As your car starts to age over time, you may start to wonder if these constant repairs are worth your money. Let’s say you are facing an ignition coil replacement. Most likely the first question that comes to your mind is how much money is this going to cost me? You might also be wondering how long will it take to replace? These are all important questions to think about when you are putting money into fixing a car. It can be difficult to financially plan for the future when you have no idea how many repair costs will come up at one time. If you need an ignition coil replacement, you should plan to spend anywhere from $264 to $376.
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What Is The Function Of The Ignition Coil?
What exactly does the ignition coil do? The ignition coil is a transformer. It is used to give the spark plug enough electricity so that a spark can be created to start the engine. This is one of the most important components of the entire ignition system. If yours is not working, your car will not start. Additionally, your engine could suffer from the sudden stalling or difficult starting conditions it has to go through.
The ignition coil is a high voltage low current transformer. This means it extracts voltage from the car’s 12-volt battery. Once it has done that, it will convert it into 25,000-30,000 volts. This is needed so the spark plugs can ignite which aids in starting the car. This occurs by the spark plug igniting the fuel-air mixture which ultimately starts the engine.
When your car doesn’t start, do you initially think that you have an engine problem? Many individuals automatically think there is an engine problem in this situation. Sometimes that could be true, but you should always check your ignition coil first. This could be the problem as to why your car won’t start.
Testing An Ignition Coil
How can you tell if an ignition coil is failing? There is a simple test you can perform to determine if you have a bad ignition coil. You will need a digital 10 megaohm impedance ohmmeter to check your ignition coils. If you don’t have access to this, a mechanic can help you check this.
To check the ignition coils, you first need to connect the ohmmeter’s leads to the positive and negative terminals of the ignition coils. Then you will want to read off the numbers it gives you. The average is somewhere between .04 and 2 ohms. Now let’s say the ohmmeter reads zero resistance. This means that the coil is short. If you have a high resistance, then the coil is open.
There is another way you can check your ignition coil. You can use a spark tester. To do this, you need to first turn off the engine and disconnect the coil from the spark plug. Once you have done this, connect one end of the spark tester to the top of the spark plug. After you have done that, connect the other end to the coil output.
Now that everything is in place, start the engine to see if there is a light that flashes on the spark tester. If you see a light, the ignition coil is working properly. However, if you don’t see a light, this could mean that you have faulty ignition coils. You will need to get these coils fixed as soon as possible so you can get your car working properly.
How Can I Tell If My Ignition Coil Is Bad?
As you can see, the ignition coil plays a crucial role in starting your car. Without these coils, your car will not start. You might be wondering what the signs are of a bad ignition coil. The most common problem with a bad ignition coil is misfires. If your car misfires, other damages could occur to the engine parts. Some parts that could be affected are the O2 sensors or the catalytic converter. If you notice that your car misfires, you need to fix this problem as soon as possible. Misfires are nothing you want to mess with because they will damage other parts of your engine.
There are multiple spark plugs on each cylinder in modern engines. Each one of these spark plugs have a dedicated ignition coil. Every ignition coil is connected directly to the spark plug or through special wires. As you can see if these ignition coils are not working, it will mess up the entire system. Listed below are some of the most common signs of a bad ignition coil.
Engine Backfires: You will be able to notice the engine backfiring during the early stages of your ignition coil deteriorating. Do you know what happens during backfiring? The internal combustion cylinder will have some unused fuel leftover in it. This fuel will flow through the exhaust pipe. When this occurs, black smoke will come out of the exhaust pipe.
Additionally, you will also be able to smell gasoline, which will indicate that you might have a problem with your ignition coil. If you think you might have an issue with your ignition coil, you need to get this fixed immediately. Fixing this issue will help you avoid further damages to the entire exhaust system.
Engine Stalling: Let’s say you are driving on your normal route and a normal driving speed of 35 mph. You then notice that your engine stalls after driving only a couple of miles. This will happen if you have bad ignition coils. Why does this happen? This occurs because the ignition coils are supplying irregular current to the spark plugs. The car needs a consistent current for it to stay on and continue working. If you don’t get this issue resolved, your car could completely stop after driving a few more miles.
Check Engine Light: The check engine light will turn on whenever there is a problem with your car engine. This is a simple notification that allows you to be informed of an issue so you can take action. This is related to the ignition coil because these coils directly affect the function of your car engine. If your ignition coils are failing, your engine light will start blinking. If your engine light comes on, you should check your ignition coils because they may not be working properly.
Loud Engine Noise: Has your car been making excessive noise lately? When your ignition coils are bad, they will not generate enough voltage for the spark plugs. This means these spark plugs will not be able to ignite the engine. Your engine will have to work much harder than it normally does to continue to run. Since your engine is being overworked, it will start to make excessive noises and vibrations. If you notice these symptoms, you need to check your ignition coils to see if they are failing.
Poor Fuel Economy: When you have faulty ignition coils, it creates a ripple effect. The spark plugs won’t get enough electricity and they will have a hard time igniting. This means that more power will have to be supplied to them. When this happens, your engine will have to use more fuel. You will notice your gas mileage will drop because more fuel is used for the entire system to continue working. If you notice your gas mileage dropping, check your ignition coils to see if they need to be replaced.
Your Car Does Not Start: If you have faulty ignition coils, your car engine might not turn on at all. Since these coils aid in starting the car, it will affect the entire system if they are not working at their full capacity. Imagine starting your car and you hear a clicking sound instead of the car starting right away. This clicking sound is an indication that the issue is not your ignition coil. If you don’t hear any noises, there is a possibility that you have faulty ignition coils. If you are having trouble starting your car, you should get your engine system checked out so you know the exact cause of the problem.
How Often Should I Replace The Ignition Coils?
Once you have determined that the ignition coils are not working properly, you need to replace them. If you have the correct tools you can replace these on your own at home. If you don’t have the correct tools, you can bring your car to a mechanic and they will be able to replace these coils for you as well.
To replace these on your own you will first need to disconnect the car battery. Remove the negative terminal using a wrench to unscrew the bolt. Once you have done that, you need to locate the ignition coils. These are normally located on the top of the engine. They will be attached to the engine block.
Using the socket wrench, remove the old ignition coil and disconnect the electrical connectors. Once you have disconnected everything, install the new ignition coils. You want to make sure that you bolt everything down tight enough and reconnect the electrical connections. It is important to put everything back together the way it originally was. This will ensure that your car will run properly.
The last step of this process is to reconnect the battery’s negative terminal and start your car. You will want to take your car for a test drive to make sure you don’t notice any misfires or stalling. If everything runs smoothly, you have successfully replaced the ignition coils.
How Much Will It Cost Me To Replace The Ignition Coil?
Do you feel like you are constantly repairing your car? These repairs can definitely add up quickly. You can save costs by replacing the ignition coil on your own. It is pretty simple to do by yourself. If you are not comfortable doing it on your own then you can take your car to a mechanic. They will be able to replace your ignition coil, it will just cost you a little bit more because you will have to pay the labor cost.
The average cost to fix the ignition coil is between $264 and $376. This price includes labor costs and the cost of the parts. The labor costs will range from $99 to $126 dollars. So if you replace these on your own, you will be able to save that amount of money. The parts will cost you anywhere between $165 to $250. The amount of money you spend is dependent on if you want to replace the ignition coil on your own or have a professional mechanic do it.
Conclusion
Is your car stalling or misfiring? This can be a sign of a faulty ignition coil. Once you notice there is a problem with the ignition coil, you will want to get this issue resolved as soon as possible. If you continue to drive with a faulty ignition coil, you could further damage your engine and eventually, your car will stop working.
Now you have to make a decision whether you want to fix this problem or sell your car. Do you feel like you are continually feeding money into your car to repair it? If you don’t want to fix your car you can sell it to us and we will give you cash for it. We will take your car in any condition and either fix it up or refurbish the working parts.
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