Hey guys-

I've got an arcing coil pack and I'm wondering what the best way to sort this issue out is..

It doesn't look like it's arcing from the spark plug boot - more like it's arcing directly underneath the coil pack itself..

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

Jeff

 

Stock coils or MSD?

Has it ever been unbolted from the mounting bracket?

You'll be replacing the arcing coil either way, but it's useful to know who made it.

 

I had this happen when I installed LT's. Check #8 plug wire. I left mine off and it was resting on the frame causing an arc on one of the coil packs on the same side.

 

Stock coils.. I don't remember if I ever removed it from the bracket or not.. Pretty sure when I did the swap I left them all attached to the bracket..

 

It's done for. The other 7 likely arent far behind

 

Seems like it was a loose spark plug wire on cylinder 2... Running like a champ now..

 

I guess Pocket still assumes people lift the hood and check the obvious stuff before posting, he'll learn eventually.

 

That doesnt make any sense. It wouldnt arc anywhere close to the bottom of the coil pack if the boot isnt fully seated

 

Beats me man...

I dont remember which side is which.. If the drivers side are cylinders 1,3,5,7 and pax side are 2,4,6 and 8, The arc was on cylinder 6.. I checked the plug wires and #2 was loose... Started it up and it runs fine.. Arcing is gone...

 

#6 arcs because #2 isnt seated?



More likely the coil is bad and you bumped it just right so the fracture closed... for now

 

Like I said... Beats me...

If it starts acting up again, I'll replace the pack.. Not a huge deal...

 

be sure to check the grounds and harnesses to the coils

 

check the bracket when it bolts down you could have caught one of the wires when you bolted it back down i had a similar problem

 

Lmao... Am I lost?

 

LOL.. no less than the rest of us I guess...

All I know is the car was running rough and I threw a code (don't remember the code off the top of my head) so I went to AutoZone to get the alternator checked.. We noticed the arcing coilpack.. Some suggested checking the wires...

So I checked all the wires- #2 was loose.. Reseated it and the arcing quit..

Pocket is most likely right, in the wire checking I closed a fissure in the bad pack.. So far it's running fine..

When/if it starts running rough again, I'll change out the pack...

 

Looks like Pocket was right, the pack is arcing again.. I'm going to replace.. My question is - should I seek out another stock pack or can I just upgrade these as they fail?

If I run 7 stock packs and 1 MSD pack, am I asking for issues or is "a pack a pack?"

 

If going new, do them all

If replacing with the same style, buy a used set of 7-8 and replace as they die

For a mostly stock/mild engine you wont notice any change from mixing/matching coils, but the higher power engines will pick up quite an imbalance from the different in spark quality and dwell. Read over some coil comparison threads. I recall one where a guy picked up 30hp peak from switching his worn out LS1 coils for the external ground truck coils

 

Yeh, I'd like to do them all but don't have the $800 MSD wants for them..

My car is a heads/cam car..

Any idea what the truck coils run and are they a direct bolt on?

 

I think if you check here and on the Vette boards, searching for "MSD coils" you might find that they're (at best) wasted money and at worst they're problematic. My own experience w/ MSD coil on my TPI car was a similar horror story...they're fine for a year or so, then they fail.

Truck coils are a nice upgrade if you're running a turbo or supercharger, but fitment requires some tweaking of the fuel rail inlet.

I would just measure resistance of your 7 non-arcing coils and replace any outliers along w/ the bad one. I found 7 of my 8 coils were within ~0.2 Ohms of each other, while one was over 2 Ohms different. It got swapped with a Delco coil and life has been good since then.

 

Truck coils mount higher on the valve cover and interfere with the fuel feed line. A slight bend clears them

If you've got billet rails this is a non-issue

99-03 trucks got the good coils. They're easy to spot because there is a heat sink built into the outside of the body. LS2 coils (narrow body) are slightly less powerful, but still a good upgrade to your stockers. Be sure you get the bracket with whatever coils you use