Grounded Now.anyone Seen Any Problems From Lack Of Ground Wires??

 

Looks like we'll finally be stepping up to a 44 from a 20. We don't have the heads chassis grounded because the owner of the car insists the engine is mounted in the car with a motor plate. Anyone agree with him?

I also notice a few months ago that Mike Janis's promod has some sort of plug wires with unisulated braided ground wires attached to each plug boot. Anyone know anything about them?

 

Looks like we'll finally be stepping up to a 44 from a 20. We don't have the heads chassis grounded because the owner of the car insists the engine is mounted in the car with a motor plate. Anyone agree with him?

I also notice a few months ago that Mike Janis's promod has some sort of plug wires with unisulated braided ground wires attached to each plug boot. Anyone know anything about them?

 

On the Top Fuel car I ground each head to the frame and each head to the coil.

No grounding problems for us.

EDB

 

Sounds like Nology plug wires.

 

We tried these "grounded" wires the dyno on a 750 hp inj engine and lost 20 plus hp. They gave us our money back!

 

We have always been under the impression that Nology wires didn't do what they stated. However, we will have our custom ignition bench test system setup soon, so we should be able to see just what they do or don't do in terms of volts, amps, duration, etc. It would seem that even if the plug wires do what they state, it would probably be in the opposite direction to what is needed for some engines, as generally a long spark is important for methanol and nitro.
Clint Gray
TFX Engine Technology Inc.
(Combustion Pressure Analyzers)
www.tfxengine.com

 

Well right now we're only guessing these are the wires Janis is using. Whatever he's using apparently works as he's one of the quickest and fastest promods out there. I think he may be #1 IHRA in points? Consistant 6.0's anyway!

I was hoping someone would have answered my question about the front motor plate bolted to the block and chassis is good enough of a ground for a promag 44. We've run a 20 amper like this for a few years with no problem.

 

I understand the use of a ground wire from chassis to motor , but why to put a groung wire between the 2 cylinder heads ?
20 or more heads bolts screwed through the block are not enough good conductor ?

Claude

 

quote

From the MSD web site.
quote;
"If you have noticed strange line-like markings or evidence of electrical arcing on you head gaskets, pistons or bearings, chances are you may have a magneto grounding problem. Visualizing the secondary current flow, it would start at the generator, pass through the points box to the coil, through the cap, rotor, wires and end up at the spark plugs in the heads. It should then complete the path back to coil (-), which is ground. However, if the path between the cylinder heads and coil (-) is not optimized, the current will generally find or make it's own path to complete the circuit. Often it is assumed that motor mounts and head studs will provide adequate ground when they really don't. To address this issue, we now suggest that both heads be grounded to a single point via a braided ground. This point should be the same as that shared by both coil (-) leads."

 

To expound on Mike...

I'm not an electrical engineer nor do I play one on TV.

But, let's put this into simpler perspective and use something we all know and love... the electric chair.

Lets view the victims head as to where the plug mates to the wire.

Lets view the calves as the ground strap.

If we don't have a good ground to the calves, we wind up passing current outside of the body rather than through it, and the victim cooks instead of dying.

If we wet the calves and head to promote current flow (proper grounding techniques), the current moves through the body and we get the proper result (no cooking, just death).

So, the idea with multiple good grounding is to ensure that the current goes where we want, rather than the path of least resistance.

 

old post

i have twin super mags . how far do i need to go with this grounding exercise or is it only for msd 44 guys......thanks peter

 

Grounding for mags

It is a wise thing to do for ALL mags.

Grounding for a smaller mag (20, 12, etc) is even more critical because of the lower current output. A deficiency (resistance) in the grounding system affects current flow, and with a small mag it will be more prevalent than a 44.

Make sure you use a very good grade of wire, with brass terminals, and crimp them properly.

Paul.