Why Did My Yellow Jacket Coil Fail?

[SargeRX8]

This is not a rant thread, or a thread made of anger. I seek logic and a proper answer.

I had just had a set of yellow jackets fitted into my car. They came in after a new clutch was fitted in so as you may have guessed, yes I have been driving like an old lady with many low down shifts and slow accelerations to bed the clutch in.

Both have been in the car for a week, maybe two tops. Today my car turned into a WRX. The sound of a cylinder not firing immediately caught my attention. After about 5 mins of diagnosis, I pin pointed it down to cylinder 2 and not the cylinder or spark plug but the coil pack. Fitting in my old coil remedied the problem and now Ive sent my request for replacement or a solution.

I'm now wondering as to what could cause such premature failure. Heat? Bad build? Something else? Ive run my coils without the coil cover to let out the excess heat. I have a standard bonnet(no vents) so no water or foreign material could get into it. Physical inspection the coil looks healthy.

Any ideas as to the cause? Could there somehow be insufficient grounding contact? Can I test this with a multimeter and check resistance or something to see if there is break inside the unit?

Edited April 26, 2011 by SargeRX8

[mad082]

could just simply be a faulty coil. occasionally people get a bad one

[beemae30]

As above probably just a bad coil. Just like every product, sometimes a bad one escapes the lab.

[Munkyb0y]

yeah i'd say it was just unlucky that you got a faulty one. if you bought these off performance-wise, i have no doubt he will sort you out asap.

ive been running yellow jackets for ages now, with no hint of trouble.

[joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo]

i'd say it failed because it's a yellowjacket

seriously though, have you checked your plugs? driving around like a granny where your tune is super rich can foul them pretty badly...

[MBS206]

i'd say it failed because it's a yellowjacket

seriously though, have you checked your plugs? driving around like a granny where your tune is super rich can foul them pretty badly...

There is nothing wrong with yellow jackets.

They work as well as split fires and brand new nissan coils.

In fact, my Yellow Jackets withstood more abuse then my split fires did before one melted...

Also, it won't be the plugs if he's swapped the coil packs and it has fixed said issue...

[joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo]

shit, i didn't read the whole post

a couple of tuners i have spoken to have reported numerous failed yellow jackets

[Randon_I_Am]

2 out of my 6 yellow jackets have failed...

They're happy for a warrenty swap though.

[SargeRX8]

I don't know if this is related but I have just noticed it a couple days ago. Since fitting in the new clutch I literally did not rev the car past 3 - 4krpm for the last 200km of driving. Today I went to give it a little in first gear(after about 40 mins of driving) and the car revved fine to about 2500 then it like, I don't know how to explain it but it felt like the car choked for a half second then drove fine to red line through to second. Its like when you cough something up. Its smooth coughing then the shit comes out and there is a slight turbulence. I don't know if its because I haven't driven the car hard or something related to the coils. Driving at 60km/h and putting it down into second is fine. It only does it on first gear. I don't know if it will do it again in the same drive but I don't push it again if it does that. I thought it may have been the oil but I doub't it, sougi s6000. It didn't really start this until I drove the car like a bitch and installed the coil packs. I'm gonna start gaining weight on my foot again to see if it keeps happening.

My old car used to do it only when cold.

[TerribleOne]

I had 2 yellow jackets on my R33 fail within a week but they replaced them no worries. I didnt have a problem after that. Cant complain about the service.

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

Guess it's a common issue, I've just had another one fail.

Might see if performance wise can do anything about it as it's out of warranty. I've already replaced one with a brand new one. However looks a little different in terms of build quality. Maybe shit batch

[Kinks]

i've had a single YJ "fail" as well - it wasn't a total failure but after 2 weeks it started breaking up on boost. performance-wise swapped it for me immediately, great service.

considering they're half the price of any other option on the market... it's still a win - even if you are unlucky you know it will get sorted out ASAP.

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

yeah I hope so, but unfortunately mine came with the car.. I've e-mailed performance-wise hopefully he/she can sort something out

[GTR-N1]

Re: Warranties...

Yellow Jacket and Super Spark honour their warranties better than Splitfire (subject to yaddayadda)

Splitfire makes one 'jump through hoops'

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

let's see how we go, I got a response from performance-wise, just need to provide the batch number.. hopefully I get some form of warranty (that's out of warranty) lol

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

A bit of an update, I ended up getting a replacement coil for a pretty good price, considering my set was out of warranty (came with the car & no receipts).

Dealt with Paul from Performance-Wise, good bloke and was pretty understanding and said if others from that batch fail he will still honour that discount he provided.

Now that's customer service!