Coil?

[ianf]

My car is running as rough as it ever has and has even cut out a couple of times while driving along. A mate told me he thought there might be a problem with the coil? and what I want to know is, "am I wasting my time & money taking it to ultratune for a tune up while ever the coil is not 100%?
Cheer's Ian...

[ephect]

it could be a heap of things, could be the coil, could also be the CAS. could be a hose loose in the fuel tank. when it cuts out do you have to wait til the car cools down before it will start again or does it start straight away? we'll have to narrow down ur options, but we'll need a little more info

first thing i would be doing is checking the error codes, post up what you find. n we'll go from there.

[ianf]

Cheer's, But no when it dies it starts straight away but does seem to idle rough. I also think I may be up for a new starter motor but this shouldn't have any effect on the motor once it running should it?

[ephect]

no it wont, once its started the starter motor doesnt come into play.

You need to check your error codes first. check the how-to section for details on error codes, then post up what codes are recorded.

[kopper69]

It could be the coil pack, but no point starting there. There is a better place to start.

The coil packs step a low voltage that is available from the battery to a really high voltage that will spark. It then sends this high voltage through the spark plug leads and to to the spark plug.

Spark plugs arent designed to last forever and neither are the leads. Both should be replaced periodically. Spark plugs are more common, I think leads are only recommended about 100,000k, but most people wont have them on for that long. First, make sure all the spark plug leads are nice and tight on the spark plugs. The other side of the spark plug lead goes to the coil pack. You will see them all going to one place, they are the coil packs. There are 3 of them.

Start by replacing your spark plugs and spark plug leads. A full set of leads will probably set you back about $50, plugs about $15. They are most likely the cause of your problem. Read around for some instructions/tips on replacing the plugs and leads. Remember to do one lead at a time so you dont mix them up.

If you are still having problems after doing this you can check your coil packs. You will need a multimeter for this one. If you dont have a multimeter - get one. Very handy and powerful tool. Dont need anything flash, cheap one will do the trick. Just about everywhere sells them.

You remove one coil pack at a time (again dont mix the leads up - know which one goes to which side of the coil pack). Once the coil pack is removed you measure the resistance on the top to big metal pins, and record the measurement. Do the same on the bottom in the holes. You might need a bit of wire to get in the little spade holes. You will then get two measurements - the primary and secondary resistance. If a coil is faulty it will show up here.

Your fault is all the time, so its a bit easier to fix.

There are many other things we can test, but do those first and get back to us.

[goat]

if it still runs like a fart in a bottle check your injectors for breakage or blockages..my car after recently replacing my head gaskets was running like a pooer..trned out 3 of my injectors were clogged with crap..cleaned them up and the fuel lines and car runs better then it did before