stock ignition coil !#&*

[war wagon]

stock coil was not firing on #3 & 6. Ordered mega $ coil (gm). Upon installation noticed ign. module sealant was stickey or taffy like in places. Not knowing any diff- mounted new coil pack in place. The car run even worst, as if it were 30 degree's retarded. Replaced witth the old coil, and it run the same as before 2 cyl- missing. Bought a no name brand, started the car, appeared to run better for a while, now a little soggy. Where, how what explain

 

[DailyDrifter]

I'm confused with your typing? I guess you still have a miss on 3&6? Check the wires and plugs, the module may have failed.

 

[turbojd]

Make sure none of the contacts on the ignition module are contacting the terminals on the coilpack, this is common when the ignition module gets all gooey by the terminals, just something to check.

 

[yullose]

Sounds like it might need a new module.

 

[pacecarta]

Sounds like it might need a new module.

x2

easy way to diagnose the coilpack/module is with the caspers ignition simulator , CEI - Casper's Electronics, Inc.

every turbo buick owner should have one and test the coilpack module often
either buy one or find some whos local to you who has one that can test your coilpack/module , it doesnt need to be on the car either to test but sometimes modules show their issues when they've been run a while and heat up under the hood so its also good to test them after they've been run a little .
i find a lot of these coilpak modules work ok at moderate rpm but at wot they just cant cut it and the center coil seems to be the one that fails more often either weak or dissapears at high rpm , now add boost to the mix and its not hard to see why some people seem to have parts to go faster but have track times to what they would if the car was stock

with the simulator you can detect weak or bad coils and with a little swapping be able to tell if its the coilpack or the module ...if your center coil is showing bad ..open it up and (swap the 4-2 coil yellow wire with the 5-2 coil green wire and if the center coil fires correctly and now the 4-2 is bad then its not the coilpack that needs replacing ,its the module thats defective

 

[whitehot1]

It used to be suggested that the coil pack and module be replaced at the same time when one of them failed.

Every owner of these cars should have a spare coil/module set in their emergency parts/tool box. Not only will it keep you from having to be towed but will save you from the troubleshooting until you can get around to it.

You can find them advertised in the parts for sale forum ever so often at very reasonable prices. I think i paid $30.00 plus shipping for the last spare set i bought.


John :smile:

 

[war wagon]

To share more info. Injectors were changed to 42s, fuel pressure, none adjustable, and registering 32 psi. Changed out the plugs cause of fouling, and the fact that # 3 and 6 appeared to be wet. Did take a compression, 148 psi average. Purchased new Magnecor spark plug wires. Made sure egr was not an issue. Removed o2 sensor to check for excessive back pressure, I'm sure gutting to the cat is next. I do like the info of the casper, no one in my area has one. I will check for a module local. If someone still has suggestion, please help.

 

[pacecarta]

and you know your current setup and the $30 spare works 100% because .........
btw most i see are 75 and up
without the tester you could go through the hassle of installing it and trying it out but you might not pick up on a weak coil or intermittent module to know if it was good for the track or just ok as a spare or junk ,
ive got a few spares that are ok for a car that wont start or to get me home but i wouldnt run them at the track.
with the tester if it had issues you'd knowit and know if you need a to replace the coil or the module or both.
i just picked up a coilpack/module 80 shipped and it supposedly worked fine and drove fine and even made some serious power on the dyno and i know it was working fine a few months ago after replacing the whole unit on that car due to a defective module and i had tested it myself , but wouldnt you know the unit failed under the tester ..center coils wouldnt fire at high rpm , turned out the coilpack was bad

if you know someone with a tester get your modules tested, you might be surprised how well your car seems to run on the street at wot with only 4 good cylinders until you get to the track and just cant seem to put down the numbers your combo should.

 

[tom j]

When you changed the inj. did you also have the chip done also for the new inj.

 

[war wagon]

Did not mod chip, somehow got info that chip would drive inj.

 

[war wagon]

Pacecarter
You have convinced me to purchase said product. Thankyou much

 

[yullose]

Did not mod chip, somehow got info that chip would drive inj.

Well right there is the problem.

If you put 42lb injectors in and the chip is burned for something different... it will run like $hit, if at all.

 

[whitehot1]

and you know your current setup and the $30 spare works 100% because .........
btw most i see are 75 and up

I know the spare works 100% because i took the 20 minutes to install it and left it on the car for a week to see if any issues were going to appear, none did so now i have another spare set and for only $30.00 plus shipping. I'm not saying to buy a $30.00 coil/module and go racing with it,but what i am saying is it could get you home without having to tow your car and without having to troubleshoot on the side of the road.

I'm not new to these cars and have owned TR's since 1988 and have had many different mechanical and electrical problems but i've never owned or used the coil/ignition module spark tester,i'm sure it's a good product coming from CEI.

I just have a different way of looking at things.

1. You can buy a tester to check the coil/module and if you find one or both fails the test,then you now buy a new coil/module to replace it with.

or

2. You can just buy a new coil/module if you suspect one or both to be defective or weak.

You have options.

PS, I let the parts stores test the modules for me for free and i just use a dvm to do the ohm test on the coil packs,i know it's not 100% effective but has always worked good enough for me.

John :smile:

 

[war wagon]

John
Thanks for the info, I'll see if our locals can check the module tomorrow. I will be intouch

 

[bison]

Seems to be a module problem. Not all moduloe problem can be tested for either. I recently had multiple crank sync failures with my XFI controlled LC2. The culprit was the module. It would only be a problem at higher rpm form 5800 up. New module, problem solved.

 

[pacecarta]

you're correct , it wont prove all is functional , just the spark and crank signal input

i had one on a car with fast that tested fine but would only randomly start and sometimes would randomly cutoff , swapped a known running module and all was fine , found the module had no 10v output to crank sensor ,
but atleast he knows the coil pack works

 

[tom j]

Well right there is the problem.

If you put 42lb injectors in and the chip is burned for something different... it will run like $hit, if at all.

WHAT CHIP ARE RUNNING? WAS IT BURNED FOR THESE INJECTORS?

 

[war wagon]

tom
I purchased my 87 with all this trouble and the injectors were already installed. I did witness the installation, but I'm not aware of mod- the chip. Yullose pointed this out to me. I'm in the process of relearning my approch with everyone's help. I had no ideal that I would receive so much valuable help to get my GN up and running

 

[Just a Six??]

Go to TurboTweak Home & get a chip to match YOUR combo. You will be amazed at the difference it makes!

 

[Brent]

Well right there is the problem.

If you put 42lb injectors in and the chip is burned for something different... it will run like $hit, if at all.

Bingo a stock chip will run with the 42's but PIG rich and will miss and stumble....... sounds like your problem.... it was common in the early 90's to run like this.... I did.... damn that was dumb..... contact turbo tweak