coil packs Replacements OEM or Aftermarket

[jflogerzi]

Originally Posted by jeepmor

Which is the wiring harness kit and the new triangular pin setup versus the linear one. Correct? Is that a pin move to new connectors or cut/splice/heatshrink new connectors? Oye, kit come with waterproof heat shrink?



I can sure see that one and wasn't sure it moved that much. I need to pull an SC hose too. A shop dorked that up by forgetting the SC connections on top for some motor mount changes after my SC add. Oh boy when that pressure hose went. Thought I blew the thing up. Took a screwdriver to fix.

That ended that shop's revenue stream from this customer. Then I changed the oil myself and found several bolts missing and took it back again. Now, I have a new shop, and they're tuners with a dyno. They don't forget the boost hoses.

Believe there are kits out there so you don't need to replace everything.

[jeepmor]

Need to read again, the kit is in this thread or another I'm following. Didn't look at connection details, but looked like wiring pigtails.

I see the pigtail kits, are the pins swappable, that's so much cleaner.

[jeepmor]

Well, under that didn't work file. I put a new OEM subi coil in today, no dropped bolts, still a pill to get that 10mm coil retainer bolt in though. Took it out, warmed it up with several miles and went for a high rpm 3rd gear pull. Still getting the CEL at ~7k rpm, threw the code. Time for the shop to have a look.

[Ultramaroon]

Just caught this. Better late than never, right?

Iridium-tipped plugs exist solely to enable the use of individual coil packs. The lower breakdown voltage allows the use of wire and insulation thin enough to fit a huge step-up transformer in such a tiny module. Once the iridium is gone, the coil pack can't handle the increased voltage. The charge from the collapsing magnetic field finds an easier path and the coil commits suicide.

tl:dr - worn plugs destroy coil packs.

Originally Posted by redlined600

I had been going through coil-packs pretty regularly. I even made a thread similar to this one. Recently I started my car and it was only running on three cylinders which led me to find this.

It's possible this was causing my coil pack issues, or it could just be coincidence, but I'm gong to swap the rest of the plugs and see what they look like.

Extra info: The first(original) coilpack lasted a lot of track time, then they slowly started failing faster and faster, I chalked it up to buying used coilpacks but I have to wonder if it was driven by the plug. However, the car only had 20k when I got it so the original pack was pretty fresh.

Extra info: My header is modified and retains all heat shielding along with the stock overpipe, I almost always keep the hood open after a session and added a hood vent a couple years ago

[jeepmor]

Plugs have about half the life on them as I did have them changed about 70-80kmiles after feedback from a auto crossing colleague stating they looked brand new when he did his at 60k per the interval. I'm currently running 105k miles on chassis. But I also think my problem finally showed itself this morning.

My battery was flat out dead this morning. It's a redtop optima and it just turned 8 years old last month. I jumped the car with my charger to get to work this morning. It recharged enough on the drive in to restart as I checked it after I backed in on enough of a slope I could push and pop the clutch old school like if needed.

Found the same Optima battery quickly at O'Reilly's a few minutes from work and swapped it this morning in their lot. Borrowed some 10mm wrenches from work. Nice to be in a role where I have tools to use in a pinch.

Still wasn't 100% convinced this was my smoking gun, but at it's age, battery was an easy swap and made sense as I've seen low batteries cause problems before they flat out fall on their face. Voltmeter sure would be nice in these cars.

Still not 100% sure, but I took the time to run up and down the freeway and pull into my 7k range where my CEL would consistently flash with old battery and generate the P0301 code. No CEL light observed and I was well into the range it threw codes before the battery change. I need more drive time before I'm fully convinced this was the issue, but these results are better than that of changing the coil, so progress nonetheless.

[jeepmor]

Battery was dead this morning, replaced it, problem appears gone after hitting high revs and not getting the CEL/P0301 anymore. Got 8 years out of an Optima Redtop, not bad. Looks like this is the fix, it definitely wasn't the coil swap. Haven't reproduced the CEL or code after revving into the 7k range that triggered the P0301 initially.

Will label old coil good and keep it. Considering the wrestling match getting them in an out, the new coil can stay put. I'll need to test more with some high revs on the commute home tonight, but so far it looks like the battery was the root cause since I can't reproduce the misfire.

BTW, O'Reilly's carries Size 35 Optima batteries and I was able to find one on the shelf quickly. 10 minutes to swap out and so much easier than exchanging out those coil packs.

PM update - fix appears solid, hit the 7k plus mark several times coming home, no CEL. Looking back, there was a real sluggish feel out driving before the battery died the next morning. It never threw a battery light. Hope this helps others troubleshoot. I have a DVM, but never checked the battery voltage to be honest. At my mileage, I figured the coil unit was kaput.

On topic of upgrades in regards to the OP, I no longer plan to do them if this still works fine. I was ready to upgrade the whole system, but when the new coil pack didn't fix it, knew I had something else to look for. I'd have chased my tail on this for a while if the battery hadn't just flat died on me. It's demise and the commute to work had me reviewing a few signs I should have caught, namely the loss of power. Now it's pretty snappy again and pulls down low better. I need to install a voltmeter, wouldn't have been any surprises that way.

[jeepmor]

My codes is back, same P0301 when revving high. Battery and charge circuit check out good with 12.44VDC and 14.29VDC respectively.

I'm guessing I'll be putting some new plugs in soon.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by jeepmor

My codes is back, same P0301 when revving high. Battery and charge circuit check out good with 12.44VDC and 14.29VDC respectively.

I'm guessing I'll be putting some new plugs in soon.

Take a peek at that #1 plug before throwing new ones at it. If the little chips are still attached to both electrodes, keep an open mind to considering other causes.

[jeepmor]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Take a peek at that #1 plug before throwing new ones at it. If the little chips are still attached to both electrodes, keep an open mind to considering other causes.

I will be proceeding carefully, odd the new battery kept the issue at bay for a week and then in returned. Just did a drive, keep it below that 7k rev and it's just fine. Weird one for me.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by jeepmor

I will be proceeding carefully, odd the new battery kept the issue at bay for a week and then in returned. Just did a drive, keep it below that 7k rev and it's just fine. Weird one for me.

These quickly become head-scratchers for me too. Can you check compression? Record data logs? @RZNT4R

[RZNT4R]

I'm kind of getting pulled in to something here...

The last time I had to deal with high RPM ghosts was on a 3.3 dodge caravan of all things. What eventually fixed the issue was replacing all 3 crank sensor wires between it and the PCM. Ended up overlaying wires from the PCM to the crank sensor to fix the issue. Man that van was a dump, we told the owner to consider retiring it like 5 years ago but it's still going! It's a mess holding together with tape and steel wire but it's still going!

I guess if I had to take a stab at this issue... First step is Mode $06, see what's really misfiring before a code sets. then move the coil (thought I read it's a new OE coild) and plug to different cylinder then drive the car to try and see if RPM/Load can be dissociated while recreating the issue, probably while having a scope on the crank signal looking for glitches...

It's also productive to keep fueling in mind. in many diagnostic charts from toyota, they have you going in bidirectional control to subtract/add fuel to the engine to induce the offending cylinder into revealing itself. Like if you go +/- any given % and cylinder 1 starts missing, your issue may not be spark related.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by RZNT4R

I'm kind of getting pulled in to something here...

Hey, take it as a compliment. I've valued your experience from day-one. I was also thinking of fueling but held back because I want to stay in my lane.

[RZNT4R]

So may stupid misfires. sometimes you just have to turn around and look someone in the eyes and say "Dude, I've check this this this and this, am I fucking dumb? Did I just drive here this morning without my car keys? Am I even here? Is it even today?". Don't stay in your lane, bouncing ideas off of other people is essential for checking your sanity.

The last misfire I dealt with, I was literally freaking out, checked everything twice forwards and backwards and at my wit's end, I just depinned the PCM connector and moved the entire coil driver circuit for cylinder 4 to the driver for cylinder 6. If it worked there and not in it's old home, can't be anything else than a blown driver inside the PCM right? Imagine me shouting across the shop "Hey boss, you know that new PCM we put in last week? Yup, we're going to need another one". I went around to like 3 people asking " Am I dumb? if a lamp doesn't work and I unplug it from the wall and plug it in somewhere else and it works, is HAS to be the wall plug right? RIGHT!?, please tell me it can't be anything else because I would really like to know what else it could be!"

[jeepmor]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Hey, take it as a compliment. I've valued your experience from day-one. I was also thinking of fueling but held back because I want to stay in my lane.

Yep, thinking I have may have dirty injectors. I've felt little stumbles on ramp up since I put the SC on. Intermittent, but it feels odd once in a while like it's stuttering when 5k and above. Rare, but have noticed it. Thought the battery was it and proper charge to the system.

If you have have a fueling opinion, do not be afraid to share. State your theory and we'll discuss it.