How to inspect your coil packs?
 

From reading the forum, lots of people tend to recommend people check their coil packs for cracks which may cause rough running problems.

Personally, i'm not afraid to have a go with a spanner every now and then providing i've a good idea of what i'm doing.

Having looked on the forum, there doesn't appear to be an 'idiots guide' to how to check the coil packs yourself.

Would anyone be kind enough to write a short guide as to how to remove and check a coil pack, with pictures?

I know I and a number of others would find it extremely useful :luxhello:

Very!!

We haven't found a faulty one yet, that wasn't obviously split at the tip. Just peel back the boot and take a look. We do them pretty cheap if you want any!

Where's the boot - what's it look like - how do i remove the coil pack if it is faulty??????

Most of the ones we se are not cracked, and work fine at standard boost levels, but will misfire circa 1.2bar. They will have the top discoloured with age. If they are newer but you have a misfire, then suspect cracking, which happens mostly when people remove or fit them, you need to stop them rotating while you undo the bolt, if you're checking plugs every 6 months or so this isn't much of a problem, but they can get very tight if left for 18 months.

No offence, but your post doesn't really help...

Can someone post a guide here with pictures, on how to remove them and what to look for?

they only have one bolt per coil pack to remove them, it's not difficult. You don't need to physically take them off the car to check them.

They are located on the left and right hand side of the engine, to get at the drivers side remove the air box, to get at the passenger side remove the windscreen washer bottle.

They are held in by a 12mm headed bolt, space is very tight so a ratchet-ring-end spanner is very useful. Once the bolt is loosened enough they simply pull out. They will have a rubber cap on the tip of them, pull this off and look for cracks on the plastic.

Putting them back in is a bit harder as you can't see and they need to be at the right angle or they won't go onto the end of the spark plug... but once they are lined up they push on easy and you just retighten the 12mm bolt.

There we have it I think chaps.

Thanks everyone!

there was some one who sent me something on how to test a coil pack
it was ages ago, & you can tell when a coil is braking down. it was some one from here too

& anther thing, if you have only a small crack. put a little insulation tape round the rim of the neck. under the rubber bit. this way, you can still use the coil pack

Yes you can test Ohm's or Voltage...

https://www.scoobynet.com/general-te...re-arghhh.html

yep, thats the one mate:

https://www.scoobynet.com/drivetrain...coil-test.html

Simple advice:

A duff coilpack can look visually perfect
A duff coilpack can have perfect ohms measurements and perfect current flow

So checking the above is not foolprool yes/no way of saying a pack is ok or not.

half the problem is that the stupid things crack when you try and remove them. This is because when you undo the 12mm bolt that holds them in it rotates the whole coil pack and cracks the end. :nono:

To stop this wedge a flat screwdriver at the side of the coilpack when undoing the bolt. :luxhello:

I have email evidence from at least one person that changed their coil packs when they were not cracked.
His words where along the lines of 'having to eat humble pie' after I repeatedly told him it may be a coil pack issue due to the increased boost.

Editted to add quote :
Hiya Scott,
Well, I sceptically went for the new coil packs, not really expecting it to make any difference, but (with a mouth full of humble pie) you were right. I have never felt a missfire like it before, but now it runs like a dream.

PS, the old coils looked fine, no cracks or anything

COULD U PLEASE EXPLAIN in your own words what u mean by misfire, how can i be sure of if my car is misfiring?