I needed to move my car last night (it's cold here) and it wouldn't start. Found that I had no spark.

I run a crank trigger but I also have a complete MSD billet distributor that I run unplugged. So I moved the crank trigger lead to the distributor and the engine started right up. I also noted that it starts easier on subsequent starts.

The mag pick up on the crank trigger tests good so I have to assume maybe it's not spinning fast enough? Air gap is 0.065" and I run dual batteries with the biggest powermaster starter they make.

With the crank trigger hooked up, I have a lot of backfiring through the carb when trying to start. Have tried adding some crank retard but it doesn't seem to help much.

Ignition box is just a simple digital 6 programmable box currently but I've had similar results with a 7AL2.

Runs good after it starts but having a hell of a time getting it to start. Might try the distributor this weekend rather than the crank trigger but wanted to ask the group if anyone has seen oddities like this on crank trigger systems before and areas I should be looking at.

wires backwards on crank trigger? Get it started with both and check timing with light. I bet they are different.

I verified when I first put it together but I'll check again.

there is a certain ohm reading for a crank trigger ,cant recall right now, but the sensor could still be faulty.my guess is the trigger needs the polarity changed.

correction, 70-90 ohms is what the 'net says. Mine measures 78.5 ohms.

roughly 80 ohms,maybe a bad magnet,or wheel on backwards/

Is the rotor phased correctly?

my timing was always different with distributor
phased for trigger

Is this a new problem?
Distributor locked, or still mechanical advance?
As mentioned, rotor phasing.

Is the crank wheel oriented on the balancer correct? There is a front and back to the wheel and also an arrow to designate direction of rotation. This must be checked and installed correctly same as the wire orientation of the magnetic pick up.

I've been chasing this same issue for a year.

When checking the crank trigger pickup resistance value, it’s wise to also check this value at the ignition control. This will verify what you read at the pickup is very close to the same reading at the ignition.

The 8276 Non-Magnetic Pick-up for MSD Flying Magnet Crank Trigger should check 70 -90 ohms.

Magnetic Pickup, All MSD Billet Distributors checks 500 – 700 ohms.

Following up on this. Had a hell of a bad weekend chasing this ignition issue. Tested the ignition box a half dozen times by shorting the pick up leads with good spark at the coil. Measured the crank trigger pickup as noted above (78.5 ohms) and the mag pickup in the distributor (533 ohms) but neither would provide a signal to the ignition box. Borrowed a distributor from a fellow racer and the engine started and ran fine the rest of the weekend.

I've got a new crank trigger and distributor pickup coming, but I'm having a hard time rationalizing how the parts I have are "bad" when they test "good". What kills these pickups? Everything in question is no more than 3 years old with less than 500 passes for what that's worth.

What's your voltage while cranking?

With my old 6AL I would spin the engine then flip the ignition on. With my new Digital 6 if I do that, it kicks back. I have to switch the ignition on, then crank, no issues.