The Real Fix For Dodgy Coils (misfire At High Rpm)

[SECURITY]

i had the usual 4500rpm > misfire and it really pissed me off. i tried taping them up, it worked for a little while then after a few hours it buckled on me again. i tried araldite and i waited around 12hrs for it to dry, put them back in and after 2 weeks the problem came back.

i figured there must be a reason for why the spark wants to travel through the hairline cracks rather than through the coil..

looking at the coils, i noticed that the copper part was looking a little crappy. it looks like it had a build up of carbon (or something else) on the inside so it occured to me that the spark may have been finding another route to earth as the normal route was no longer the easiest/shortest (electricity travels the shortest path possible).

this is what a bad one looks like:

as you can see here, it looks like complete crap.

i didnt know that this was what it was meant to look like, i thought it was normal till i tried this fix.

this is how to REALLY fix your coil packs:

you will need:

- a dremil drill with a small sanding attachment.

- WD40, vaseline or de-oxification paste

- the usual tools to remove your coils

1. first took apart your coils (rubber boot and spring off)

2. get a dremil drill set out and lightly sand back a very thin layer on the inside of where the little spring sits inside the coil.

(around a teaspoon of build-up came off the inside of my coils. this was the gunk that was stopping the current getting to the spring, to transfer to the spark plug).

3. clean the coil out, preferably with a blower, but you could just tap it and it will mostly be out anyway.

4. spray some WD40 into the coil pack to stop it from coroding. i've just found out that vasoline or electrical de-oxification paste would be better for corrosion proofing as theyre conductive. WD40 isnt. i used WD40 and had no problems but if i ever take my spark plugs out again i'll be sure to give it a go.

this is what they should look like after:

Done.

i did this fix over a year ago and i havent gotten a single misfire since, im not using any bit of tape or araldite.

i've never tried putting splitfires in my car, but id imagine it'd feel pretty much the same. big call? try it for yourself.

[mad082]

well done. have to give this a try next time i'm bored enough to take my coils out.

you could also use some sand paper wrapped around a skinny screw driver then spin it between your hands as if you are trying to start a fire.

and if you don't have an air gun, a push bike pump with a ball needle, or even just blowing through a straw.

[Link]

Wow - Definetely going to try this

I was going to silicon mine and tape them up but this seems much easier

Cheers!

J

[tigr33]

are they all made from copper?? coz im fairly (not 100%) that mine were like metal or iron (some silver metal) and not copper, i got a s1 R33 gtst

definately give that a go, they looked like crap in ur 1st pic, good work

[Kennedy]

I thought of that already but my pack swere clean as...more so than the average 15yo standard skyline coil set (perhaps mine are only a couiple of years old.)

[SECURITY]

are they all made from copper?? coz im fairly (not 100%) that mine were like metal or iron (some silver metal) and not copper, i got a s1 R33 gtst

definately give that a go, they looked like crap in ur 1st pic, good work

im not 100% sure what theyre made of mate, but mine is a s1 r33 also and they are what looks like copper.

[Nozila]

and how did you reattach the springs or doesnt it get reattached but just sits in there?

[SECURITY]

the spring gets held in with a notch. it just pulls out, and when you put it back in just push it in all the way and it'll kind've click into place.

[Cubes]

SECUR1TY,

Have you since removed your coil pack cover, got the coils hot and watched them flash at night?

If you give it a quick rev it really lights up.

I might give this a shot. Never know, but my coils have done at least 220,000km's. :S

[MANWHOR3]

Good work joe, it makes perfect sense.

Why would a spark insist on jumping through a minute gap in plastic through about 1-2 inches of air, when there is a perfectly good small gapped spark plug to jump through.

Cubes, although it won't be perfect if there are still cracks in the plastic, I reckon the after cleaning all that junk off, the spark would easily prefer to jump the plug gap over the 1-2 inch gap of air going through the plastic and sparking on the cam cover.

[Cubes]

Manwhore3,

From watching mine arc out at night it looks as if the spark is very small, it jumps to the coil holder. So in reality the gap is rather small, only a 2mm or so. You can see how small the gap is in the pics above.

In my case anyway.

Thinking about it though.... Run a 1.1mm gap with 11+psi of boost and most have a missfire, the combustion pressures make it damn difficult for the spark to jump so I can see why it would rather jump to the coil holder if there's a crack in the plastic some where. I swear mine don't have cracks in the plastic so I'm going to give cleaning this up a shot. Hell ya never never know, might save me $500.

Rip the plug off a VN/VP coil pack and watch how big arsed those things spark. Easily jump 3" with a big fat spark. Quite a amazing really.

[SECURITY]

dont forget that the spring or carbon (which ever you've got) is directly connected to the coil pack so thats got to tell you the bond between them isnt the best if it chooses to go to the coil pack holder instead of to the spring/carbon.

[Nozila]

are they all made from copper?? coz im fairly (not 100%) that mine were like metal or iron (some silver metal) and not copper

just had a look at mine a while ago and it looks metal as well. unless the actual 'metal' is junk and once cleaned it comes up with the copper look.

[MANWHOR3]

dont forget that the spring or carbon (which ever you've got) is directly connected to the coil pack so thats got to tell you the bond between them isnt the best if it chooses to go to the coil pack holder instead of to the spring/carbon.

Joe, what cubes said is also relevant I think.

PS: don't forget, a spark won't just jump to a spring that is just hanging there. The spring needs to be grounded to something. i.e. if it is going to go to the spring, it has to go through the spark plug.

But you'rer also right too. lol. If there is bad contact between the spring and coilpack, it'll make the crack look just that bit easier.

I think in conclussion, although the cracks might still be there, making it easier for the spark to jump can't hurt. I mean, if it was mega mega hard for the spark to jump through the plug gap, it mgiht still go through the crack, e.g. if you were runnign 20psi. But I think if you are running 10ish psi, and if it was just barely arcing, this idea may very well fix it.

[Bliksem]

Damn, I just changed my plugs after work this afternoon, If I had of seen this I could have killed two birds with one stone.

Someone should sticky this or move it to the DIY section

[JAS-25T]

Damn, I just changed my plugs after work this afternoon, If I had of seen this I could have killed two birds with one stone.

Someone should sticky this or move it to the DIY section

Yeah i just did mine a week ago today. same thing.

[tigr33]

just had a look at mine a while ago and it looks metal as well. unless the actual 'metal' is junk and once cleaned it comes up with the copper look.

i did clean it with a dremel slightly, is ur's a s2 motor?(maybe i got a s2 motor, i duno) can any1 else answer this?

[SECURITY]

series 1 has an igniter pack sitting on the back of the coil pack cover, s2 doesnt.

[qikstagea]

Well my car is misfiring between 5-6000, completely stock engine, i figured it may be clogged injectors (cars done 68,000) but thought it unlikely. Would this fix it do you think? It still makes consistant power through the range, and lower RPM, just in that area it misses a few times....

[SECURITY]

when it comes to spark it could be (mainly) coil packs and spark plugs.

so give it a go and while you're at it check your spark plug gap.