ok... i have an auto range multimeter but for some reason it dont give a display(cut off numbers)

i went out and bought me a another one....its not auto range and it has those settings...2000k/200k/20k/2000/200

i set it to 2000k and i do the test and when i am suppose to get infinity, i get 1, which is what it is always at when its touching nothing, when i reverse the wires like the 'How To' write up says its not wht i expect, when i touch the wire and take them off real fast i get a 1.44 or 1.6, and some where around that range, but when i touch them and hold them, it goes up to 2.39.....

has anyone done this before?

 

I have written about this before.
A multimeter is useless for testing the insulation resistance of coil packs.
You need a 500V or 1KV insulation tester like a Comark or Megger. Costs a lot more than a multimeter. I happen to have one but then, I am a transmitter engineer and have other uses for it.

 

so what you are saying is that i will never find my bad coil with a mutimeter....right?

what is an insulation tester............ pic?

 

i just looked it up and saw what it look like, it looks just like a multimeter.... i am suggesting a auto shop that does electrical work whould have one...right?
or where do u suggest i go to use one, i have no need for it on a regular basis so i just wanna use, where do i go?

 

An auto shop won't have one. The reason I have one is because I sometimes work on high voltage electrical gear, I have to be able to verify that it's safe. It is also used to test power transformers; just like a big version of a coil, right?
I agree that this isn't something you need to buy for occasional use - too expensive.

Probably you need to find someone who does my kind of work, any electrician who works on HV equipment should have one. Like a power company engineer. Actually you could visit an electrical supplies factor, they sell those things and if you buy the guys a 6 pack maybe they'll test your coils, it would only take 5 minutes.

The multimeter is great for testing the continuity of the low-resistance part (coil primary) and for general work on the electrics, (alternator, lights, grounds, and esp. the freakin' Bose!)

 

i'll try an electronic supply store....thats the only thing i can come up with right now....

 

just pull out a coil with a spark plug... conect the connector and watch it spark...

 

probably a dumb question, but do the coil packs generally decline in performance before they fail or do they just up and one day stop working?

Also, they are kind of expensive from what I've seen (around $65-$70 each), does anyone know of any good places to get them cheap, maybe on the net or is going down the corner auto parts store about the cheapest you can find them?

 

They do both, some fail right away, but id say most fail slowly over time.


And i dont know of any cheaper places to get them then say courtesy nissan, mabye look on Ebay or at an autoparts store, also i bet if you could find a low mileage 1995-1998 car in a junkyard (esspescially a U-Pick-it one) you could get them mad cheap....