thunderbolt ,alternative,,help
 

haveing trouble with the thunderbolt ignition,i want it gone but what should i use instedd???i have a 454 motor i have a hei dis out of a race car and some msd stuff none of is for marine please help? thanks

msd marine
ignition

The Thunderbolt is not a bad ingnition and I am surprised you are having problems. That being said, I have an MSD billet distributor and MSD electronic ignition box. Several will tell you the boxes fail without warning. I have had no issues however.

the problem is the plug that goes into the ecm i think is what its called (littlr black box)most time i have no spark when i wiggle the plug i get spark the motor will start but it runs for 5 min then starts breaking up and sometimes dies

Is your Thunderbolt module grounded? Here you go Way better than msd and half the price and only needs one wire to run.

http://www.performancedistributors.com/marinedui.htm

i have that same one,is that what i should use?and whats the timeing on a 454 330 hp?

The only thing I've found to be more reliable than the Tbolt IV is a DUI from Performance Distributors.

Straight up HEI

+1

x2 I have used the DUI for 2 full seasons works perfect. MSD corrodes and rust.

The Thunderbolt ignition is really a great marine ignition system. All you have to do is replace the distributor pick up's and caps every 2-3 years. We raced with the standard Thunderbolt IV for 10+ years and never had a any issues. They should perform flawlessly to minimum of 6000 RPM.
IMO, the MSD system is a step backward in performance and reliability.
Ben

I replaced mine with HEI marine units. So far so good.

Last 5 yrs. ran the DUI w/o a burb. Call them and they set up the timing on dist. for your application. Best dist. out there.

Pulled the t-bolt IV from my 7.4/330 and used it with my ZZ502 for 4 years. Now it's in my 557ci along with a Crane box. Engine runs like a top.