MSD..... marine or no..??
 

Has anybody used the MSD-6AL over the marine MSD 6m-2L..??? does the 6AL stand up to the marine environments..??

I have been using the MSD Digital 6 Plus box (Pn 6520) since Oct 2006.. no issues yet.. (Knock on wood)..
Also run MSD crank trigger, MSD Pro-Billet distributor. MSD Starter. and lock timing out at 34..

Using them for the past 6 years. Pro billet dist. 6M and rev box. No issues. Freshwater applications on mine...

Wouldn't recommend it . I had a piece break off the circuit board in one and left me stranded. The marine version is filled with a polyurethane resin to keep moisture out and everything in place. It's worth the $150 more.

Been running a 6al box in mine for 10 yrs,never a issue! their all waterproof at some point,i also have a 6al boxunder the hood of my truck mounted to the fan shroud for the past 13+ yrs,itsbeen trough all the salt,rain,snow and no issues.

On the 6AL non marine box the bottom is only riveted to the main case by 4 rivets on the corners. There is no kind of seal whats so ever between the 2.There is no way they could ever be considered water proof. The marine version is completely potted with polyurethane resin so there is no way the circuit board or any of the parts inside can get wet and are secure from vibration and shock. My 6AL failed from shock and vibration in the middle of the first season on the boat. Replaced it with the 6m and have had no problems for 8 years now.

fixx
 

Like i said some what waterproof! :) you must have got a lemon..mines not mounted on the engine,its mounted on the transom away from the vibrations..maybe thats why its lasted so long....Per the tech at msd he told me that all the msd components in the box's are sealed in polyurethane..

Only bad thing with that is that if the box fails, there is no repairing it. It is now a throw away item.

Mine's mounted on the transom also, same place the first one was mounted. Works well there, out of the way. After reading your post I went out to the garage and got down that old box and your right, it looks like they dipped the entire circuit board with all the componets on it in polyurethane. I don't know if you could ever have one of those fixed either.

Ive had both 6m's and 6al's. track records for both for me is about the same. They work most of the time, but sometimes they just fry on you for no apparant reason. I have friends that have had more 6m problems and replaced with 6al and lived.

My experience is use either one of them and either run a ready to run dist. as your mag pickup so that it can be jumpered in the event of a failure or, what I do is keep a spare box in the boat and wire the box with a quick connect harness.

6AL's are fine for marine stuff.

Fixx
 

Im putting 2 of thease on my formula http://www.msdignition.com/Products/...ble_6AL-2.aspx

i can run my motors @ 36deg because i have low compression pistons and when the boost comes in from the prochargers come at 3000 rpm's i can program in the retard..

its kinda like the crane hi6m but you use a laptop..

Man that is cool!!! What will they come up with next!!

Just what I have been looking for. Thanks

Ditto on the 6AL's ....3 years and no issues ..except one time while underway I told my wife to switch the Batteries to "all" ...she thought I said "off" !! Instant stop ....and it did fry one of the boxes ....... Scary part are the distributors ....have you looked inside lately? I dont see how they run after all the corrosion that builds up! The plan for me is to send the Distributors back to MSD ... I think its about 100.00 and they go thru them and replace all replaceable parts ...When I get them back I'm going to clear coat the insides ...m

what Distributor do you use with that box?

yikes .....

The boxes perform identically. The difference is the marine boxes are what's called "Potted" their circuit boards are completely sealed so they cannot be effected by corrosion. The boxes are known to sweat internally depending on where you live and the environment. When the 6AL is exposed to that moisture it cause the small parts internally to corrode and fail. The problem is outside they still look perfect. Secondly by potting the box it meets all spark suppression requirements as per USCG regulations.

I can tell you from selling the "Blue 6M" box it is much more reliable as I have customers replace their "Red 6AL" boxes commonly. I suppose it depends on your application but I can tell you the 6M boxes do survive better from a longevity stand point. They also don't require vibration mounts due to the potted circuit boards.

Best Regards

I Agree with this !!! I had a box failure, luckily I was at the launch with my Old boat. Cigarette Mistress, nothing I could do. No servicable parts. From then on I carried a spare, it was good piece of mine. Clip in the wireing harness, attatch the ground and power and you are ready to go.

Running 6a mounted on the firewall. No issue and run crank trigger. This set up seems very reliable and accurate.

I ask this question because i can get 2 new blaster coils, 2 new 6al boxes,and 2 used 6al boxes for spares for $300.00(im getting them through a friend of mine who has a sponsorship with MOPAR)....the used boxes only have been used on the dyno, and dont have any real run time on them....Thought for that price i could cook a few boxes and still come out ahead.....

heres an idea.buy two marine box,s and use the auto stuff as spares if the harness are the same.i have 8years on a marine msd box and two boats later,and three motors it still works fine.but i always carry a spare and a coil.better be safe than sorry.

there is no way I would pass that deal up. Then you would have two spare boxes, no worries!!