Ignition Coil Burn-Out

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Miss Livvy - 06 Feb 2005 01:40 GMT

Here's my story ... this is a '91 TEG

Car started acting like it needed a tune-up. I neglected to bring it in
right way. My bad.

Car stalls out while driving it. No starty. So I tow it to the mechanic. He
finds the ignition coil is burnt and replaces it. I drive it home and my
"check engine" light goes on briefly which causes me to worry so I bring it
back. He looks at it, can't see any problem. Two days later, car stalls out
while driving it. No starty. I tow it back to the mechanic. He finds
ignition coil is burnt out as well as distributor. *sigh*. I tell him to
find the "root cause". He calls me back later and tells me I have 2 spark
plug wires that are burned out and that's what started the whole problem.
Now I have new wires, rebuilt dristributor and new ignition coil. Car is
driving great again. I am just wanting to get other opinions on whether or
not bad wires could have caused this problem to occur. I believe I had bad
wires (tho I did last change them only 2 years ago).

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MooCow - 06 Feb 2005 19:43 GMT

> Here's my story ... this is a '91 TEG

> Car started acting like it needed a tune-up. I neglected to bring it in
> right way. My bad.

> Car stalls out while driving it. No starty. So I tow it to the mechanic. He
> finds the ignition coil is burnt and replaces it. I drive it home and my
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> not bad wires could have caused this problem to occur. I believe I had bad
> wires (tho I did last change them only 2 years ago).

I'm curious also: How do bad spark plug wires contribute to a burnt-out
distributor and igintion coil?

Anyone know? I'm stumped.

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MooCow

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TeGGer? - 06 Feb 2005 22:21 GMT

> Here's my story ... this is a '91 TEG
>
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> it home and my "check engine" light goes on briefly which causes me to
> worry so I bring it back. He looks at it, can't see any problem.

And what was the error code? Pretty important.

> Two
> days later, car stalls out while driving it. No starty. I tow it back
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> wires could have caused this problem to occur. I believe I had bad
> wires (tho I did last change them only 2 years ago).

I'd like to know how he determined the wires were "burnt out". Were they
aftermarket, or did you get them from the dealer? "Burnt out" wires that
cannot reliably carry voltage can cause a wrecked coil.

A coil generates a tremendous jolt of voltage every time a plug is supposed
to fire (about 40,000 volts), which is 2,000 times per minute at 4,000rpm.
If that voltage can't go to ground through legitimate channels, it will
attempt to find a path through the body of the coil. That path can persist
even after the legitimate path is restored, and if it does, the coil is
ruined.

The answer is maintenance. Make sure the cap, rotor, wires and plugs are in
good condition and properly connected. Never attempt to run the car with
wires disconnected or the cap removed.

Replace the cap, rotor and wires every 5-7 years--with *OEM* parts!
Installing aftermarket ignition parts is asking for trouble. Replace the
plugs every couple of years, or whenever the gap increases significantly
and the electrodes become very rounded.

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TeGGeR?

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
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Miss Livvy - 12 Feb 2005 07:04 GMT

> And what was the error code? Pretty important.

He did check this when I brought it back to him and was unable to get a
read. He said he throught it was probably b.c. the light did not stay on
very long.

> I'd like to know how he determined the wires were "burnt out". Were they
> aftermarket, or did you get them from the

The wires were put on by some other mechanic 2-3 years ago. The new mechanic
said they were "cheap wires".

> The answer is maintenance. Make sure the cap, rotor, wires and plugs are in
> good condition and properly connected.

Well, I think this new guy put in an after market coil and a rebuilt
distributor. Does this sound like a problem?

At any rate, I am not really impressed with the mechanic. I think he should
have started out by figuring why the coil burnt out in the first place,
instead of just replacing it.

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Paul Elliot - 07 Feb 2005 20:39 GMT

> Here's my story ... this is a '91 TEG
>
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> not bad wires could have caused this problem to occur. I believe I had bad
> wires (tho I did last change them only 2 years ago).

Absolutely! the increased resistance created extra load on the coil and
distributor. Balance is important in high energy igntion systems. The
fact that the car was running poorly was a cry for help my friend.
Paul E.

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