coil question

[Young Ed]

Norm mentioned in Robin's post to check his coil for a hard starting condition. I didn't want to sidetrack Robins thread with my question. How often to coils really go out? Both my old car and truck have ancient ones. The truck has a coil through the firewall and they are rather costly. I just left the one that was in there. My car did get a different one only because I dropped the original one and broke one of the wire terminals. However that one too is another used one from some other mopar. Are coil problems few and far between or do I have timebombs on my hands......

[Plymouthy Adams]

a coil is a very rugged device but will get weak over time..it is internally breaking down the insulation of the winding over years of heat/cool cycles. If you notice loss or weak spark when coil is at operational temperature and then brighter spark at cool..then you need to change your coil. I have seen coil get so warm that they just flat don't fire and will cool and restart the engine later..I am talking no spark condition..wehter this is a saturation or interally opening..I cannot say..

also remember a 12 volt coil with external resistor application is perfect to put on a 6 volt application...

[greg g]

Easiset test is to give the coil a touch when the engine is fully warmed and the car has been driven a while. If the coil is hotter than other items under the hood than there could be a problem. If it is too hot to touch, there is probably a problem. Good news is a coil is a coil is a coil, ( as long as we are talking standard coils for stock points type ignition) with the notable exception of those labeled as 12 volt internally resisted. So if you need a new one you need not search the world for a NOS MOPAR 6V coil. Just grab a coil from any relaible source, and replace your old one. If you have one that runs through the fire wall, you can still mount it there but will need to drill a hole or run a wire to the the now relocated ignition wire terminal. Also you might want to look for a 4 post solenoid, thee were common to 12V Ford applications. The 4th terminal is powered when the key is turned to the start position bypassing the balast resistor and giving the coil full battery voltage while the starter is spinning. when the key is relased to the run position voltage flows to the coil through the normal route. This may give a ailing coil a few more hot starts. But again a new garden variety coil will work for our needs.

[Young Ed]

The coil in my truck and the other firewall mounted ones have an early security attempt with the ignition directly attached to the coil. I suppose if it came to that I could do the coil and then put it a more conventional ignition too. I wouldn't want that big armored thing flopping around under there. BTW no solenoids on the old trucks. You push a foot pedal that pushes right on the starter itself.

[Norm's Coupe]

A coil can last a long, long time, or it could go out the next time you drive the car or truck. However, it will usually give you warning signs like a hard start when warm. Car will still start after it cools down a little. Just put an ice pack on it if in a hurry to start up, then look for a new coil. I know a guy in the local Ford V8 club with a 34 Ford Coupe Convertible that has been running with a bad coil for some years. Why, I don't know, he has a spare in his garage. Yet he never changed it, and because of that, every long road trip the car eventually conks out on him and he has to cool off the coil to get it going again. One road trip a couple of years ago he had to cool the thing off at least a couple of times, before making it home. Luckily the guy carries a cooler with his beer all the time so had lots of ice. He doesn't leave home without that cooler, even when riding with someone else.

Greg is right, coils are easy to buy at the local parts house. Only took me overnight to get my new one. As for securing it. The new one I got was slightly smaller diameter than the old one was. The P15 clamp would not tighten up all the way. So.......I just cut a small piece of old inner tube to act as a spacer. Doesn't slide around at all now. Would be easy for you to make a bracket if you don't have one.