Mopar Performance Distributor Feedback

[John Milner]

Thought I’d post my experience with the new Mopar Performance distributors. I bought a new one for my 440 about 6 months ago. It looked to be a nice piece. It did work nicely right out of the box. However, my car recently wouldn’t start the other day when I was going to take it out for a drive. After checking the ignition switch, wiring bulkhead connection, ignition box, ballast resistor and coil, that led me to check the pickup coil out in my new distributor with less than 1,000 miles on it. I checked the gap and it was right at .008 as it should have been. So, I picked up my old original distributor off of the floor from my 440, took the pickup coil out of it and installed in the Mopar Performance distributor. After setting the gap and re-installing the distributor it fired right up and sounds great. I’m not impressed with the quality of the “new” electronics in these Mopar Performance distributors at all. I’m just thankful the car was sitting at my house when the pickup coil went out.

[Kern Dog]

I have had similar problems with mine. Randomly, it fails to start but will the just start up and run normally. I've had times where I had no fire to the plugs and changed the coil... no difference, the ballast resistor, no difference....changed the ECM, no difference but when I swapped in another distributor, it fired right up.
It is almost enough to warrant me tossing this stuff in the trash and buying an MSD or other setup.

[Nacho-RT74]

Have you tested the pickup coil or its Plug? Coil must be read around 150-900 ohms althought they use to read 250-300 ohms per what I have found.

Sometimes the plug doesn't make good contact. Or could be simply wire broken down the cover at pigtail.

Dunno the late units, but sometime ago they were adjustable mech advance ( made by Mallory ). So worths the effort to replace the pickup coil if that was the problem. Is true late electronic replacement parts are not close in quality than the older ones.

[John Milner]

It does get frustrating buying new parts just to have them go out in short order. If this one goes out I may spend the money and go the MSD route myself or just stick an original points distributor in it.  I understand your frustration Kern Dog.   

Nacho, I did not test the pickup coil's ohms.  I probably should have but didn't.  I bet I plugged and un plugged it from my wiring harness a dozen times thinking that might be a bad connection or something. The pickup coil looks fine physically.  It doesn't look burned or any of the wires going to it melted or anything. It retained its .008 gap just fine.  After testing everything else in my ignition system that was all that was left and all that it could be.  I just stuck an old original 70's Mopar pickup coil in there for the time being and it seems to work just fine.  I barely touched the key when it fired back up. 

The distributor itself looks fine.  I will say that the vacuum advance was pretty cheaply made.  It broke in short order.  When I was adjusting the timing for the first time I loosened the hold down clamp some and grabbed the advance with one hand to bump the timing.  The advance can broke apart.  Probably my fault but the distributor wasn't all that tight.  I ended up using the one off of my old original distributor.  It was noticeably made better and works fine.

So, if anyone buys a new one of these, I would recommend being ready to change out a few things on it in short order.  It might just be better to spend the money for an MSD or a better product.

[b5blue]

Mine dumped also, soon enough to return. Had one setup leave me stranded on a curve at the entry of a bridge. (Exact spot where jerks can't see while speeding in and out of traffic.) Bought Firecore RTR that runs flawless.

[maxwellwedge]

I had the same problem with a Firecore as the OP did with the Mopar one.
After checking and changing everything - I put the old points distributor in and it fired up immediately.
Where there is electronics, there is always the possibility of gremlins....and not the AMC kind.

[Nacho-RT74]

the pickup coil never gets burnt on the word extension ( too minimal voltage running through... milivolts ), the only fail they can get is a broken wire along the trace from plug up to the inside of the plastic assembly... for whatever reason.

Firecore distributor ( per what I have seen on pics somebody posted ) is mostly the same pice than a MP piece with just ONE diference, the shaft bushing is easier to service because they got a plate to remove and get acces to replace the bushing without any special tool. That's all! I bet the pickup coil supplier can be whoever around. Maybe even the same? dunno. Electronics are nowdays a lottery.

[myk]

Been dealing with this on my '97 Camaro Z28; GM/AC Delco stopped making the original distributor almost twenty years ago, and all of the aftermarket distributors are a very bad lottery.  But, I thought the Firecore distributors for our cars were the bees knees?  I remember replacing my MP distributor with a Firecore unit a few years ago and it made quite the difference in startup, response, etc...

[b5blue]

I have the one that has the small black box coil. Modern coil with no ECU=

[Nacho-RT74]

Been dealing with this on my '97 Camaro Z28; GM/AC Delco stopped making the original distributor almost twenty years ago, and all of the aftermarket distributors are a very bad lottery.

good to know, so we can stop blame CHRYSLER distributors and ECUs quality, being is a generalized situation.

  But, I thought the Firecore distributors for our cars were the bees knees?  I remember replacing my MP distributor with a Firecore unit a few years ago and it made quite the difference in startup, response, etc...

as mentioned, a lottery.