Two part 8973 question...

First question. If you kill the 12v to the 8973 box, does it kill the engine?

Second question. If it kills the engine, why do we use monster buttons, relays, air-kills, etc... to shut off the mag?

-Brian

 

Mike,

Maybe it's just me, but this doesn't sound like unreserved support for that method. I know you use a relay and a switch cover. Do you have reservations about killing it with the 8973?

-Brian

 

Thanks Mike,

Your input on the 8973 has made it really simple to use. We just finished our first year and it worked perfectly. Thanks for the help.

-Brian

 

We leave the red button in the car simply because it may be easier to hit in an emergency, with big gloves on, but also when you need to start the motor on the mag pickup for engine timing setup I am not sure if the 12v switch would shut it off.

 

You guys did bring up a point that occurred to me as well. From time to time I have started the engine with the MSD disconnected, mag only, for diagnostics purposes. In that event I would have to fabricate a shutoff and install it between the terminals on the coil before startup.

As for hitting the switch. I fabricated a switch panel that spans the entire center of my butterfly steering wheel. As a test, I put one of Mike's aircraft style guards on my Master 12v switch in the wheel. With my -20 gloves on, I manipulated all the controls, released and re-acquired the wheel with each hand, and whipped the wheel lock to lock as fast as I could. No interference with the guard. Then to test shutting off the car with gloves on I closed my eyes and swiped my hand between the handles of the wheel. Can't miss.

As an added benefit, the push-pull master cutoff on the back of the car now interrupts the entire 12v system instead of just grounding the mag. (Yes, I was skirting the rule just a little).

I like this arrangement much better.

-Brian

 

killing 8973

I'm in the process of wiring my car right now and I did both. You have to run 12v to the relay to make it work and you send 12v to the 8973. I wired both of these things back to the overhead panel so that I have a safety in case one of the two fails. No time on the big end for worries. Take safety over this small weight save anytime!!

 

As for hitting the switch. I fabricated a switch panel that spans the entire center of my butterfly steering wheel. As a test, I put one of Mike's aircraft style guards on my Master 12v switch in the wheel. With my -20 gloves on, I manipulated all the controls, released and re-acquired the wheel with each hand, and whipped the wheel lock to lock as fast as I could. No interference with the guard. Then to test shutting off the car with gloves on I closed my eyes and swiped my hand between the handles of the wheel. Can't miss.

Did you go Zoom Zoom while you were doing this?



-Brian[/QUOTE]

 

You know damn well I did! Not only did I go vroom, vroom, but I actually put on my jacket, buckled myself in, and went through an entire startup/burnout/run/shutdown pulling all the handles and pushing all the buttons! If I was thinking ahead I would have practiced a top-end interview when I got out!

-Brian