4 month lifespay for iggy coil???

[puddin]

im on my 4 th ignition coil and it's been just over a year-- did notice it gets wayy tooo hoottttt.

seems like if key is on and eng is off the coil gets the 12 vdc and isn't being swtiched on or off by the elec ignition module the coil just cooks.

also after a 30 mile trip the iggy coil is screaming hot.. although it runs great - timing 10degress btdc and centig adv upto 40 with smooth transistion. i'm running a crane cam x700 ignition module - ac delco ap63 platlium plugs , new wires, new, cap and rotor, no ballast resistor( was using one though it would help till the last iggy toated then took it off) no condensor ( elect ig mod)... motor runs great gets 25 mpg starts up good in cold or hot weather but did notice plugs are white (too lean mix or too big of a gap - plug gap .035)

anybody got a clue or should i just stock up on coils???

[majicwrench]

So just what fails in the coils?? Does the car just die?? Coils are very simple and when all else is good, will last forever. Is the coil designed to run on 12v like yoiu are doing?? Timing, plugs, advance, that really doesn't play into the picture.

[So Cal Mark]

are they oil-filled coils? What angle do you have them mounted at?

[puddin]

yes they are oil filled coils mounted vetrically (post up)

been through this before - that's why i thought the ballast resisitor would shovle the problem- but didn't==

thought maybe the tach wire was grounding out ???

the last coil was bought by summit racing and was a 50,000 volt with 1.7 primary ohm and 8600 secondary ohm resistances

the summit coil instructions said that it should only get 8-10vdc so i used the ballast to get it down to 10.1vdc and it still burned out

by burned out i mean the eng would only rev to 3000rpm then studder- i removed it and found the primary resistance to be 1.7 and the secondary was totally open???

like i said before when the key is on and eng off (like just listening to radio) the coil get really hot in a matter of minutes -- i don't recall any of my older cars doing this-- seems like juice is going to the coil and just baking it. i think that is what killed the last coil - i was waxing the car with the radio on (key on eng off) for about an hour and then the next trip to work the eng wouldn't go over 3000 rpm = so i replaced the coild and it immediatly ran fine????


here's how its wired 12vdc (ignition on red wire) to pos on coil with the crane cam ig module on that same post

yellow wire from ig module to neg post with tach wire on that same post

no ballast ==no condensor== should i run a condensor and ballast???- that they were only for point ignitions...

[seabeelt]

Sounds like you have a shorted circuit somewhere that is using the coil as a ground path. I would start going through the wiring circuit by circuit to make sure there are proper grounds and that one circuit is not shorted to another. Anything else not working electrically? blown fuses?

[WYSpider]

How does one know if they are oil-filled coils? Are most coils oil filled?

[majicwrench]

An hour with radio on, current running thru coil, is not what it was designed to do. I you like to listen to your radio engine off, you need to rearrange some wiring.
If coil was designed for a ballast resistor, you need one! Condensor makes no diff.

This is my issue with aftermarket stuff, coils, ignition modules etc. With the factory stuff, all designed to work well together, it will work for tens of thousands of miles. You don't need a 50k volt coil.
Keith

[puddin]

gonna try to make sure the gnd wire for the ignition module is properly grounded and put the ballast resistor back on.

[124JOE]

How does one know if they are oil-filled coils? Are most coils oil filled?

yes ALLthe older can type
but the newer ones dont.joe

[puddin]

was wondering if also can the coil shell or casing be conducting voltage through the oil if the (neg) terminal wasn't getting a good ground or switched ground from ignition module??? just a thought???? could the tach if causing the heat also ( think i run it without the tach wire on just to see what happens)

[So Cal Mark]

I gotta disagree with Keith about the quality of the oem stuff. There have been quantum leaps in ignition development in the 30 years since Fiat opted for the Marelli electronic system. I see the genuine Marelli parts failing on a yearly basis in these cars and the aftermarket stuff isn't even that good

[majicwrench]

Mark,
No question there have been improvements made in the last 30 years.
My point was that a system, even a 30yr old system, built by the factory to work together, is going to work well together for a loooong time. When was the last time a factory coil in a factory set-up failed every four months??
Keith

[puddin]

ok today's progress

re-installed ballast-- removed tach wire and taped off-- confirmed connections-- started motor and within 5 minutes couldn't touch the coil (too hot)..

so with eng running at idle i got 13.2vdc before the ballast to ground --10.3vdc to coil (pos+) to ground and 6.3vdc from coil +pos to coil -neg.

also i re grounded the ignition module ground wire to make sure it had good ground

which lead me to

1. too big of a plug gap?
2. too high resistence in plug wires?
3. internal problem with ignition module?
4. amperage to coil too low?


or just keep a spare coil around?

[WYSpider]

Not sure what year car you have but have you considered using a different coil. ACCEL 8145 is $35 from Amazon and works with later model (electronic ignition) cars.

Manoa Matt uses this coil in his car. I installed one on my 1980 but do not have long term experience with it. (I keep my original coil in the trunk as a backup.)

[majicwrench]

First off, I would get rid of the fancy coil
That said, install a higher resistance ballast resistor, and get the voltage down closer to 8volts. 10.3 is above the specs provided with the coil.

Hot coil, coils do get hot. How hot is too hot, I don't have a clue. So I don't know if that is a good basis for deciding if something is wrong.

Coils should last for a looooong time. The "original one in the trunk" that Wyspider has, it still works, right??
Keith