Worst coil pack ever?
05-09-2011, 10:32 AM
#20
Rennlist Member
Mine after 7 years/ 90K kms year round driving. They weren't throwing codes or affecting idle yet, but they were replaced along with the spark plugs as preventative maintenance.
05-09-2011, 02:58 PM
#22
Drifting
As long as the voltage/current is not compromised why care..?
And the path of the magnetic field is mostly restricted to the metal transformer core, plastic coating doesn't matter one way or another.
05-09-2011, 05:01 PM
#24
Registered User
Thread Starter
2. Metal transformer core doesn't work too well when the plates are all distorted and warped. Granted it's hard to see in the picture, but they should be a very dense sandwich of plates, and in the picture they are flayed out with lots of gaps
3. Rust does not conduct electric field well at all
4. Plastic coating keeps out water which is probably the cause of aforementioned warping and rusting
.. but yeah, you can in fact have a coil pack that looks absolutely destroyed still making good spark ... right up until the day that it stops. Anyway, the point is it's something to watch out for. The coil packs do seem to fail in this manner if you drive in snow/wet/etc. You can either wait for the CEL/misfire to get you, or you can have a glance at them and replace them preventatively when they are obviously on their way out like this.
05-09-2011, 05:48 PM
#25
It is difficult to tell from the pictures but it might be that the metallic part is encapsulatd by injection molding the plastic around it. I am not sure what the plastic would be but there are generally trade-offs with engineering plastics in that a particular plastic might be good at elevated temperature ( less likely to melt) but may be aged by the heat or degraded by chemicals or water at elevated temperatures. Some plastics, scu as polyesters are hydrolysed ( degraded by water at elevated temperatures). Nylon materials tend to absorb moisture and swell slightly ( high temperature nylons in particular). Other plastics have even higher temperature resistence but are easily degraded by salt or glycol. Do not ever let isopropyl alcohol near any plastic or rubber on your car.
In summary, I think is a challenging application for the plastic.... high voltage, high temperature, exposure to water and other liquids/chemicals.
In summary, I think is a challenging application for the plastic.... high voltage, high temperature, exposure to water and other liquids/chemicals.
05-09-2011, 05:59 PM
#26
Instructor
i just had a check engine light and brought it back to the dealer.
They said the code said all cylinders were misfiring and hence inspected all the coil packs. After the inspection, they found no cracks or problems with the coilpacks and hence just reset the computer and DID NOT replace the coilpacks under warranty.
They refused to do anything despite me complaining that we know the coilpacks is the issue. They took the wait and see approach. Of course my warranty just expired this week!
They said the code said all cylinders were misfiring and hence inspected all the coil packs. After the inspection, they found no cracks or problems with the coilpacks and hence just reset the computer and DID NOT replace the coilpacks under warranty.
They refused to do anything despite me complaining that we know the coilpacks is the issue. They took the wait and see approach. Of course my warranty just expired this week!
05-09-2011, 06:17 PM
#27
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i just had a check engine light and brought it back to the dealer.
They said the code said all cylinders were misfiring and hence inspected all the coil packs. After the inspection, they found no cracks or problems with the coilpacks and hence just reset the computer and DID NOT replace the coilpacks under warranty.
They refused to do anything despite me complaining that we know the coilpacks is the issue. They took the wait and see approach. Of course my warranty just expired this week!
They said the code said all cylinders were misfiring and hence inspected all the coil packs. After the inspection, they found no cracks or problems with the coilpacks and hence just reset the computer and DID NOT replace the coilpacks under warranty.
They refused to do anything despite me complaining that we know the coilpacks is the issue. They took the wait and see approach. Of course my warranty just expired this week!
05-09-2011, 06:24 PM
#28
Rennlist Member
05-09-2011, 09:26 PM
#29
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This phenomena doesn't appear to be a whole lot different than replacing distributor cap, rotor and spark plug wires on an older design engine. Ever had misfires & awful running on a damp or rainy day? Replace the parts and the problem is solved. The major diifference is that the parts cost a whole lot more and you need a computer to diagnose it. We are, however, spared changing out or adjusting breaker points and condenser periodically. You could look at the top of the engine and actually know how everything functioned.
05-09-2011, 09:48 PM
#30
