Coilpacksssss

[cr4ig0]

And i know ive already topiced about it, but coilpacks are going!.

I'm already saving up for replacements but today the warning lights came on and havent left like they normally do! And i just need the car for about a week until i have the money for new ones.

I have a 2nd hand set from my mates car (60000k) in now, and my old set (150000k) in my garage, im wondering if there is a way to locate the one that seems to have died without trial and error?

I could educated guess it as 6th cylinder (from front) or 4 or 5 as they are gonna be the hottest right? But my friend said (not sure how true this is) that you could test each one using a voltmeter and testing the voltage through each one.

Another thing i thought of was perhaps unplugging each one individually while the car is running, and which ever one DOESN'T change how the car runs is the dead one! But i dont know if this is going to damage anything since plugging and unplugging things while connected to battery never agrees with me!

What are peoples thoughts and ideas? I really need the car as its my daily and i will have the problem sorted asap. Just dont wanna drive around with a dropped cylinder/misfire all the time.

[paulr33]

ahh i know everyone is misfire / coilpack / cas mad these days

but what warning light are you talking about?

from memory no warning light will come to indicate dead coilpacks etc

[cr4ig0]

The combination of the lights i think that indicates an ignition problem?

The problem slowed once i replaced my old bad ones with these 2nd hand ones but now seems to be permanent.

At first the engine light comes on, followed about a second later by the slip and traction control lights.

I'm told thats the combination usually meaning coilpacks, and that coilpacks are a very likely problem in our cars.

[steve_23*]

ahh i know everyone is misfire / coilpack / cas mad these days

but what warning light are you talking about?

from memory no warning light will come to indicate dead coilpacks etc

keep the car running and take coilpack plug out one by one, if the one you pull out makes no change then thats the one thats failed

[cr4ig0]

In driving it to shops and back it didnt come up this time, which is good news that its not completely dead just yet, but now im stumped for ideas on trying to find the crappy (or crappiest) one of the lot if it doesn't fail again.

Just wondering if there is anything i can do to see if one is likely to fail (while its still working) or a way to make it make (like heat it or something) any ideas?

[nuclear_skyline]

hmmm... slightly intermittent problem? Have you checked the harness to the coils? It may have gone hard and brittle and may not be putting the electrical charge through to the coils. Hence, when you pushed it all back together when you installed the 2nd hand set it got better for a while...

Just my 2 cents on what to check...

[Beer Baron]

At first the engine light comes on, followed about a second later by the slip and traction control lights.

I'm told thats the combination usually meaning coilpacks, and that coilpacks are a very likely problem in our cars.

that is complete bullshit! there is no 'combination of lights' that indicate dud coil-packs. even in diagnostic mode there is no magic 'dead coilpack' sequence.

Another thing i thought of was perhaps unplugging each one individually while the car is running, and which ever one DOESN'T change how the car runs is the dead one! But i dont know if this is going to damage anything since plugging and unplugging things while connected to battery never agrees with me!

this is 100% the easiest way to find the dead coil-pack (if that is in fact your problem). with the car idling remove them one by one. as you remove one the car should start missing more heavily. when you remove the one that doesn't change the idle at all you have a winner.

the engine check light and other warning lights coming on is a worry though. and no they are in no way telling you of an ignition problem. the engine check light usually is telling you that you have no oil pressure. but with many coming on it sounds like possibly some other electrical problem.

[Adriantc]

stutter....stutter...... BAM ENGINE/TCS/SLIP LIGHT ON!

i believe thats how it goes

[cr4ig0]

Yeah thats how it goes Adrian.

I heard that the combination did mean a firing problem. And its been true to all 3 r34s in my group so far (all have had the sequence and identical symptons, and in the two that were fixed, it was coilpacks.

[paulr33]

i stick with my original thoughts, and thanks for beer baron agreeing

there is no engine check light for dead / mangled coil packs

it sounds like, at a guess

stutter, followed by SLIP TCS coming on is that your TPS is mangled, loose, fault, out of range

the engine would stutter if the TPS goes out of range or reports whack values

SLIP and TCS would fail if TPS goes out of range / fails as it needs to know how far throttle body is open to function and guess "wheelspin" conditions

so check your basics, check the TPS, check the throttle body, run stock ecu diag with consult port / cable / diag

[Galois]

i have the same problem in my r34 gtt. you could run the engine diagnostics using this diy:

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Re...de-t266512.html

if you get the signal 21 it means ignition problem, which is likely to be coilpacks.

the problem with taking one coil out at a time is that it already has to be failing, ir: not running normally. mine pops like a wrx but once it gets above 2500-3000rpm it goes away, most of the time. don't like doing that tho cos it putting stress on a stressed engine.

people have all sorts of ideas like taping the coilpacks, or covering them with silicone gel stuff to insulate them, so the charge doesn't arc to the engine block. does your problem happen often? cos mine usually fails round 10 mins into the first trip of the day...

[cr4ig0]

Mine happens on and off, if it happens will be about 10 mins in similar to yours.

Sometimes if i pull over and let the car sit engine off it wont come back.

But sometimes it does.

Normally letting the car cool down over a few hours will definately get rid of the fault.

I just played around with coilpack wiring harness/plugs and didnt notice one faulty (althrough i couldnt get to coilpack 4 or 5) but after playing with all the plug and wires and restarting engine the lights where gone, but came back 10 mins later on a drive.

When i got back i left engine running, played with plugs again, (at this point lights were still on) then restarted engine, to which only the TCS and SLIP lights came on (not engine light like normal) then immediately restarted engine again and no lights came on, and stayed off for 5 mins at idle.

So i'm stumped, i think i just need to get new coilpacks (since they are needed even if it isnt the problem) and see if it goes away, if not then ill chase the other ideas.

[Adriantc]

craig, do they happen to come on more often when its raining...?

i had the same problem with what i said earlier, i was told by the importer when i had it that it happens as they die and will occur more frequently..

i just had my coilpacks replaced and spark plugs and no problems runs like a whole new car

before u go spending $600 take it to the mechanic and get him to diagnose it properly... not much u can do but pay some $ either way lol

[wolverine]

i stick with my original thoughts, and thanks for beer baron agreeing

there is no engine check light for dead / mangled coil packs

The neo powered stagea threw an intermittent check light when the coils were on their way out. Once replaced it resolved so I believe it is possible. There was no checklight with the R33 when the coils were done.

I am not sure if the later model ECU has the capacity to throw the checklight or it was something coincidental but to the best of my knowledge it was the only part changed.

[Galois]

Mine happens on and off, if it happens will be about 10 mins in similar to yours.

Sometimes if i pull over and let the car sit engine off it wont come back.

But sometimes it does.

Normally letting the car cool down over a few hours will definately get rid of the fault.

I just played around with coilpack wiring harness/plugs and didnt notice one faulty (althrough i couldnt get to coilpack 4 or 5) but after playing with all the plug and wires and restarting engine the lights where gone, but came back 10 mins later on a drive.

When i got back i left engine running, played with plugs again, (at this point lights were still on) then restarted engine, to which only the TCS and SLIP lights came on (not engine light like normal) then immediately restarted engine again and no lights came on, and stayed off for 5 mins at idle.

So i'm stumped, i think i just need to get new coilpacks (since they are needed even if it isnt the problem) and see if it goes away, if not then ill chase the other ideas.

Exactly the same symptoms as mine. Did you follow the diy above? whenever the malfunction indicator light comes on an error is logged, you can find out what the error was from that. might be worth doing to check there's only one error coming up