MP chrome box vs. orange box

So other than the higher rpm range in the chrome box, is there any performance difference using the chrome box over the orange box at the same engine speeds achieved by both?

Chrome box has a better history.

Listen to Stump. it can miss it can pull timing it can fail. it may last for years. YMMV! Do ya feel lucky, well do ya. EDIT I believe the chrome can handle a higher pri current load over time before failing

So other than less incidence of failure and spark at higher RPM, there really is no performance benefit...is that right?

Actually there are reports of "pulled timing". The ECU is supposed to open the circuit from the coil neg primary post right when the signal from the pickup tells it to. for instance at 3k if the pickup triggers at IE 45 deg BTDC (initial+slots+can) & the box is acting uP & delays opening the above circuit until say the crank is at 40 BTDC then the ECU has pulled 5 deg out of it by not doing its job. I ain't sayin the orange box will or it wont but between those reports (few cuz most people dont plot a curve then sub in another box & see if the curve is the same) but between that & the multitude of reported failure I would not purchase one exp since there are alot better ways to go (even if you wanna keep it OE with a Mopar ECU for easy parts availablity

I have heard that the Hi-Rev ECU is a reliable alternative to the Orange box. It is not a Mopar made unit, but it has the same (or very similar) RPM range. Price is nice too.

I have an orange box I bought around 1999 and it is still going strong on my 63. We took it off my sons Dart when we put MSD on his Dart. His Dart ran no different and was no faster with the MSD so I took the orange MP ECU and used it on my 63. I have checked it for high rpm timing retard and have not seen any and its on my 63 now running 10.70's and never missing a beat. I hear all kind of horror stories about the ones bought in the last 5 to 10 years but some still get good servive with them. So if you buy one now it could be hit or miss from what I hear but as I say I have had good luck with them. They used to say not to use the chrome box on a street car that will idle any longer then 30 minutes as the chrome was to be more for racing I believe. But many use it on street cars with good luck.
The funny thing is that at real high rpm's you can actually make more power pulling some timing back out but thats not what the orange box is supossed to do. I would say that which ever you use just carry a spare as I do but I have never used it. There are many guys out there still using the MP ECU's but there are also many other ign setups out there as many just use the good old MSD which is a great ign. Myself I plan to change to the MSD one day just because I like the lower rpm multi-spark it gives as its nice in helping kep plugs clean and the MSD is a very good all around ign. Ron

But,for what it's worth if you do a little research you will find the chrome box was designed as a race unit good for 8,000 rpm,and not recommended for street use.

i think alot of the orange box failures are the result of folks NOT using a ballast resistor with street use.

I said this often the stock factory boxes are just as good I own chrome and orange and both have failed or caused problem MSD forget it another piece of crap for a street car Do they work yes do they fail under constant use or heat YES, Use them on race cars not on something that you are on power tour with if you insist on it carry a spare you will need it sooner then later. The Mopar boxes are just not that reliable esp off shore produced When I had a fleet of Dodge vans during the 80s My rule was if pickup coil failed change the box or vice versa and never had a issue again this was only a rare problem

I have used the Orange and the Chrome box on my '64 Polara with a mild 440. When I sold it to a man in Chicago it had the Chrome box mounted on a stand off mount I made on the pass side of the radiator core support. I had some left over Orange boxes and gave them away to people in the club as I had a Cummins daily driver then.

I started the Ramcharger project and decided I wanted a CD box with a rev limiter built in. I looked at the MSDs and settled on the Mallory version that uses a rotary dial to set the limits. Then I needed to upgrade my '87 D100 from the Lean Burn ($%#@) system it had, so I used it there with a rebuilt '74 Challenger distributor (it had a vacuum advance, the '87 dist did not) to trigger it, with a new Accel coil. Serious overkill, but so far, so good.

On the racer I am going to use the conversion kit that puts a GM HEI 4 pin module on the bottom of the 440 dist and a 50,000 volt E-Coil.

All of these options are better than the Chrysler boxes IMHO

As always, Im in the minority here. I have both the orange and chrome box. The orange box came with my kit years ago back in 2006 or 2007. After converting my RR over, I used that box for quite awhile. Hanging around here I kept reading how poor the orange boxes were and that I should get a chrome box to solve all the world's issues. Well, that chrome box was horrible. The minute I put that thing on my car, it ran for crap. It wouldn't idle at all as the rpm's would swing like a fourth grader at recess. Trying to drive the thing was even worse. It would surge to the point of almost killing the motor to darn near wide open throttle at take off. Id put the orange box back on, and all was well.

I tried this three times to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong on the install. Three times I had the same results....That chrome box was/is unusable with my car. I have no idea why either of course.

A couple of years ago I bought one of the new Rev-n-ator boxes at Carlisle. So far I haven't had any issues. I didn't experience any of the claimed hp or mileage increases, but the car runs just fine with it installed. For now, I have the Rev-n-ator installed if for nothing else because of the built in limiter. My original orange box now lives in the trunk as a spare.

You're fine bro, actually you just had a bad/defective box that happened to be a chrome one

Chrome box has a better history? BS. It's so funny reading all this "X" box vs "Y" box and then someone chimes in that MSDs are pieces of crap, etc etc etc.

IF you go back 10-12 years the box that was giving the problems was the chrome box. I remember plenty of posts about chrome boxes that barely made it around the block before failing. At that point the orange box was supposedly "better" than the chrome because it didn't fail nearly as often. The chrome box also supposedly pulled timing at high rpm. "Crap", they called it.

Now the chrome box has miraculously made a comeback as the better box, and it's the orange box that barely makes it around the block before failing, and pulls timing.

The ballast resistor question is also specious. I bet there are more guys trying to run a CD box WITH the ballast resistor, than those running an orange or chrome box WITHOUT the ballast resistor. More paper excuses.

I ran an orange box for years, bought it in 1984. In around 1997 or so I thought something was wrong with my orange box. I bought a $40 used MSD6 on Ebay and installed it, being careful to wire it according to the MSD instructions that are everywhere on the Net. I used the Jacobs coil I had used since 1984, also wired the way MSD said to do. It's still running. My only problem has been oxidation in the pickup coil wiring plug.

About 1998 or so the ignition in my '93 Suburban went south so I replaced the distributor with an Accel Billetech and the ignition with an Accel 300+ that I bought brand new for around $110. It has lasted around 130,000 miles bolted to the firewall in an engine compartment that runs so hot you cannot hold your hand against the hood after a hundred miles.

If one has to have a box that uses the Chrysler Electronic Ignition wiring, I'd skip the MP boxes, also any foreign made replacement ignition box, and go straight to either the RevNnator or else FBO's box. I like the looks of the FBO box because he is using a Daytona Sensors circuit board and they're a pretty good company.

Regarding the pulling timing issue, yes years ago it was discovered that cars would ET better if some timing was pulled at high rpm, don't ask me why. But reading the Webpage of the dude who rebuilds and upgrades analog MSD boxes, I seem to recall that he replaces slow transistors with faster ones. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that the transistor used as a switch in the MP boxes is one of the slower ones.

To summarize: I am happy with my aftermarket multispark CD ignitions and will leave my Chrysler factory stuff on the shelf. Maybe someday some restorer will want to pay big bucks for it.

R.

In twenty years of driving...

And thousands of miles...


In all types of conditions...

(Bumper to bumper 90 degree+ heat;sustained high-speed runnin';the drag strip...)



I've lost exactly one orange ECU...

Interesting indeed.

Thanks guys.

And to problem orange box started in the 90's with a vendor change,never had an earlier 90's or older one fail.

When I purchased my car it had a chrome box on it..no issues...I later switched to a orange box and there is no difference what so ever on this street car...My 72 440 RR has a 5 prong block...My old 72 400 had a 4 prong block and I can find nobody than knows the difference and why ??

The funny thing is I started with muscle cars and drag racing around 1974 and was using and Acell dual pont dist in my 340 Dart up until I rolled it in 1982. It ran a best of 11.90's and after that I stared using the MP ign box's. And to this day I have never had a Mopar ign ECU box or a ballast resister fail on me. I always carry spares but have never used them. Ron

The original early (72 ish) electronic setups used a 5 pin ECU with a 4 terminal (dual) ballast. later kit (orange/chrome/gold ECU's had the start circuit combined inside the ECU & no longer needed the extra ~5 ohm half of the "dual" ballast. Aftermarket ECU's are avail in 4 or 5 pin & the 5th pin is a dummy (has no continuity) & was introduced cuz people making parts purchases were complaining that it was the wrong one (comebacks before they even installed it which if they did install it they woulda found that it worked) cuz a 4 terminal (dual) ballast system will work with a 4 or a 5 pin ECU but the parts mfrs just added a fifth pin to stop the complaints/comebacks. An OE 5 pinner ECU with a functioning 5th pin (has some resistance in the red/green wire pin) does require a 4 terminal "dual" ballast. Not sure if this is what you are after but I've been gone all day & I miss my computer time

Fwiw,I had a new FBO box that was dead 1st time I tried to use it, but it had been on my shelf for a yr or 2 so I just shrugged it off, put a buddies used Orange on for now.

Reading these threads & still haven't decided which was to go,...maybe back to MSD.

Maybe one in the trunk too!

Back in the 80's it was joked about how I could rebuilt my engine on the side of the road from the spare parts in the trunk.

Thanks for that reply..! much appreciated..

To have a really good backup get a point dist to carry no more MSD or Mopar worry's

I never forgot the day that I was at the track running low to mid 15s and really getting annoyed the car ran fine with the MSD but refused to really pull Got pissed of and disconnected it and went to point dist. The car responded with a 14.7 and a increase of 4-5 mph I assumed the MSD was bad and sent back for repair got it backed double checked wiring to run in 15s again once more disconnected and ran a 14.6 No more MSD period By the way the MSD was on car due to melt down no start of a old chrome box.

My old catalog says orange and chrome street but the gold finned is race.
I put a chrome on but do not do street. BTW It does rev

Whaaaat? FBO failed? Did you get a replacement or give up on it?

It was as much as 2 yrs since I bought it, so I didn't bother. I mint to call to see about having it repaired & he might've even cut me some slack. But I'm so close to getting this resto back on the road that once I clear a hurdle I'm onto the next.

I keep telling myself I can come back and fix this & that after I get this thang rolling, It's only been 32 yrs since it's done that. ...I hope I'm not lying to myself.

I thought the box gets full power and the ballast resistor only cuts power to the coil?

Im sure FBO would send you a replacement for goodwill sakes. Supposed to have a 3 yr warranty.
Now I have 2nd thoughts on FBO.

was just told by Mansini there is no difference in the chrome or orange

The early Mopar chrome race ECU with the blue heat sinks where for drag racing only, not continous duty street use according to Mopar back in the day, pre 1980. The newer (after 198 ?) chrome Direct connection and Mopar Performance street chrome boxes where designed and sold as street units

According to MP, the Chrome box would have a higher rpm limit than the orange box if the right ballast resistor is used. The unit I always had fail on me in the past was the gold box. I can't remember how many of those pieces of crap I threw out while at the track. I always went back to my chrome box (before I went to MSD, anyway). In fact I found my chrome box the other day. Probably haven't used it in almost 20 years. Still works!

Are they the same price? If not why?

Sorry to hear about the lame FBO Parts.
I had a poorly assembled distributor and a coil that snapped the terminal while snugging down their "proprietary and required" Coil.
Found out that the owner must be a close relative of Richard Sherman since he was about as accountable and cordial during my report!

I've had success with Mopar boxes as long as they are Grounded well.
I've also used Revinators and had immediate success unlike the bad FBO experience.

Running a Chrome on the 65 Coronet Convert I just Resuscitated! All is well.

Correct, but with running no ballast that means the coil pri circuit is flowing more power and the ECU has to open/close that circuit & deal with more voltage than it was designed for & the higher voltage can but not neccessarily make an ECU fail quicker. You have ALOT of leeway on what you can get by with (Carry a spare always!).

Thank-You...