First the underlying factors.... I've had my car laid up for almost a year straight. I live in NY and work in NYC so w/the amount of mods I have, driving it to work was not worth it. That coupled w/the fact that I had blown a coil just before I put it away last fall which was frustrating too. It had about a half tank of gas in it all this time too. I currently have e-manage blue installed and a turbo setup....the car also was dyno-tuned.
I bought and changed out all 6 coils w/new ones and added new tranny fluid and oil before I cranked it up. When it started, it was still sputtering kind of like it would when you have a blown coil. Idle was fine, but it would'nt rev past 2000 rpm without breaking up and sputtering badly. Since I knew all the coils were new, I figured maybe the gas had been sitting in there so long, it may be that, I also thought maybe the e-manage got reprogrammed since the battery was disconnected for so long....... but I'm not sure what it could be now. I want to get it running for the spring and I need to get this sorted out asap....
I decided to let it just idle and run for a while to see if it was the gas and to maybe burn some of it off and refill it w/fresh gas... After letting it idle for a couple of hours, I started to smell burning electric. When I checked the rear coil closest to the drivers side was smoking and the adapter that connects to the coil was fried. More frustrations!!! That was about a month and a half ago, and I have'nt messed with the car since. Can someone point me in the right direction please?
Before anyone assumes anything, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not very good with doing the work myself on the car. I just as soon pay someone to do the work as do it myself but I'm learning here and ther when I get the chance. This problem has got me t-o'd and baffled. Assistance would be appreciated.

Deac

 

Replace the fried coil. 1/2 tank of gas shouldn't be that bad in just a years time. Your e-manage will most likely have to be reprogrammed. Combine all those factors and you have a poor running engine.

 

replace your MAF.

 

I figured if the e-manage programming was out of whack, the air-fuel ratio could be jacked up and causing the car to run poorly. You think the MAF could be causing the poor idle and stuttering too huh? I'll have to check into that as well. Any other thoughts?..... Anyone? Thanx for the help guys.

Deac

 

Doesnt the E manage need to use diodes to keep the coils from melting?

 

from what I understand, the harnesses that the e-manage has to regulate the maxima coils does'nt work too good. I heard it causes the coils to burn out more frequently but I have not experienced that since I've had the coil harnesses hooked up. They dont nurn out any faster than a max w/out e-manage would. Hopefully since the new e-manage ultimate software now accomodates the maxima 3.0 engines, this may improve also.... time will tell.
I followed all your advice and bought new coils and a new maf from a good deal I saw on ebay. I'll change all of them out and try again in about a week or so when I recieve the parts. Does anyone else have any input that may solve my problem? Thanx again.

Deac

 

First Question: Did you check every coil to make sure that it is working properly? Just because it is new dosen't mean that it works. See it alot.

Second Question: Did you check fuel pressure? Maybe you have a weak pump.

 

Gas a year old would have a very low octane rating and would pull timing a lot as the knock sensor would be very busy.

Even gas a month old loses some pep as the isobutane levels are kept high in modern fuel.

Mike

 

Yeah, old gas can cause all kinds of problems.

 

not the gas/ my car is in the same stage as yours/ i let it sit all year round in the garage for months. I do about 2500 miles a year!!!my gas i add gas stabilizer if i know i'll be letting sit for a real long time. i crank it every 1-2 months for about 1 hour idle. and a battery tender. no problems at all. just took her out last week and she purrrred.
Deac/ it may be a uneven fuel/ air mix. coil burning can be rich fuel in the spark plug burning. check the spark plug to bee how they look.