Coil Pack Upgrade

E

elcaminodave

New Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
I am thinking about upgrading the coil pack on my 84 T-Type to the 86/86 coil. I know I need the coil pack ACDelco D552, Coil Base Adapter Plate Casper's 102085 and the CCCI Wiring Adapter Casper's 102086. Do I also need to upgrade the Ignition Module to ACDelco D1996 or Casper's 107125? Is this procedure relatively straight-forward for a Turbo Buick novice?
 
the coil adapter plate goes on the bottom of an 86/87 module...so yes, you will need an 87 module. I've done this upgrade myself, and its very easy. 1 hour install. take digital pictures as you are taking it apart if you think you'll get confused and forget (it can happen).
 
Do Yourself a favor and order the "86-89 CCCI Hotwire Kit 102087" instead of the "CCCI Wiring Adapter Casper's 102086".

This will allow you to hotwire the ignition which is a big plus when switching over to the 86/87 ignition. When you call them to order the hotwire kit, tell them you are wanting to use it for a hotair adapter also. They can switch the neccesary wires for you or tell you the ones you need to switch to make it work.

This will save you some money and headaches down the run.
 
esinger said:
Do Yourself a favor and order the "86-89 CCCI Hotwire Kit 102087" instead of the "CCCI Wiring Adapter Casper's 102086".

This will allow you to hotwire the ignition which is a big plus when switching over to the 86/87 ignition. When you call them to order the hotwire kit, tell them you are wanting to use it for a hotair adapter also. They can switch the neccesary wires for you or tell you the ones you need to switch to make it work.

This will save you some money and headaches down the run.
Click to expand...

I'll strongly second this info ;)
 
My upgrade

Original instructions at My GN Page

1985 Grand National "Hot Air" ignition coil upgrade. Here is my experiences with the upgrade. I know as a newbie, I wish there were more step by step instructions such as these, so when I have the opportunity to create one myself, I do. I hope it helps anyone who is trying the upgrade.

My setup is slightly unique because my wiring harness to the CCCI was damaged. I figured, since I need to replace it, go forward with the entire upgrade.

Here are the exact parts that I used and from the vendors I purchased them from. I am in no way affiliated with these companies, I am just a consumer who is trying to be thorough.

IMG_2222.jpg


ACD# D552 GM# 12353801 -- Coil Packs -- Gyrhead
ACD# D1996 GM# 24503624 -- Ignition Control Module -- Gyrhead
102085 -- 1987 Coil to 1985 Mounting Plate -- Caspers
102087 -- 86-89 CCCI Hotwire Kit -- Caspers
108016 -- CCCI Splice with Crank and Cam Plugs - Special -- Caspers

---------------------- Steps --------------------------

Step 1: Assess the situation. If you are a true newbie, don't be afraid to take pictures even. Here's the current setup with the spark plug wires removed. (Sorry, I didn't have one with them on.)

DSC06695.jpg


Step 2: Disconnect Battery. Remove CCCI harness from ignition module. Remove the three bolts holding coil pack setup to the block. Sneak out from radiator hose. Mounting points are highlighted.

DSC06694.jpg


Step 3: Remove ignition module from mounting bracket by removing the four nuts on the bottom side. You will not need these nuts anymore. It is not necessary to remove the two larger nuts on the crossbar.

IMG_2225.jpg


Step 4: Remove the 6 torx screws holding down the coil pack to the ignition module. Save these because you will need them later. Caspers provides an excellent wiring diagram, but I took a picture anyway. (My newbie mistake: I took off the torx screws while still on the vehicle, and I had to reinstall them. Needless extra step. Remove the torx screws on your work bench.) Save the 6 screws because you will need them for the new unit.

DSC06696.jpg


Step 5a: Gather the new ignition coil and new module. Place face down.

IMG_2228.jpg


Step 5b: Note the different heights and quantities on the nuts provided by Caspers.Use the shallow screws for the mounting and save the thick ones for later.

IMG_2229.jpg


Step 5c: Install the Adapter Plate to the new ignition module.

IMG_2230.jpg


Step 6a: My coil came with the 6 connectors on the bottom pointing straight out.

IMG_2231.jpg


Step 6b: Bend with pliers, ever so carefully, into the middle, as close as you can to 90 degrees to the coil pack.

IMG_2232.jpg


Because of the amount of photos, it's continued in the next thread...
 
My upgrade (continued)

Step 7: Install the foam gasket and wire the new coil pack to the new ignition module exactly as the old one was wired. (On my coil pack, the cylinder numbers stamped on the top of the coil pack were upside down, throwing me a curveball. Don't try to match cylinder numbers on the coil packs, because they are different.) Use the original torx screws to join them. The ignition module is not tapped, so a little torque will be necessary.

IMG_2235.jpg


Note the difference in height, quite a difference even with the adapter and long mounting bolts.

IMG_2237.jpg


Step 8: Attach mounting plate to mounting bracket using the four thick nuts from before. Set entire assembly aside.

IMG_2239.jpg


Step 9a: Gather new CCCI connector with built-in hotwire relay. (I made a special request to Caspers to take my CCCI pigtail and install the hotwire harness to it. For me, this would eliminate any extra of those black plastic connectors. As I said earlier, my harness was old and had broken/repaired wires that needed replacement. These are extra steps that I needed to take for my application. If your wires are not damaged, I highly recommend the easy plug in adapters from Caspers.)

IMG_2242.jpg


Step 9b: These are the connectors, side by side. I cut each wire one at a time and found the appropriate mate using the very well laid out diagram in the kit. The coloring on my wires were so bad that it was necessary to count the wires and assign them based on their position. The colors are designed to be an exact match from new to old. I disconnected the Crank and Cam connectors at this point also.

DSC06699.jpg


Step 9c: The time consuming part. Solder the wires. Using the supplied heat shrink, I covered all the solders.

DSC06700.jpg


Step 9d: (I had some extra black split wire loom, so I wrapped the new wires.) Run the new hotwire cable to the battery along the existing engine wire harness and find a good place to mount the relay on the right fender well. I ran the hot wire directly to the battery positive terminal post. (I'd like to have it fused, but for now, it suffices.) Connect the Crank and Cam Plugs. Don't connect the battery until the next step.

DSC06701.jpg


Step 10: Install the new setup to the motor utilizing the original nuts. Connect the CCCI harness. I removed all my spark plug wires and reassigned them to the appropriate cylinder based on the new required lengths. The 1985 wire lengths worked just fine. Reconnect the battery. Fire-up the engine.

DSC06702.jpg


Congratulations, you just installed a brand new ignition setup.
Total time to completion, just over 2 hours.
Considering this was my first upgrade to the vehicle, and the coil pack was original, I feel a significant increase in power. Individual results will vary. Hopefully I will have more to share soon at manawilphotography.com/gn
 
What was the Total Cost on this? Also great post this will help alot of people.one day i will need to do this but for now my stock coil pack is working great.
 
Ignition upgrade for hot air car

Excellent write up and the photos were very well done (one exception :)
Nice job all round.
Peter
 
Yes very good info!! Would also like to know "round about" total cost invovled?????
 
ok.. NAPA doesn't have the wiringstuff- but AC Delco does sell an adapter harness. but the hotwire harness mentioned here seems like a good idea.
 
Prices...

Sorry folks, I forgot the most important part...

$ 32.00 - ACD# D552 GM# 12353801 -- Coil Packs -- Gyrhead
$149.00 - ACD# D1996 GM# 24503624 -- Ignition Control Module -- Gyrhead
$ 34.95 - 102085 -- 1987 Coil to 1985 Mounting Plate -- Caspers
$ 69.95 - 102087 -- 86-89 CCCI Hotwire Kit -- Caspers
$ 49.95 - 108016 -- CCCI Splice with Crank and Cam Plugs - Special -- Caspers
$ 13.05 - Shipping
$348.90 - Total
 
If just your coil is bad and not your module and you want to save yourself some time and money for now, you can put the 86/87 coil onto your 84/85 module. All that is needed is a plastic adapter plate that is sold thru Napa for only a couple of dollars the part# is ICA100. The reason for the adapter plate is the base of the 86/87 coil is smaller than that of the 84/85. The 86/87 pack hooks up just like the84/85. Just be sure to disregard the numbers stamped into the new coil as they are backwards. Just run your plugs wires like you did on your old one. I did this on one of my cars and the total cost with pack and adapter was only like $45. Just be sure to use a real AC/Delco coil pack as when I first tried this on my car I used a Napa coil pack and it worked, but it seemed to have a tendency to cause a miss fire now and then, so I switched over to a AC/Delco coil and have been fine since.
 
Great write up and documentation mrfixit49.
I thought this info might be helpful to some newbies...
It sure helped me "see" what I would be doing when I swapped mine.
 
sweet breakdown of that upgrade with thorough steps like that anything can be done once and right. I did see my85grandnational mention (if just your coil is bad and not your module) and im interested in finding out how to test them and see which is bad the coil or the module ?
 
Tabs on the new coil pack from the pic are bent shown at 45 degree angles to the flat plane of the coil pack and not 90 degrees as 90 degrees would put them flat/ horizontal. Not knocking you as that is an excellent pictorial and how to. :cool:
 
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