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Ignition coil difference?

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Old Nov 1, 2009 | 06:03 PM
  #1  
Quickywd01's Avatar
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From: NorthernNJ
Ignition coil difference?

These have a long neck http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1995-...d=110389742040
and these have a short neck http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/95-96...d=390108944390

The ones in my '99 have a short neck. Just wondering before I buy. I replaced one col a year ago and now I feel a slight hicup sometimes while idling.

Results from resitance test:
After driving:
Front: +1-2: 1.92 +1-2: 1.67 +1-2: 1.64
-1+2: 1.90 -1+2: 1.66 -1+2: 1.63

Rear: +1-2: 1.67 +1-2: 1.49 +1-2: 1.63
-1+2: 1.66 -1+2: 1.49 -1+2: 1.63

Cold, sitting overnight:
Front: +1-2: 1.47 +1-2: 1.30 +1-2: 1.30
-1+2: 1.47 -1+2: 1.30 -1+2: 130

Rear: +1-2: 1.23 +1-2: 1.36 +1-2: 1.34
-1+2: 1.23 -1+2: 1.36 -1+2: 1.34

The one that read 1.9~ warm is the newest one. I'd like to buy a new set but once I saw the difference in the pictures I wanted to ask first.
Old Nov 2, 2009 | 08:14 AM
  #2  
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When I view the 2 auctions you have listed, I see each one containing six coils, 3 for each bank of the engine. Three short ones for the front bank, and three long ones for the rear bank. Yes, they are different.
Old Nov 2, 2009 | 08:32 AM
  #3  
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Don't buy the ebay coil packs they will fail on you. It's better off buying some used sets from members here then picking up new ones from ebay. I know because I bought a brand new set from ebay and a month later I started getting a misfire. Long story short I took it to the stealership and they said it was my coilpacks that needs to be changed. So I told them that these are new coilpacks I got from ebay and the guy told me that always buy oem products and don't go cheap especially buying thru ebay. So I was really mad because I just wasted money on some brand new coilpacks that didn't even last me half a year. I just ended up buying a used set from here and it's still working like a charm. Just my experince.
Old Nov 2, 2009 | 01:44 PM
  #4  
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I was referring to the picture in the two auctions. If you look at the pictures you will see that one set looks different than the other.
Originally Posted by oldngivout
When I view the 2 auctions you have listed, I see each one containing six coils, 3 for each bank of the engine. Three short ones for the front bank, and three long ones for the rear bank. Yes, they are different.

That's why I never bought a new set when I first had a coil go bad. Some people say ebay coils are fine while others say they aren't. These coil pack problems are so annoying. Guess I'll look into used coils. I have a supercharger waiting to be installed and I don't want to have bad coils with a supercharger.
Originally Posted by chongher
Don't buy the ebay coil packs they will fail on you. It's better off buying some used sets from members here then picking up new ones from ebay. I know because I bought a brand new set from ebay and a month later I started getting a misfire. Long story short I took it to the stealership and they said it was my coilpacks that needs to be changed. So I told them that these are new coilpacks I got from ebay and the guy told me that always buy oem products and don't go cheap especially buying thru ebay. So I was really mad because I just wasted money on some brand new coilpacks that didn't even last me half a year. I just ended up buying a used set from here and it's still working like a charm. Just my experince.
P.S. How do my coil readings look? Anyone have the link to the FSM coil testing because I can't find it.
Old Nov 3, 2009 | 08:23 PM
  #5  
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Long post - my experiences with rough idle and misfire (continuing)

Hi,
Please forgive the noob if anything doesnt please you in this

The coil resistances you posted don't seem right.
The should have a resistance of 1.xx Mega Ohms in one directions and infinite resistance on the other direction.

The primary of the coil is (like) a (PNP aka power)transistor, forward bias has finite resistance and reverse bias should have infinite resistance.

The fact that you are getting +1 -2 and -1 +2 to be the same indicates that your coils are fried or you are testing the wrong terminals.

I think you are testing the wrong terminals. I cant find my Haynes manual right now, but this is how you test the rear coils:

If you stand in front of the car and look at the coils, the order of pins is 1,2,3.
Test 2 and 3. Pin #1 has no significance.
+2 -3 should be 1.xx Mega Ohms. -2 =3 should be infinite resistance (aka O.L. or whatever your multimeter reads) {I am almost certain I got the directions right, but if not, just swap the readings for +2 -3 and -2 +3).

Also, if the primary is bad, you should be able to find a P1320 code. The ECU can only detect if the primary is open because no current will flow then. However I believe the more pertinent problem when it comes to the coils is the secondary starts breaking down. The primary has 12 V and the secondary has several kV, and there may be a dielectric breakdown leading to a short by means of an internal spark. Your ECU cannot find this, and if it is intermittent, spark testers will not be able to get it.
My car has been running rough for a while, and last week it got worse - whenever I started accelerating the CEL would blink (cyl # 5 misfire), and the light would go away if I babied my car for a day. I checked all coils, their primaries checked out perfectly. I changed coil # 5, and the misfire under load went away. (It still idles rough though. Replaced 3 and still ran rough. Swapped old 3 (Mitsibushi) with 1 (Hanshin) and it still idles rough - but a little less rough).

Most times, with failing coils, the misfire will be intermittent, and the ECU will NOT be able to detect and throw a code. So, either replace all 6 or wait till the ECU throws a code and replace that particular coil.

I now have 2 coils, which may or may not be bad. (I am not really sure if I have a coil problem or something more, I have been trying to figure out, made a few posts and am awaiting a response. All mechanics I went to ripped me off and found nothing at the end of the day ).
If you are willing to experiment I can ship you those coils for just the shipping cost.

-Sharat
Old Nov 3, 2009 | 08:51 PM
  #6  
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Btw, I found this on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000U9YQVU

The price seems about the same, isnt amazon a better deal than ebay were I can sell my old coils as brand new OEM? :P
Or did people get bad parts from amazon too?
Old Nov 3, 2009 | 10:18 PM
  #7  
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fyi that is not sold by amazon " Ships from and sold by AutoPartPro."

buy used
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