barelyrunshalfthetime

hello, me and my dad are currently posting on about three forums trying to find some info about the ignition coil on our 83 944. Heres the story: we put everythin back together after a complete belt/waterpump/roller/pulley/tensioner job . Went to start the sucker and cranking, no start. traced prob to coil. took it out and checked resistance according to haynes manual specifications. it was correct between terminals 1 and 15 (primary). but the reading was infinite on the secondary coil between terminals 1 and 4.

we got a "new" coil and found the same resistance readings. the "new" coil had a bit of solder on one of the poles that had to be chipped off in order to put the nut/wires on it. that seemed suspicious. We installed it anyway and tried starting, same result as before. we also have replaced the cap and rotor. all ignition wires were purchased not too long ago. we found the correct voltage (12 volts) going to the coil. checked to see if there is a spark coming directly from the coil plug wire and there was none. anyone one kno if these coils fail after sitting a spell? had to replace it 2 years ago after the car sat for some years. now again it seems to have happened after the car has sat for a few months. however unlikely it may be, im pretty sure we recieved a bad coil.

now this post is not for nothing. ive tried searching all over the place and havnt found much info at all about people with the same type of problem. are these coils famous for going bad after sitting? has anyone had something similar happen? it sux so much that this car dont run when i am finally able to drive it just wondering what the heck is going on. i am goin to return the coil and ask for another. if anyone feels like it could u check the resistance reading across your coil's secondary circuit? terminals 1 and four using the haynes manual. terminal 4 is under a small rubber plug. sorry for the three paragraphs but i wanted to give all the detail that i could. thanx for reading.

I would just like to add that this car ran fine before we decided to do the belt job.

LtReid

number one, dont be cheap with a coil, as i did (autozone special). My coil went out on me once and yea I had to get another one. Drove the car for about a week then started noticing spuddering. Then the car wouldn't move, i was stumped because I knew i just replaced the coil.
So after testing almost everything but the coil. i spent about 400 dollars replacing everything.
Finally tested the coil, and there it was again.......BAD!
Went down to autozone and had them order me a bosch. And the car is back on its feet running good. So, yea to save you trouble, get another coil, dont worry its probably still under warrenty as most places give 1 year warrentys. MY friend once told me that some coils go back and some are good, depending on which line worker was drinking that day haha. I dont know how true that is but oh well.
Well thats my 2 cents, any others?

barelyrunshalfthetime

hey thanx just gotta say that the one in the car was a bosch, and the one we just ordered is a bosch. the one in the car was black, the one we just got is silver. old one made in spain, new one made in Brazil. im hopin very much that the one we got is bad. those are the only differences that i can c.

gtroth

My coil measures infinite resistance from 1 to 4 too, and my car runs very well (with some rare cutouts when it gets real cold out). clarks-garage.com doesn't say to measure the secondary the way Haynes suggests - Haynes might just be wrong. Not great news for you, but anyway...

barelyrunshalfthetime

well that throws a wrench in my spokes ill tellya. hearing this, ive checked the continuity on the wire from coil to cap and found 0 resistance. so thats fine. now to recap, got correct power at coil, no spark coming from the coil wire (but just checked and the wire is fine itself). now what the heck am i supposed to look at now? seems like it should get a spark directly outta the coil... man this is frustrating. freakin haynes let me down. well thanx for ur guys help, need a bit more. I heard on another forum that this was grounded via the dme. So does anyone know where the grounds are at? also heard that it could be a messed up dme relay ( how do u check this?). hopefully this is something incredibly stupid. the only part we took off the engine when doing the belts was the cam cover (stripped out cam sprocket bolt). anyways do you think we screwed somethin up puttin it back on?

Bill.e1

Will either coil work in another car?

The coil works by being grounded then not grounded. The positive side will be 12V regardless. A dwell tach would tell you if your DME ignition circuit is dead. Most 4 cylinders will have around 60 degrees dwell.

I strongly suggest you find someone to help. You can destroy a lot of expensive parts. I person familier with these cars could identify the problem in 10 minutes. I know I learn more by watching someone do a job than reading instructions.

Good luck and have fun.
Bill