Possible coil issue

[lesb1978]

Ok, I searched, but couldn't come up with anything.
Problem: No power below 3krpm. Spits and sputters doesn't want to rev. After 3k it runs normal. I did the key dance got back a code for bad coil (don't remember what number but I'll check again). Unbenownst to me, me wife calls the local dealer. He said it could also be a bad cat, something about ethanol fuels clogging cats quicker she couldn't remember exactly. He said he's had a couple of our cars come in w/ the same issue throwing the same code, but the real issue was a bad cat. Is this possible? Granted any reason to lose the cat is a good one, but I don't want to start hacking up my exhaust if it's unnecassary( read: I'm broke and need to know what the problem is before i drop any cash )

Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestion are greatly appreciated!!

 

[BigRand]

you can test the coil pack by.......

pulling each plug wire seperately. When the note or pitch of the motor changes you know it was getting spark because it runs slugish. If it doesn't change then its probably the one that isn't getting spark.

As for the dealer, he could be right as well, but start with the free things first. You can find a coil pack for about $10-$25 on ebay that works.

one other thing, when you say slugish below 3k, does it sound more like a subaru? Because that means its usually running on 3 cylinders as well.

 

[ninjai_ruken]

^^^^Again I agree with Rand, but on a side note you dont have to hack up your CAT. If you just want to do away with it. Buy a Test Pipe off ebay. Or you can just unbolt it. And start cleaning all the crap out. Also a sign of a bad CAT is nasty smelling exhaust..Mine smelled like Rotten Eggs. So I just did away with the cat...gotta love Emission Free Montana

 

[Locke]

try this before spending money.

to check the coil, grab your multimeter and check the resistance of the primary circuit. between the centre pin and either of the two outside pins, resistance should be 0.51 to 0.61ohms. check the secondary side across the towers of each coil should be 11.5k to 13.5k ohms.

make sure you have good voltage from the center pin of the coil harness, and ground.

 

[bullettdsm]

We had a simple check for blocked cats, we unbolted it and ran it. You can unbolt one side and temp hang it out of the way or unbolt the whole thing. Loud, but you'll know real quick if it's the problem.

MB

 

[lesb1978]

you can test the coil pack by.......

pulling each plug wire seperately. When the note or pitch of the motor changes you know it was getting spark because it runs slugish. If it doesn't change then its probably the one that isn't getting spark.

As for the dealer, he could be right as well, but start with the free things first. You can find a coil pack for about $10-$25 on ebay that works.

one other thing, when you say slugish below 3k, does it sound more like a subaru? Because that means its usually running on 3 cylinders as well.

Now that you mention it, it does kinda sound like a suby. but if its only running on 3 cylinders why is it fine after 3k?

 

[BigRand]

it might sound fine....but I bet its still runing slower then it should....it might not be the same problem, or maybe the coil is fireing incorrectly at at a certain rpm or something.

Just test the plug wires like I said and you'll know, you can obvsiously get an exact reading with a multimeter as well........it might be fine after 3k for now...but I bet its on its way out anyways. Coil packs are easy and redily available so don't trip.

 

[lesb1978]

not realy worried a coil is prob the easiest thing to replace on the whole car
Q is the screamin deamon coil noticable by itself im guessing prob not but since its only like 5 bucks more than OEM cant hurt

 

[Shadow98]

I had the same problem, but the obd-2 scanner kept saying it was the injectors. I replaced the coil, erased the code and it has yet to light up again.