Ignition Box = No Spark

[chree]

The short version is I installed a new Holley Annihilator ignition box with custom harness for the LT1 and the car won't start.

• Low mile '94 LT1, stock with headers, in a '86 Volvo 740 Wagon with Dr. K wiring harness
• Installing an ignition to help MPG hopefully
• Yes, I should have bought MSD, but $75 < $237; also I've used a similar Holley box for years on my El Camino
• Simple installation, two plugs (puts the ignition box wiring between the coil and the factory harness) red power & black ground
• I also installed a new coil that came with the Holley box, it is supposed to be a capacative discharge specific coil
• The car runs when I switch the harness back to stock
• The car runs better with the new coil, maybe it will fry my ignition module?

Holley's instructions say if no spark:

• Check connection to coil (ok)
• Defective Coil (no since the car runs fine with it wired in stock mode)
• Coil ground defective or poor (isn't the coil on an LT1 grounded through the housing?)
• Poor spark plug grounds (again, car runs fine in stock mode)
• Low voltage during cranking (?)
• Defective ignition box

Any help appreciated.

[chree]

Would you believe the female pigtail that plugged into the factory coil pigtail was wired backwards? This was a new harness made by Holley specifically for LT1 applications. I traced where each wire went by testing for resistance with my multimeter.

• The ignition-on power wire: red on the box, red coming out of the harness, should connect to the pink on the OE harness.
• The trigger wire: white on the box (separate from the weatherpack connector), black coming out of the harness, should connect to the white trigger wire on the OE harness.

I had to cut the harness cover off and cut/solder/shrink wrap the correct connections. The car fires right up and I noticed improved throttle tip-in and the engine seems smoother.

I will say Woody at Holley tech was helpful to confirm the "tap the white wire to ground" test would work on the Holley box.

The scientific method works!