I'm not sure my coil pac on my 96 Lumina is the problem but I was told it might be.?

Question

I was going along when my engine started misfiring and it sounded like it was blown, making a terrible noise. I pulled over and shut it off and then started it again. It really sounded terrible and if I pushed the accelerator the knocking got really bad, leaving me to think the engine was gone, but a friend told me to check the coil pack and that might be my problem. Now my problem is,, How do I check it and if need be, how do I replace it? Is it very hard and is it expensive? Please help me

Answer 1

use an ohm meter to check the resistance of the coil. if this car has a v6 it probably has 3 coil packs. with the car shut off pull the two wires off one of the coil packs and check the resistance with the ohm meter (you can buy a cheep meter for about 10 bucks) compare all three coils this way and replace the one that has different resistance. if they all have the same resistance you have a different problem. the coil pack should cost between 30 to 50bucks and is fairly simple to change

Answer 2

Not hard...

First pull the coil pack off by removing the hold down screws from its mount...make sure you unplug it first...

now look at it closely on the outside for cracks in the plastic

now turn it over and look at the backside for cracks and etc... if it has a gel type urethane rubbersized backing it should appear and feel smooth ....with no cracks...

but if it has any bubbles or has a sandy grainy type appearance it has defianately gone bad...

if it looked good do not assume it is... you need to run a hot to cold variance test on it...

try super heating it with an ordinay hair dryer by poiinting it at it while the engine is running if it starts acting up from being heated with dryer ... this is the problem...

do this a couple times to be sure of your results...

next for the super cold test... go to a computer repair and parts store get a can of cold shot and do the same engine running cold test it if engine stumbles or falters its bad replace it... again check results multiple times

it could be a crank or cam position sensor too....same tests will work for them... sometimes cleaning dust away from a crank sensor wile cure a problem like this too

Walt

Answer 3

Coil is 24 dollars at Auto Zone,99 olds- Alero.Here is a quick check start car in dark ,Open hood and Look at coil pack closely also the Sp. Wires,See if visable arcing .If this
is what I think it will get worse as car runs.

Answer 4

When a coil pack is bad on a engine,3.1,3.4,usually it will "pop" and lose immense amounts of power,it will also make a "backfiring" sound..That doesnt sound like the problem,but it is possible.The pack is located on the front of the engine to the underside,2-4 bolts hold it in,just unplug your connectors to the pack and replace..an aftermarket pack will generally run you about 100.00 dollars,that is in the southeast,depending on your location,price may vary:)

Answer 5

If you have a vehicle with a coil pack, you would lose 2 cylinders and it would miss a bit and lose power. It wouldn't knock or smoke, it would just not fire on those two plugs. Assuming a 6, you'd be running on 4, but again, not knocking.

Answer 6

thats the way mine acted and it was the module,so just replaced both coil and module.both of them from auto zone cost me around $100.00.i got a 1988 olds 3.8 and mine wasnt hard to change.you say lumina?my neighbor has 1 of those cars and they told him it had 3 coils.

Answer 7

3/16 vac. put 6 2 cut on each coil car then with light out each and can see one is. test the way to if are bad. not, to old one gump three. coat are to holes and.