How To Test Ignition Coils with Basic Hand Tools HD
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- In this video I show how to test an ignition coil pack while the vehicle is running (via power balance test) as well as testing the coil pack while the vehicle is off. The power balance test is an easy way to verify if each cylinder is firing. If you do not hear a reduction in rpm when disconnecting the coil pack harness connector, that particular cylinder is not firing. Check the ignition coil and the fuel injector (link below).Testing the ignition coil while the vehicle is off is an additional test to verify if the coil pack is indeed working or needs replacement. This was performed on a 1997 Nissan Maxima. Please check with your vehicle's repair manual for testing parameters.
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Any attempt to repair automotive parts and/or systems carries risk of personal injury. Always adhere and follow safe practices when working on vehicles. Such as, safety glasses, jack stands, no loose clothing, etc. No guarantee or warranty is implied. Use the information in this video at your own risk. Carsntoys is a member of the Amazon Influencer Program.
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For beginners it would be nice if you would show where you set the multimeter exactly
depends on each type of car and coil so its better just to google it, if not just keep taking readings you should have a resistance on at least one pair.
Ohm setting
You can pause it and zoom in
Terminal 2 and terminal 1 like he said
i fixed my bmw e36 (4cylinder) with your first testing method! Worked like a charm! i found out number 3 (coil) was dead so i replaced it with another one and boom everything is working smoothly. Thank you!
Did you car throw a check engine light when coil was bad
@@federicovega2292 nope it was running on 3 cylinders without check engine light which is strange
Very strange Thanx for the info
Just saved my son $300, for now.
Thanks a lot for your help and time.
Had a miss fire on my sentra. Used the first running test and located the bad coil. Easy fix, thanks for the video helped alot.
clikzip Good stuff man
+clikzip When U say "miss fire" what exactly are U referring to? Is it when U start Ur car?
No as its running a cylinder wasnt firing. The car was running on 3 cylinders.
+clikzip How does it feel when that happens?
The motor sounds quite different when running than normal. Like its on the verge of stalling.
Excellent and to-the-point video. Just a warning for people. Do not buy cheap ignition coils on the internet. You can buy in the internet but get good quality coils. I did a cheap set and I've had to replace all 8 of them in the last year-and-a-half. A set of eight coils cost no less than $400 if they do you're buying crap.
Good advice. Same goes with injectors and HID bulbs.
You are correct
I am on the fence with this logic. I was buying good coils 90 to 135 a piece and time after time cooked them from days to weeks or months but they would fail. Then discovered my ignition condenser was fried. I am waiting for it to get here but I bought 6 cheap coils and a condenser and going to see what happens. I really like the look of the new cheap coils they appear to be of quality construction and each of them ohmed out identical. the rear ones were 1.43 across the board and the fronts were 0.68 each. So I hope it works out.
Excellent video, Best way to test coils , no tools , WHAT! Yes Sir !
Thank You CarsNToys guy , you''re da man !
Man you just helped me with a bad coil, thanks bro! Hands down to you
Good stuff! Glad to help.
Thanks for taking the time. I would recommend giving the make/model and also resistance specs for the coils or other specs.
I mean a coil pack is a coil pack regardless what the specs or make and model of the car or vehicle is these tips will work regardless of the male and model so it's not really a requirement.
And the specs for coil packs will be different depending on manufacturer which will be on the box
I don't know if this has been suggested, but in your power balance test tips at the end you may want to also consider dirty/corroded pins/sockets in the connector and/or coil. I suggest this only because I had an older car with a "blown" horn and all I had to do was clean the connection. The electrical connection cleaner is a spray that is available everywhere and I use it every time I work on any electrical component on my vehicles.
Not a word about voltace from ecu , ignition..or chek the grund Its good..
I have a misfire on my 2013 Dodge Dart Rallye 1.4 Turbo #3 ignition coil and this video helps greatly! Thank you! This allows me to be able to check them myself and save money. Much appreciated!
Glad to help.
Ignition misfire issues, let's grab a Nissan for our case study. Awesome video.
Very smart to unplug the coil whilst it’s running. Pretty ingenious.
Informative, quick, and to the point. Kudos. Next you should make a video on how to make quick and to the point videos.
Changed my plugs last week and now I smell gasoline while the van is running.This test should help me figure it out. Thank you Sir.
Concise and clear, only one issue: no indication as to where to point the meter. Obviously we can tell by freezing the video where you had it pointed (on the OHMS area) but with so many different choices as to where in that area, good to include that info. Thanks.
He mentioned it right when he pulled out the meter "resistance or OHMS type test" he said.
@@bbeenn there are multiple ohms settings on meters..
Question should have been..
which ohms setting should the meter be set?
That is also dependent on the meter used..
As I learned in the past.
When it says set meter to 0-500 ohms, dont use automatic or 0-1k ohms.
I had to buy a meter that has to have a specific setting,
as I was getting a false reading..
@@Butchsiek 20k olms is the setting you want. Ive seen it in various videos and I paused this video to make sure I was testing on the right reading because my multimeter looks just like his. Anything else will give inaccurate data.
@@tipxking9944 thanks..
I was referring to a specific setting.
Manuals I worked from, the engineers that wrote them as I talked to them personally,.
We worked for Textron..
I explained to them the need to be specific as i found out the hard way when troubleshooting a circuit..
Another Tech I worked with noticed the meter I was using told me it wont work because the Engineers used a specific model and setting..
He used his and mine to show how the readings werent the same..
Mine showed a component was good, while his showed it was bad.
I replaced the part, problem solved..
The Engineers sent out a replacement page for the manuals that includes a warning and the meter, brand and model, the Engineers use in their design..
Never thought to pull the connector... You sir, just saved me a mech fee. Tested, confirmed, and ordered.
Drinks on me tonight. :-)
Fan-freeking-tastic! Almost the exact engine and exact issue I'm working on. Thanks!!
+HappyDeux Cheers!
It is quite fun to drive if you forget to bolt down the coil packs. Sudden power losses, odd idles, increased emission rates etc :D
What about testing the coils secondary phase of the coil.. connecting lead from terminal 1-sparkplug part. Term 2-sparkplug terminal..
Yep... that’s where my Old oil soaked coil reg zero and the New China one off eBay tests zero.... Repair manual says test both on my single cylinder quad...
I have 3 coil packs and when I unhook one the car just shuts off... what does that mean? That the coil pack is good?
Yes. One of your other coil packs is probably bad
My Nissan Xterra is having power issues, just had all spark plugs replaced with the correct plugs, and ignition coils, power issue went away, but now it’s back, thinking that one ignition is still bad , only got 5 out of 6 replaced , due to one being newer. I’m gonna give this a shot, thanks!
very well explained the symptoms and the way how to check and test the ignition coil. keep it up sir
cars and toys sir you is really honorable man thank you for showing and teaching how find the bad coil being disable everything Is a challenge struggling I did it thank you kindly
+Marc Williams Glad to help
save time. go to 4:15. great vid!
Thanks for posting this! I suspected my coil, and this simple tip helped me confirm it.
Glad to help!
Same! My buddy gave me this tip but it was helpful to see someone put it into practice to model for me lol. Sometimes I overcomplcate things
Helped me fix the issue with my moms car!!! Thank you for the great video!!
Glad it helped!
Could be a bad spark plug. Swap the suspect coil with another and see if the problem follows it.
Your video is very detailed and useful. Thank you very much!
Some coil on plug coils can't be tested because the transistor is built into the coil. The transistor is what turns on and off the primary coil. So since the transistor controls the switching of the primary coil which. you need a way to control the switching of the transistor on the primary coil in order to test the primary coil. If not, the primary coil will show an open in the circuit because the transistor is a normally open transistor. And will make one think the coil is bad even though it works properly.
U have ignored the leaky coils which is a very common problem and it's diagnosis is so difficult
I am actually looking for a video with this diagnosis. Any leads?
Nissan seems notorious at this
Like and subscribed! You spoke the basics and went straight to the point not like others when they put a damn story to it
thanks for the advice,i own a year 2000 nissan maxima and i just got some coils from australia, im checking them soon
Man ive been wacthing a couple videos but your is far out the best and clearest! You have a new sub:)!
xBlazT77x Thanks man appreciate it!
Had a dirty connector on my Subaru coil, cylinder number 4. Set my check engine light and other lights on the dash. After pulling the metal clips and unplugging the coil, then plugging it back in, it cleared right up. I pulled the negative battery cable, reset the computer and its been running with NO ISSUES. I checked each coil by unplugging and replugging and everything was fine. Scanned at AutoZone later showed it was indeed number 4 coil.
Good stuff!
thanks for the educational Video , by the way the 2006 Nissan Altima 2.5L 4 cylinder I am working on has the same volt and OHM specs as the V6 you just showed . just to let everyone out there know .
keep up the good work .
@CarsNToys Thanks for a great video man! I have a 97 Nissan Maxima that started running VERY rough all of a sudden. From the symptoms I wasn't sure if it was a cat restriction, knock sensor, or what. Codes came up P0325 knock sensor, p1320 Ignition signal primary, p1400 EGR Ckt Input Low. Did the power balance disconnecting one coil at a time looking for a change in rpms and found 2 coils not working. Swapped them out and voila! Running like a top now. The two coils together threw me off at first. I knew what a bad coil felt like, but not two bad coils. :)
lol.glad you got it done!
Hey bro good video thanks for the good info! I have a misfire on cylinder 3 on my 1500 I'm having issues with! I'm gonna test my coils like you showed! Thanks again. I hope I can identify the problem. Thats the hardest part for me. Is finding the issue. Pretty good at fixing it when I know what to fix. lol Thanks again!
Had a misfire in my trusty 2001 Mustang GT. Your test helped me figure it out. Thanks so much.
+Chris Roderick Glad to help!
You can’t disconnect coil pack technique on some V6 engine. Please check your manufacturer repair manual book.
Excellent video. Really appreciate you taking the time to create this video. THANKS!
Very informal and straight to the point!
Nice video. As for as ignition coils are concerned, the ohm meter test is not reliable for them to do.They contains mostly electronic inside and you can not guess the health of those using a multimeter instead what you showed in the beginning by disconnecting them one by one and looking to the engine behavior, could be the valid test only.
LearningZone q
You are somewhat right, however some resistance reading is not the right answer. the coils should have a specific range they need to be within. this range differs depending on the vehicle/coil pack. You most know what that range is for that vehicle.
You’re correct. That’s why the Factory Service Manual for this Nissan Maxima doesn’t have a bench-test for the ignition coils.
Also u have primary and secondary windings circuits it’s a diffrent test for each and diffrent ohm readings
@@panzerichi3837 I have a coil that reads from the lead that goes to the spark plug to both pins(8 ohms)but from pin to pin it does not read any(0 ohms)
I have an 2015 Bugatti Veyron that seems to be running bad at high speeds. Going to try your way.
Update..
It worked however I misspelled Bugatti Veyron. I meant 05 Ford F150.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Resistance from what I read can be misleading. A static resistance under no load or voltage can yield different results. In some cases, you can improperly diagnose a coil as good when it my be bad under load.
Had these checked , car is not missfiring but it's got a rough idle and engine power cut comes on until engine is proper hot , after it stops , after a while i get the engine overheating error and oil pressure low , its a n43b20 2.0 bmw 320i
Thanks Buddy! Clear and helpful.
Good test with unplugging the connector while the engine is working to find not working coil pack. But the test with ohm meter is incomplete - the coil pack is a transformer, a device to convert a 12V pulse into about 30kV. It has two coils: primary, connected between 12V and ground, and the secondary coil, connecting between ground and the spark plug. Very often the primary coil is good but the secondary, the one actually working with high voltage will have a break or short and often it only shows under load or in high temperature of the engine. Just testing primary coil with ohm meter is an incomplete test.
PszemoI can
Might be useful to have a resistance table in both directions.ie. diode measurements are less in one direction, more in another.
Do u know will u get a spark still if secondary is bad
ya , and wire 3 is for triggering the 12 volt pulse to the spark plugs 1 , 2 wires and 12volt and groundbut the ohm test is only good if you know what the ohm reading range for a good one should be
None of this testing matters if failure occurs when pack gets hot.. also packs like to crack.. spark likes to jump out of crack, even extremely small cracks..
Totally agree. It just happened to me. Bench test of resistance is completely useless. Even test with spark tester is not reliable. I have one coil that has spark with tester set at 30kv but I broke part of plastic when tried to remove boot (boot was glued) and didn't work when put in. All 3 bad coil (I saved them over time for comparison) tested good for resistance. There is book about car electrical by Tracy Martin. He stated that for testing good resistance or continuity only small part of wire need be good. He stated all electrical in car should be tested under load.
3 have around 10K, one has around 1.5K. Got multi-misfire code. But when I changed the sparkplugs, it runs smoother.
But I got those numbers using black to the middle lead. When I did red to the middle, the one was about 1.1K each side. About 10.5K on the left for the other 3 and no reading on the right. That was set at 20K Ohms, on the meter.
Good job man, excellent video, thanks for the great explanation. I love watching great videos that are well done like yours, it helps me continually improve the quality of my videos. Keep em coming.
Thanks, Clint. Appreciate the feedback!
Hi, I like you videos....
My question is......when the ignition coil is bad....
so nothing is showing up in the multimeter? thanks again.
+Danny Chuqui Usually you won't receive a reading or the reading may be way off
Still doesnt tell you if theres intermittant problems
Thanks. I had one done already on my 2005 Ford Escape. Already had plugs done before that one went out. The number 1 coil. Kinda figured another would go. So back to shop. 😭😭😭 -$$$
Mr. S Mueller how many clicks you have on the car. Why plugs and coils are failing. Go for the root cause. Contact for a tried tested and proven solution to improve the power , mileage and long long engine life extended to 300000 and more kilometers
Ty so much i found the bad coil thanks to your video
The two terminals you tested were for the transistor that controls the power to the primary coil. You did not test the windings in the primary coil. And if that coil is bad, you would not know it because you didn't test the primary coil. The turning on and off of the transistor is what controls power flow to the primary coil. And you didn't even check the secondary coil which can test good but will fail under load. You can have an ignition coil with a primary coil that tests good but won't fire because the secondary coil is bad. Testing three pin and four pin coils can not be done with a multimeter because you need a way to control the transistor located inside the coil housing.
When looking for a first cold start misfire problem I checked each of the 4 3 wire COPs with a Fluke 17 multimeter, looking for a difference in resistancetesting between the 2 outside pins 3 of the COPs came up between 6.2 to 6.4 Meg Ohms the 4th did a slow ramp up continuing to 26 Meg Ohms, retesting all again yielded the same results, replacing that 4th coil on plug that measured 26 Meg Ohms fixed the cold start misfire fault but unsure what may have failed in the COP or why this difference in Meg Ohms caused the misfire, any ideas ?
Checking such coils is done perfectly and easily by using a square wave generator applied to input terminal and providing D.C.12volts to the right terminals and testing the output visually And leakage checked by touching the stuff by a metal rode connected to the negative of the supply voltage while under test ...car electrician
this guy is very good
+Bill Bushey Thank you!
Your only testing the primary winding right? What about testing the other half of the coil pack? The secondary winding.
thank you for education you are champion thanks and Cheers
Thank you. Appreciate the feedback!
U can also swop coils to determine if harness is damaged, like in my case i had a broken wire on harness
Im having a hard time finding the bad coil by removing the power. It all does the same thing when i remove the power each of them reduce rpm.
Great Video if your vehicle runs
That bench test only tests 1 side of the coil, so it's an incomplete test.
Your video is awesome! Very very detailed! Definitely what was needed! Now I learned how to test each coil pack- I’m replacing all 4 of mine anyway- have brand new OEM ones but love learning how to trouble shoot! Thank you! 😉
How often do Ignition coils generally last? My car is a 2005 with 153,000 miles. Should I change the ignition coils? Thanks
Good Information. But was thinking was going to show a different way of testing
Power balance?
سلام سپاس تشکر درود و هزاران 👍...👍....بسیار ممنون🙏🙏🙏👌👌👌
3:37 thank me later
BaSeL thankss 🙌🏼
Thanks.... 10 months later.
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😂 I about checked out when he said “star-type screws.” Thanks!
@@robdaugherty2010 It has "cross type" screws that hold the coils in place, but he decided to use his mechanickin' skills and break out the 8 millenial meter sock-it.
VERY GOOD INFO. I watched very close.
Thank you
Nice simple old-school way!
+Dave Hak Thanks!
I like how you explain how to do it by breaking it down step by step, I appreciate that. I am an inexperienced mechanic I do all the work on all of my vehicles my self and the vehicle that I'm working on now is a 2004 Buick Rainier. So to start off with I have had to replace the exhaust manifold to replace my oxygen sensor cuz I couldn't screw a new one into the manifold so it makes all that I get everything put back together and I start my truck and it started but it's idling really rough and I put a ODB test on it a scan the tool and it told me that cylinder 6 was misfiring so I change the coils and I change the spark plugs and it still stating that I still have a cylinder 6 misfire even though the coils I have put in it have been all good. So do you have any advice to maybe that you could share with me to maybe help me out with this? I really appreciate it. Thank you
That test only tested the primary circuit,you have to test the secondary , high voltage also. Most bad coils have a failed secondary winding.
How you do that?
@@farees4820 measure between the plug wire holes of the mated coils, if good it should be dependkng on your coilpack, 10,000 to 14,000 ohms. All the coils in the pack should read about yhe same, if 1 reads 0 or really low or really hi, or all ove the place, thats the bad one.
@@davidrussell8918 your talking about the spring inside right?
About time someone understands it’s two circuits and two diffrent test for windings 😂
2001 GS300 200k awesome car but misfire on cylinder 2. This helps a lot
i'm having this issue on a 95 maxima.
tested coils 1 and 5.
no response so now i'll test your method
I am having issues with a 1996 Honda Accord starts while driving rpm drop to 0 shuts off and won't start after I let it set for a while and will continue only little distance and shut off again and won't start until I let it set
Had a similar issue and it ended up being the harmonic balancer that was failing and it finally did fail.
New subscriber 🔥🔥🔥
Awesome mate, thanks a lot that was very very instructive
Thanks. Glad to help.
I am confused here, should the coil have some resistance to show if its in a good condition or it has should it have 0 resistance
Are those three ignition coils all that is needed to run the 6 cylinders?
if ohm found like 6000 or some numbers that means it wrong but you are saying its good. it should be zero ohm right? please let me know . i saw something like that totally opposite in you tube.
hello wonder of you can answer me a question. how do you know the fire sequence of the car?
If there is no reduction with the rpm does this mean its good?
Why its has 3 pin
Can you explain
Hey CarsNToys! Thank you so much for this video! It was really helpful.
Thanks for you help......and you explain with details & examples ....thanks again.....
+Danny Chuqui Glad to help
What were you testing with the multimeter? The primary or secondary winding? It was 6 ohms so that is kind of an in-between reading, but I'm guessing that was the secondary. what were the specs supposed to be for a Maxima? just because you had continuity doesn't make it good, you could have had too high, or too low resistance.
If the multimeter shows a reading, it means the coil is not good? To be good it all have to be on 0 ?
thanks
COOP
please what does it mean during the process of testing the coil while the car is on I observed immediately i remove one coil the car went off, does that mean that particular coil is bad?
Awesome my guy
Very informative. Thanks.
Thank you
Thank you so much, it was helpful.
Coils produce the spark. Pull the packs out one at a time and hold the opening close to the frame of the vehicle. The spark should be easily visible.
In a nissanAltima 3.5 can you test #3 cylinder without removing the intake?
Thanks mate, sorted me out!
great video... will give it a try if I can get to my cylinders it is pretty tight there had to remove dual intake on my 07 g35 all the way to taking off a throttle body. also great idea on the continuity test.
I have to also remove a cover just to get to the coils. It's annoying lol
Informative quick and to the point.. good video
Thank you. Glad to help.
actually some engines have the coils conected in series so if you disconnect one, some other will stop working too. I recommend taking out one by one the coils till you find the one that is not working (the engine doesn't change when you take it out)
Francis JPK I disconnect 1 coil at a time & car shuts off, does it for all 4 of them, I have a 02 corolla, its so strange that the car shuts off
that's weird, maybe the ecu itself shuts off the car when you take off a coil
Francis JPK my new spark plug tip was wet with oil & coil spring, I need a new valve cover gasket
sometimes ign coils are shorted inside and will be burning the ign fuse, you r/r the fuse but it will burn again (you test all other fuses on that branch and one of the fuses will not get full load of juice)
the solution is to r/r the bad ign coil