Can a bad ignition coil cause hesitation?
If the coil is not completely dead, there are many symptoms that you may experience. You may feel slight hesitation when you step on the gas. Weak ignition coils will misfire under a load. (aka acceleration, or uphill driving) and may operate perfectly fine when cruising.
What are the symptoms of a weak ignition coil?
If your car is experiencing any of the problems listed below, you may have a faulty ignition coil on your hands:
- Engine misfires.
- Rough idle.
- A decrease in car power, especially in acceleration.
- Poor fuel economy.
- Difficulty starting the engine.
- Check engine light is on.
- Exhaust backfiring.
- Increased hydrocarbon emissions.
What causes the ignition coil only give off a little spark?
Loss of spark is caused by anything that prevents coil voltage from jumping the electrode gap at the end of the spark plug. This includes worn, fouled or damaged spark plugs, bad plug wires or a cracked distributor cap.
Can an ignition coil get weak?
(Positive ground is the reverse.) Most ignition coils are long lasting and reliable, but a weak coil you can be the cause of under-hood havoc. These kinds of coil problems are usually caused by heat and vibration. It is possible to have a sudden failure due to broken windings or bad connections inside the coil.
How do you test a weak ignition coil?
Use a spark tester to check the ignition coil.
- Plug the tester into the coil.
- Attach the ground wire.
- Plug in the coil connector.
- Adjust the spark gap to the correct measurement.
- Start the engine.
- If there’s spark, great, it works! If there’s no spark, it’s a bad coil.
How can I tell if my spark plugs need replacing?
What symptoms may indicate my vehicle’s spark plugs need replacing?
- Rattling, pinging or “knock”-like noises. When spark plugs begin to misfire, you may notice unusual noises from the force of the pistons and combustion not working properly.
- Hard vehicle start.
- Reduced performance.
- Poor fuel economy.
Is it bad to drive with a bad ignition coil?
It is possible to drive with a faulty Coil On Plug (COP), but not advisable. Driving with a faulty waste spark ignition system won’t be possible. Driving with a faulty coil pack can damage other components of the engine. You’ll also learn how to diagnose and replace your faulty coil.
Why did my Subaru Outback hesitate to change the spark plug?
My hesitation was due to my plug wire on #3 breaking apart after the last spark plug change (I pulled on the proper location of the wires to take the wires off). I changed them in the parking lot of the local Subaru dealership (when I was out of town!).
When to diagnose a Subaru ignition coil problem?
It’s worth setting aside about 10 minutes to diagnose the issue so you can take care of the problem as soon as possible. The most common symptoms of a failed ignition coil similar to the symptoms of a bad spark plug. It’s because the bad ignition coil can’t fire the spark plug it’s connected to. Keep an eye out for the following warning signs:
What’s the life of a Subaru spark plug?
These factory spark plugs are half iridium, the ground electrode is still a platinum tip. There is a blurb from Ngk where they state that 80-100k is their expected lifetime for the platinum/iridium hybrid plug. Subaru rated these a little more conservatively at 60k miles.
Are there spark plugs on a legacy 3.6?
Running just fine at 70K+ on our 3.6 Legacy but most of that was blasting down the Interstate. These factory spark plugs are half iridium, the ground electrode is still a platinum tip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVVKX1df4yc