how do you test coil packs? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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how do you test coil packs?

Joined
May 21, 2008
Messages
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City, State
wisconsin
Year, Model & Trim Level
92 xlt
besides spark being totally absent how can you test coil pack? getting poor gas mileage and just did a full tuneup and wanna make sure my coil packs are still good and strong???
 



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what should the resistance be?

idk, gm waste spark coil packs are like 40-60k ohms

but you could always just compare them, if one is way off from the others then it is probably bad
 












^^^^^^^^^

this test works pretty good.

Dont forget to check the degree of burn on there hands. this can be a good indicator of coil condition.

also make them sign a waver before hand. i forgot and the judge didn't seen to understand the logic behind my train of thought that led to the test.
 


















I have my coil packs off, but I'm confused as to how to check the resistance. My multimeter keeps reading "1" no matter what I do. What exactly do I touch to what?

Thanks
 






























1. Turn the ignition switch OFF, disconnect the battery, then detach the wiring harness connector from the ignition coil to be tested.
2. Check for dirt, corrosion or damage on the terminals.

PRIMARY RESISTANCE
Use an ohmmeter to measure the resistance between the following terminals on the ignition coil, and note the resistance:
1. B+ to Coil 1
2. B+ to Coil 2
3. B+ to Coil 3
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The resistance between all of these terminals should have been between 0.3–1.0 ohms. If the resistance was more or less than this value, the coil should be replaced with a new one.

SECONDARY RESISTANCE
Measure, using the ohmmeter, and note the resistance between each corresponding coil terminal and the two spark plug wire towers on the ignition coil. The coil terminals and plug wires towers are grouped as follows:
1. Terminal 3 (coil 1) — spark plugs 1 and 5
2. Terminal 2 (coil 3) — spark plugs 2 and 6
3. Terminal 1 (coil 2) — spark plugs 3 and 4
If the resistance for all of the readings was between 6,500–11,500 ohms, the ignition coils are OK. If any of the readings was less than 6,500 ohms or more than 11,500 ohms, replace the corresponding coil pack.
 






Ah, well that makes more sense. Thanks.

I got around 13.54 - 13.76 K between the 4 pairs. I compared those numbers to another set of identical coil packs and got numbers that were a little higher, 15.03 - 15.22 K. So seeing as the numbers on my coil packs were all in same ballpark and close to a set that a pulled of an Explorer that has no idle/hesitation trouble, are my coil packs OK?
 






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