Ignition coils play a vital role in keeping your engine running. If they fail, you’ll know something’s wrong, and the sooner you can diagnose the problem and replace it with a new coil the better. Understanding their function, recognizing the warning signs and knowing how to test ignition coil failure can help you avoid further damage and headaches down the road.
How Do Ignition Coils Work?![How to Test Ignition Coil Failures]( "how to test ignition coil failures")
Combustion engines, whether gas or diesel, need an energy catalyst to operate. Ignition coils use induction to turn the vehicle’s battery voltage into thousands of volts of current to produce a spark that ignites the compressed fuel inside the combustion chamber and sends the piston down. Some vehicles may have a single coil and distributor system, but most modern vehicles have dedicated coils for each piston. The setup varies by manufacturer. When everything is running well, coils work with spark plugs to deliver timely sparks for a smooth performance. However, coils can fail over time due to age, corrosion, heat damage, exposure to leaks, or worn spark plugs that cause the coils to wear faster.
Effects of Ignition Coil Failure
A few things can happen if your coils start to fail. For one, your car might not start or might have a hard time starting due to a weak spark or lack of spark. You also might notice that while it runs, it misfires and runs rough, giving you a lugging or bucking feeling as you drive. That’s because (if you have a coil for each spark plug) you’ve got one cylinder that either isn’t combusting or only sometimes is, unbalancing the engine. As a side effect, that cylinder isn’t burning the fuel that enters it, so your gas mileage may suffer and you might notice black smoke from the exhaust.
Running that rich fuel condition can cause backfires as unburnt fuel combusts inside the exhaust system rather than in the cylinder, and over time this can take a toll on your catalytic converter. At some point, your vehicle’s computer will figure out that something is wrong, even if you haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. That’s when you’ll see the check engine light illuminate. Scanning the vehicle for codes and taking time to diagnose these warning signs may point you in the direction of a possible bad ignition coil, if not several.
Ignition Is Bliss
The tricky part is picking out whether your problem is the ignition coil or the spark plug. To test this, use an inline spark tester between the spark plug and coil. This will tell you whether the coil is passing on the electricity to generate the spark, but it won’t tell you how much. To get the final word on whether the coil is good, you can measure its resistance with a multimeter — check with the manufacturer for the required specs. As always, turn off your vehicle before unplugging wires, and be sure to take all possible safety precautions to avoid injury and shock.
Alternatively, you may simply opt to replace the coils and plugs, as long as you have them uninstalled. After all, they will need to be replaced at some point.
Early diagnosis of a faulty ignition coil is important to avoiding greater damage. Keep an eye out for the signs of failure, and invest in a few easy-to-use tools to stay on top of it.
Check out all the ignition, electrical and lighting products available on NAPA Online, or trust one of our 17,000 NAPA AutoCare locations for routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on how to test ignition coil failure, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your local NAPA AUTO PARTS store.
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