Ignition coils

[merqury]

I just wanted to ask how long do these actually last? I have been through about three of them in the past 1 year!! They are pretty expensive to. I was coming back from work and all of sudden the car started to hesitate. I came home and just sprinkled some water where the coils are and there you go, the 3 and 4 cylinder coil is gone again. Is there something else that might be wrong? Keep in my mind I have new wires and new plugs!

 

[TooFast]

Where are you buying your coils. I would look for the problem that is causing the coils to go bad. What spark plug & wires are you running. Make sure they are getting good conections at the plug. I would also test the wire and see if the voltage the coils are being fed is in spec.

 

[poonman]

yes he is right about your coils, if you got them from autozone take them back. they dont make good ignition parts but yes pleez do check your volts going into the coil and see if they are to much or to lil

 

[luv2rallye]

Water and coils don't mix. Stop sprinkling!
And yes the quality of anything electrical at most chain auto stores is .... well let's just say it isn't even worth the free replacement warranty [like they give on alternators and starters for example - you keep replacing them under "warranty" until you find one that works and then when it goes out in 6 months you can start all over again - wow - quality that's backed up by free replacement - as long as you do it of course].

 

[Echo5Zulu]

Is something cracking the case on your coils? Or are they dieing internally? Spend the money and get the quality part. Possibly even pay satan (dealer)for the oem part?

 

[gsxeclipse97]

As much as it sucks you are just better off buying things from the dealer on certain items

 

[merqury]

Ok guys the last one I bought for my car are OEM from the dealer, thats why I'm wondering if there is anything else that might be wrong. I'll check the voltage going into the the coil after I purchase another one. Anything else that might be causing this?

 

[merqury]

It's always the 3rd cylinder acting up. It starts sparking where the 3rd cyinder wire boot fits onto the coil. The spark seems to be always there. Like I said, both coils are brand new and OEM. I also got new wires and plugs a month ago. Moreover, I took my buddies wires from his talon and swapped them with mine and it seems a little better but still there is a misfire. At one point, the car was fine but just for like 30 seconds. Does anyone know what it might be? Now Echo5Zulu asked if the coil case is cracking? NO, there are no physical marks or anything but the spark seems to be at the same point every time, even with the new coil.

All help is appreciated guys. I just finished up installing my new 50 trim setup and want to drive the car. There are no boost leaks what so ever!

 

[poonman]

this is how a coil works, it doesnt send 1423 it sends 1,4 - 2-3. so if its just on the 3rd cylinder chances are its coild issue but since you have tried differnt coils. make sure the wires going into your coils coming from the ECU are ALL the same volts. and make sure you change and or check the capasitor,

Also are you 100% its a spark problem, you said that you changes wires and it was a lil bit better. have you acually checked the wire to see if you have a spark. if you have a spark then it IS sparking the plugs. Make sure you check your compression if you have spark.

you need a minimum of 90psi in a cylinder to even create a detonation.

Another test is rev it to about 2500 and if it evens out then it could be a valve or ring issue.
If you check your compression and its low, pour a lil oil in the cylinder then test again. if the psi goes up then you could have a valve issue.

 

[merqury]

Ok poonman, the only part where I'm getting confused is that I can see the spark near the coil. Its exactly where boot and coil meet. Also, on the wire there is also a small spark. I just dont get that!!!????

 

[poonman]

Are you saying that you can see it spark without testing it for spark or saying you see the spark when you ARE testing for it. If you see sparks coming from the wires for no reason then your wires are bad, and the spark isnt transfering to the plug.

 

[merqury]

What happens is that, when the car starts you could here a little lump in idle and also there is slight ticking noise coming from the coils. If I look closely you could see the spark right where the coil and the wire boot meet. I changed that coil and it still doing that. I also put another set of wires and it still there but not as much.

 

[poonman]

sounds like wire issues my friend

 

[merqury]

I'm at work right now but tomorrow I am going to take a look at it. I will do a compression test and I don't know try different things to get this thing going again. Moreover, I'll check the plugs again to see how they are. I'll give an update later on!

 

[merqury]

Ok guys the secondary coil is reading too much resistance (16-17 ohms). I checked AllData it is suppose to be around 11.3-15.3 ohms. The primary coil is reading fine. I also felt a spark behind the coil when I was testing it. Any solutions? Do I need a new harness that plugs into the coils?

 

[DarthBulk]

So let me get this straight. You see a spark jumping from the post on your coil, to where? The engine? I am not understanding exactly what your problem is. You should have a spark plug wire plugged onto the coil post, and then an insulating rubber boot should completely cover this connection. The spark should pass from the post to the metal clip INSIDE this boot. So where are you seeing a spark?

If your coil is producing a spark, that is exactly what it is supposed to do. The spark plug wire should transfer this energy to your spark plug. The plug boot should electrically insulate the connection from the coil post to the spark plug wire. If there is a crack in the boot, or it is not sealed completely against your coil post, or there is moisture in there, then the spark may find another path to ground around the boot. That would cause a visible spark. You have to COMPLETELY have the boot sealed onto the post and the spark plug wire, you have to have the metal clip inside the spark plug wire boot snapped onto your coil post, and don't have moisture around this area.

 

[DSMunknown]

PMed the OP.

 

[merqury]

There is a little spark if I look closely to where the wire boot meets the coil. Also, I could here a ticking noise. I do understand how the connections have to be proper but this problem seems to happen over and over again. Everytime I change my coil it will only last like 3 months. This time I decided to do some more research and it seems the coil always becomes faulty. I touched the back of the coil (secondary coil) and I felt the spark. My question is that: I have been through 3 OEM coils and they all become faulty. Is there something else that might be causing the coils to go bad?

All help is appreciated!

 

[luv2rallye]

Are you getting the correct coil for your car? Is there any heat blowing on it? Mounted in it's factory bracket and bolted down tight in the factory location? If all the spark plug wires and plugs are not good it can burn out the coil secondary. Is the primary or secondary going? Measure resistance of coil before putting new one in: primary: 0.70-0.86 ohms, secondary: 11.3k-15.3k ohms.

 

[merqury]

Ok luv2rallye, everything is correct. I mounted it perfect and all the wires and plugs are fine too. Its always the 2 and 3 cylinder coil that causes the problem. I tried my buddies coil from his talon and again there is a misfire. You could see the spark crawling around the coil. We plugged the coil back in his car and his car was running perfect. The wires, plugs, coil and the harness that connects the coil all are working fine but it is still misfiring.

Now as far as the resistance is concerned, here is what I got: the primary seems to be fine but the secondary is reading above 16 ohms of resistance. I am pretty sure thats where the problem lies but how do I fix that? Do you guys think a ground wire could be bad somewhere or what could it be?

 

[merqury]

Also guys, keep in mind my car is producing a lot more heat now after the 50 trim I have put in. So could that be factor and if so what's the solution? I was thinking of maybe picking up COP system and calling it a day. Would that help? I have dsmlink with a 95 eprom ecu so I know the wiring for the COP system will be a challenge. Any suggestions??

 

[luv2rallye]

Excessive heat can destroy a coil or at least make it malfunction. There is oil inside coils just for purpose of help to keep it cool. When this oil dries up is usually the #1 cause of aging coil failure. You could try to relocate it to somewhere cooler or rewire your fan to be on whenever the engine is. Does it misfire when initially starting when engine is cold? Perhaps you also could try a different heat range plug.

 

[merqury]

Ok luv2rallye, yes the car still misfires when I start the car (when the engine is cold). Now when you said try a different heat range plug what exactly do you mean by that? Plug for the fan or??

Also, I pretty sure all the resistance is caused by the heat right? Another thing, if heat is causing the coil to malfunction then why doesn't the other coil act up as well? Do you think the wiring from the ecu or something is messed up now?

 

[merqury]

Another thing is that the car does not throw any codes or the engine light doesn't come on. Do you guys think the ecu caps could be leaking? Would that cause the car to misfire?

 

[merqury]

Also, someone told me to check my settings on dsmlink and to make under the DTC my random misfire box is unchecked. I looked at that and it is unchecked and the car still misfires. Any other suggestions guys?