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454xl msts....

Ply

Ply

Contributing Member
I'm running a pair of 94 Carb'd 454s with MSTS....

Has anyone ever decided to no longer use the MSTS factory/stock system and instead replace it with an aftermarket Electronic ignition system??

(Just an idea floated by someone I know that is very well respected in my area, and someone that I also have a lot of trust in, very smart man)
 
If you suspect the MSTS computer has gone; you thought process is on track but a bit extreme.....the MSTS is just a simple ECU controlling a Delco Voyager (EST) distributor. The EST setup is used by many as a 'replacement' electronic system. So, you can eliminate the MSTS and just use the default advance curve in the EST module by just disconnecting the four wire connection at the distributor....if it runs ok, the long term fix would be to install a connector with the wires removed (or snipped and sealed to prevent shorts and corrosion) to keep the connector pins protected from the environment.
 
makomark said:
If you suspect the MSTS computer has gone; you thought process is on track but a bit extreme.....the MSTS is just a simple ECU controlling a Delco Voyager (EST) distributor. The EST setup is used by many as a 'replacement' electronic system. So, you can eliminate the MSTS and just use the default advance curve in the EST module by just disconnecting the four wire connection at the distributor....if it runs ok, the long term fix would be to install a connector with the wires removed (or snipped and sealed to prevent shorts and corrosion) to keep the connector pins protected from the environment.
Click to expand...

Mark,

Can't thank you enough for your input. You've been more than helpful in the past and this one is huge because frankly there are not a LOT of people who are real familiar with the MSTS specifically....

Mark... I love the idea. Let me ask you this though.. I have Carb'd motors and we (My mechanic and I) both sort of feel a lot of the MSTS features are overkill in a non injected motor?? do you agree??

If I bypass the MSTS I'd essentially be losing a MAP sensor, Knock Sensor and the HEI Module right??? did I miss anything you can think of?

Thanks again, Mark!!!
 
Overkill..??? not really as there aren't that many features..... IMO, it was an early attempt at what became the spark control approach as in the MEFI-1 &-2 ECU's....If you disconnect the MSTS, what you lose is MAP & KNOCK sensor inputs to the spark advance curve - what you are left with is the default curve of the HEI module itself. The MAP sensor lets the MSTS module change the ignition timing based on perceived load and the KNOCK sensor tells MSTS if it has gone too far with the advance. These are just optimizations that should give a minor increases in efficiency....I doubt you will miss them...
 
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