edist

[SeattleSy#1255]

anyone running the edist? i'm curious about this product and how it works on our applications since we have a mechanical dissy. what are its advantages and disadvantages? does this help elliminate much of the ignition problems we get we these things?

any feedback would be cool.

TIA

 

[Divergent Lightning]

Re: edist

you wouldn't need to change out the cap and rotor ever again. which is a plus.

 

[SeattleSy#1255]

Re: edist

you wouldn't need to change out the cap and rotor ever again. which is a plus.

how does it work, i'm totally unfamiliar with this product...(looking it up as we speak)

 

[JSM]

Re: edist

Jeff, you need to talk to Paul.

Although he doesn't have it running yet, he has all the pieces to put it on.

Other guy is Nolan, as he is the one that developed it, got it going originally. He stays busy though.

 

[SeattleSy#1255]

Re: edist

thanks Jeff, I posted on NWSTP...we'll see what paul says.

 

[skwayb]

Re: edist

Jim Sloan has it up and running on his also. I just need to find some time to get it all on there. Here are all the parts you need:

Price/Part Breakdown:
eDist for LS1 Coils - $325
LS1 Coils - $180 new or $100 used (Get the ones for the LS1 truck. Suppose to be higher output)
V6 Mallory Crank Trigger - $275 (Been told by Nolan and Jim that you have to remachine the mounting holes to be offset another 50 degrees cause you run out of adjustment on the crank trigger sensor to get it set at TDC)
MSD Cam Sync - $125, you could use the Vortec V6 Dist that outputs a cam sync signal instead.
6.25" Harmonic Balancer- ~$275 You need a smaller balancer for the Crank trigger to fit on. You will also need to machine the snout of the balancer the thickness of the crank trigger to drop it far enought back to keep the crank pulley lined up.
Spark Plug wires - $50 (I got the MSD LS1 truck wires, cut the wires to length and replaced the ends that go on the spark plugs with ones that match our application)
Various wiring and connectors - $35 - $40
Machining of Balancer and welding of LS1 coil mounts - $100

So you are looking at about $1300 - $1400 for the set up. You wouldn't have to replace a cap and rotor ever again and you could run higher boost with a bigger spark gap for alky. I still need to put it on my Ty so I don't know all the ins and outs of the wiring yet.

Call me if you have any questions.

 

[BigAl...]

Re: edist

Don't use the MSD 8514 cam sync! I spoke with John Meaney and he told me that he spun one on his ditributor fixture and it went out sync in a really bad way. you're better off using the vortec deal.

BigAl...

btw the purpose of the edist is to split the ign output to more than one ignitor/coil. in our case the best option is the ls1 coils.

 

[leroy]

Re: edist

I'm using the msd cam sync and it works okay. The waveforms aren't as crisp as the vortec distributors, though. I've tried both, and can't tell the difference from a performance or driveability perspective.

Jim

 

[Syclone#892]

Re: edist

If you look at my website in my sig under new sy pics you can see the trigger wheel that Nolan used. If you look at it you will notice 3 sets of holes, the middle are the factory ones and on one side are Nolans and the other side are mine. I had to redo the whel holes and the trigger bracket because of the atr headers. If you look at the pics you should be able to see what I did to make it work with the headers incase anyone plans on doing this with headers. I haven't ran the truck since installing that stuff yet since I just got the trans back and I need to remake one coil bracket since I still have the vacuum booster.

Good luck with the stuff and Nolan defiantly knows what hes talking about with this stuff I'm sure he could answer any questions.

 

[SeattleSy#1255]

Re: edist

how does the oil pump work without the shaft of the dissy driving it?

 

[bigtime]

Re: edist

how does the oil pump work without the shaft of the dissy driving it?

Thats what the MSD part is for.. Drives the oil pump amd supplies the cam signal.

 

[SeattleSy#1255]

Re: edist

Thats what the MSD part is for.. Drives the oil pump amd supplies the cam signal.

oh ok, i couldn't picture it...totally new to me this thing is.

 

[TheNeek]

Re: edist

Blast from the past.

I've read a bunch of posts about this eDist, and crank trigger ignitions on this forum. I also noticed we have a few machinests lingering around here. From what I gather (and correct me if I'm wrong). We need something that gives half as many pulses as the distributor ignition "points". What about a custom cap and rotor that instead of distributing spark simply mimicks a cam sensor. With a custom cap we could slot the hold down holes so that cam timing could be adjusted. I read that was a big down fall for making a cap and rotor cam sensor. I have a MSD cap and rotor at my house with which I could measure. And SolidWorks Pro 2002 to create some solid models from. All I need are dimensions from a cam (I'd assume mag pickup) sensor that would work well with the setup. Just thinking outloud basically. I work with AutoCAD at work and did a rough 2-D layout of the "points" and sensors. Hatched items are for the cap and rotor. Is this the correct number of pickups for the cap?

thoughts? comments? I can rough out some 3D stuff if interest is peaked.

 

[leroy]

Re: edist

Go to: http://www.sunflower.com/~leroy/edist.htm and scroll down to "Cam Sync Do it Yourself" to see what is needed.

I was thinking more along the lines of a brass rod that can be attached to the top of the distributor shaft, and drilled for a magnet. The cap would have to be modified, but we wouldn't need those spark plug terminals anyway. The brass rod would have to be adjustable on the distributor shaft to get the cam sync right. A set screw would probably be sufficient to hold it on the distributor shaft, and allow it to be adjustable.

Jim

 

[TheNeek]

Re: edist

Go to: http://www.sunflower.com/~leroy/edist.htm and scroll down to "Cam Sync Do it Yourself" to see what is needed.

I was thinking more along the lines of a brass rod that can be attached to the top of the distributor shaft, and drilled for a magnet. The cap would have to be modified, but we wouldn't need those spark plug terminals anyway. The brass rod would have to be adjustable on the distributor shaft to get the cam sync right. A set screw would probably be sufficient to hold it on the distributor shaft, and allow it to be adjustable.

Jim

Good stuff Leroy. I've never seen that document before. The brass rod idea that you're proposing would require multiple hall effect sensors though would it not? I'm trying to get an idea of how many pulses, per revolution of the distributor we need to have a proper Cam signal. If the cap and rotor could be made wouldn't the eDist use be simplified quite a bit? No crank wheel, or harmonic balancer required. I'm only thinking of machining a cap and rotor for reliabilities sake.

 

[leroy]

Re: edist

Good stuff Leroy. I've never seen that document before. The brass rod idea that you're proposing would require multiple hall effect sensors though would it not? I'm trying to get an idea of how many pulses, per revolution of the distributor we need to have a proper Cam signal. If the cap and rotor could be made wouldn't the eDist use be simplified quite a bit? No crank wheel, or harmonic balancer required. I'm only thinking of machining a cap and rotor for reliabilities sake.

One magnet and sensor is all that's needed for cam sync. One pulse per revolution is needed to identify the first coil to fire. The distributor already has a pickup coil (6 signals per revolution) that can be used in place of the crank trigger.

MSD sells the magnet and sensor.

Jim

 

[SeattleSy#1255]

Re: edist

One magnet and sensor is all that's needed for cam sync. One pulse per revolution is needed to identify the first coil to fire. The distributor already has a pickup coil (6 signals per revolution) that can be used in place of the crank trigger.

MSD sells the magnet and sensor.

Jim

Hey Jim, good to you see you got it working...I want to see Pauls when he is done with his out west. What does this cost, i'm guessing 1000-1300 barkpark?

 

[leroy]

Re: edist

Hey Jim, good to you see you got it working...I want to see Pauls when he is done with his out west. What does this cost, i'm guessing 1000-1300 barkpark?

Your guess is pretty good. I don't have the exact total.

Paul helped me when I was struggling with mine.

Jim

 

[ghettosled]

Re: edist

i was told by MSD that their hall effect cam sync gives two pulses every 360 deg of crankshaft rotation instead of one every 720 that most people use to know when the motor is at TDC, and when to fire the injectors.. I think this was the reason my oddfire was double firing one bank of injectors, so i decided to make my own magetic pickup with one of MSD's mag pickup kits.. The magnet in the msd is clearly positive on one side, however since they drill all the way through the shaft it still sees some sort of AC current on the other side, thus explaining the 2 pulses every 720 deg of crank rotation.. i guess it still works with some ecu's out there but i know it doesnt work too well with the electromotive, and my buddy had the same issue on his SBC with a gen vii DFI.

but i may be totally wrong as 3 out of the 10 tech's at MSD told me it was one pulse every 720.. I just went with what the majority said, since they are completely worthless with any tech on that pickup..

 

[leroy]

Re: edist

i was told by MSD that their hall effect cam sync gives two pulses every 360 deg of crankshaft rotation instead of one every 720 that most people use to know when the motor is at TDC, and when to fire the injectors.. I think this was the reason my oddfire was double firing one bank of injectors, so i decided to make my own magetic pickup with one of MSD's mag pickup kits.. The magnet in the msd is clearly positive on one side, however since they drill all the way through the shaft it still sees some sort of AC current on the other side, thus explaining the 2 pulses every 720 deg of crank rotation.. i guess it still works with some ecu's out there but i know it doesnt work too well with the electromotive, and my buddy had the same issue on his SBC with a gen vii DFI.

but i may be totally wrong as 3 out of the 10 tech's at MSD told me it was one pulse every 720.. I just went with what the majority said, since they are completely worthless with any tech on that pickup..

I tested the MSD cam sync. It pulses once every 720 degrees (360 distributor degrees). There is a rising and falling edge of the pulse. Either edge can be used to trigger the eDist. A vortec distributor gives a lot crisper signal.

Jim