Ignition Coils Keeps Going Bad

[rhayabusa]

Hi Evrybody,

I've been dealing with this issue for years. I've replaced all 4 ignition coils in the past 3 years. The last time I replaced it it went bad ater 5 months or so. Could anyone give suggestions as to what is causing this?

1996 Suzuki Sidekick Sport 1.8

[fordem]

Originally Posted by rhayabusa

Hi Evrybody,

I've been dealing with this issue for years. I've replaced all 4 ignition coils in the past 3 years. The last time I replaced it it went bad ater 5 months or so. Could anyone give suggestions as to what is causing this?

1996 Suzuki Sidekick Sport 1.8

Are we talking ignition coils or "coil packs" - if I'm right the Sidekick Sport 1.8 has a J18 engine with "coil-on-plug" ignition and four "coil packs" rather than a single ignition coil and distributor.

You also mention replacing "all 4" coils and then go to say the last one went bad after 5 months - I have to assume that either you changed five coils or you've changed four and one more than once.

Personally - if I were replacing the same coil (or coil pack) repeatedly four times in three years, I would find it cause for concern, but if I were changing out separate coil packs every time, then that would be a different scenario.

I drive a 2.0 Grand Vitara which has the J20A engine - consider it a stretched J18 - and I've never had a coil pack fail, my sister drives a V6 Vitara which would be the Sidekick Sport chassis with an 2.0 V6 (H20A) engine, pretty much the same ignition system except 6 coil packs and in total they have had two fail in about fourteen years - so I don't think there's an inherent problem with the coil packs themselves.

Where are you getting the coils/coil packs from - are they SGP (Suzuki Genuine Parts) or "pattern replacements"? Are you using a quality part?

[rhayabusa]

Thanks for the quick response. In total I've had to replace 12 ignition coils. I've never heard or seen them referred to as ignition packs. When purchasing online they are marked as coils. I believe they are genuine parts as I payed $100US per ignition coil. I've also read this this model is indeed distributer-less. Any ideas where I could start to find out what might be causing this issue?

[fordem]

That picture is what I know as a "coil pack" - it's a little more than just an ignition coil - it also includes a transistorized "ignitor".

Old style distributor ignition systems used to have a single coil and a "contact breaker" which was inside the distributor, and as the distributor turned the contact breaker would close and open, and everytime it opened the coil would generate a spark which the distributor would "distribute" to the correct spark plug.

The problem with contact breakers is they wore out and needed frequent replacing & adjusting (the tune-ups of old) and over the years these systems were replaced with newer, supposedly more reliable stuff - such as we have now - each sparkplug has it's own ignition coil with it's own ignitor, which is controlled by a signal from the electronic brain or ECU.

Yes - changing 12 coils or coil packs is cause for concern - for some reason they keep breaking down - I really have no idea why this should be happening, other than questioning the quality of the replacements.

The coil packs don't have anything in them to wear out - it's a three wire connection - +12V, ground, and a 5V drive signal from the ECU - so there is not much there to suggest that high voltage would have caused a problem - besides the coils generate high voltage to drive the plugs, so they have to be designed to withstand it.

They mount at the top of the engine - right where the heat is - so again, they have to be designed to take that heat.

I'm sorry - but I think every thing points to poor part quality - are you changing these parts yourself? If not, maybe you should.

Get the genuine parts and swap them - it should be a single ¼" hex head screw holding the coil pack to the head - there's a latch holding the electrical connector - depress the latch, pull the connector back, take out the screw, pull the coil pack up and then reverse the process.

[kick-fix]

youve posted this before , right? someone did.
YOU are CORRECT only YOU have this issue, no one else. (surely, not this level)

96 has separate COP coil (coil on plug) and a separate Igntter that drives them.
1: you talking COPS or Igniteor. as your photo clearly shows.
2: are you using Suzuki real parts or Fleebay China imported parts (clones)?


i'll repost this from long ago.
why they go bad.

1: cheap COP clones. (flee bay syndrome)
2: bad valve cover gasket allows oil into well. subsequent flash over kills the tips.
3: pressure washing motor. (fills wells again , it flashes over and eats the tips to carbon)
4: bad Igniter , it is holding a coil on full time , at times (illegally) Illegal dwell will burn up the primaries on the COP coil. ARE YOU THROWING CODE P03xx ( or pendings?)
were xx = 00 thru 04?


Cops are made of plastic and will not last forever , the coil may but NOT the plastic.
the tips run hot . They will last about the same age as a Distributor cap.
100k? or more. not like your experience.

id have the igniter changed out.
it has transistors, if one over heats and then shorts for a while , it can wipe out the cop connected to it.
The signals to the cop are REAL powetful. this is to get a good FIRE. High primary current results in huge HV plus. larger than 95 cars.
EPA requires them for this reason. Alone.

but in doing so ( read about this on Megasquirt.com (ign design) the rules are .
never ever allow infinite DWELL, the primaries will burn to a crisp. (happens at MS all the time due to setting Invert bit wrong in programming)
imagine the copper varnish insulation buring off. Smoke letting out.

when they fail ? have you done any failure analysis.?
are tips burned to carbon.|?
do primary and secondary resistances read the same on all 4 coils.?

if your primary keeps buring open or shorting.
then you have only 3 possible faults.
1: bad igniter
2: bad ecu.
3: bad wire between them. cause a false FIRING.


need more details ask.
hope i was brief.

Brevity and clarity are signs of good communication skills.

[rhayabusa]

Thanks for the reply guys, I appreciate it. The reason I posted is beacuse I'm going to try to fix this issue on my own since I keep taking it back to the mechanic.

I will take all ur advice into consideration and hopefully resolve this issue. At last I get some explanations as to what might cause these parts to go bad. At the last coil change, the head gasket was supossedly replaced but I've lost faith in my mechanic.

Once again, thx for the assistance guys.

[CodyJ]

I think your mechanic is ripping you off...

What is wrong with the car (you did not state this) to why you think your coils are bad!? Does it not start?

[kick-fix]

how do you know the mechanic is not milking you like cow.? mooooooooo

you did not answer any of my questions? ( i will presume he keeps you in dark)
DTC codes? p0300, or P0301, or p0302, or P0303 or P0304 ( all,non or one?)
oil or water in the spark hole wells?????

what positions are failing , ?
all or random?
only 1 cylinder keeps failing?

id find a new mechanic if this data can not be obtained (full story of each failure)
you are the first to ever post something like this.

last in most states , the mech, most return the old coils to you.
demand that. ( if he says ,sorry , i had to use them for core returns, get a new mech)


and then test them ( and photo the ends (lowest point) ) so we can see if they are physcially damaged.
then take a $3 ohm meter and read out the primary and secondary resistances.
ask for help.

tells use more , and with details.
cheers.

[Rhinoman]

You should make sure that the plug gaps are being set properly, too big a gap will lead to an increased voltage across the gap allowing the coils to break down sooner.

[kick-fix]

true , but not in a week, unless some one put in queer , no ground tab spark plugs
the Crossfire or some BS , type plugs. NON OEM SPEC plugs.

it think this is what i call a word of mouth post.
all inputs are from 3rd person.

for example.
where did the parts ( so called new) come from?
Flee-bay.com
Suz. parts counter.
GM. same Geo
Rock auto. (after market brands)
or off this old KICK behind the barn , the POS that died with 230kmiles on the odometer.

he did answer any of the quesitons. so i say 3rd person , data.

not easy to out guess the 3rd person.