[s-cars] Thanksgiving Misadventure

[Tom Green]

For all on the list, I have forwarded some photos that can not be  
attached to this email
separately to Keith for removing and replacing coils.

Since you have a complete set of coils, I see no reason to jump to an  
entire replacement
system yet, especially if you are certain they are all good coils,  
better even if they are intact.
The replacement is not as easy as the new coils with connectors right  
at the coil, but not a
difficult process either, once the faulty coil is identified.  Given  
your story, I would be inclined
to just start with the one that was on fire, then deal with the  
troubleshooting if necessary.


If you decide to move to an aftermarket system, Marc Swanson can  
provide either the 1.8/2.0
or the LS2 system:

http://www.efiexpress.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=15


Tom '95 S6
          '95.5 S6 avant
Knoxville, TN

On Monday January 2, 2012, at 5:41 PM,  Keith Franchetti <skidfranc at gmail.com 
 > wrote:

> Thanks for the great help!  Sorry for my ignorance on ignition issues.
> Jerry, I just needed someone to tell me that the seemingly obvious
> was in fact correct.  Sorry to say I didn't know misfire under boost
> is such an obvious symptom of coil problem.  So thanks!
>
> JC, thanks for the detailed directions on (and encouragment not to be
> hesitant)  switching out the one (apparantly) bad coil.  I might start
> there since I already have a set.
>
> But I'm also pretty interested and tempted to just do the upgrade, as
> you all are pretty clear that would be worth it.  (So far I'm only
> into this whole repair about $250, and I could probably sell the
> TimeSert kit for most of what I paid--$190.)
>
> I found the 1.8T plug and play kit from Apikol.  $359.  Does that
> differ from the LS2s and Magnecors you mentioned, JC?  Is that one I
> see at Apikol the obvious choice?  (Thanks Wylie for mentioning the
> distributor name so I could find it).
>
> Any other tips on where to order the upgrade kit (if there are  
> options)?
>
> Keith
>
> On 1/2/12, Wylie Bean <theringmeister at triad.rr.com> wrote:
>> Yep, depending on your level of (lack of chip) tune I highly  
>> recommend the
>> apikol kit and 1.8T/2.0T coils.  Have been running them with zero  
>> issues for
>> over a year now and 3 track days.  It's time for new plugs and I  
>> may stick
>> with NGK coppers, as they've been flawless as well.
>> Wylie Bean
>> 90 cq
>> 91 90q20v
>> 92 UrS4
>> 08 Q7
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Robert Myers <bob at chips-ur-s.com>
>> Sender: s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com
>> Date: Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:40:47
>> To: JC<jc at j2c3.com>
>> Cc: Keith Franchetti<skidfranc at gmail.com>; S-Car
>> Audifans<s-car-list at audifans.com>
>> Subject: Re: [s-cars] Thanksgiving Misadventure
>>
>>
>> And, the $64K answer is --- the OEM crap WILL go south again and it's
>> time to just toss the whole P(ile)OS and do a proper upgrade as you
>> suggest, JC.
>>
>> Bob
>>
>> At 04:21 PM 1/2/2012, JC wrote:
>>> Keith -
>>>
>>> Def suspect that coil.  Pulling apart a coil set is easier than it
>>> looks. Start at the connectors - after peeling back the boots, you
>>> remove the outer connector housing off the internal rectangular
>>> core, then carefully remove each of the applicable pins from the
>>> connectors.
>>> You should then be able to slip the wires out of the wiring looms
>>> (although I just went ahead and cut open those wiring sheaths to
>>> make it easier then zip tied things up afterwards).  With that you
>>> can pull each coil out to be an independent unit and mix-and-match
>>> them to get a good set.
>>>
>>> Of course stock wiring lengths differ so you probably need to
>>> solder/splice wires to ensure you have enough length to reach the
>>> coil location.
>>>
>>> Also if the stock wires are hard and cracking then yes you can
>>> replace those.  Before I gave up on OEM coils I rewired my entire
>>> rack with nice new teflon insulated wire soldered right up to near
>>> the coil and covered with heavy duty shrink wrap with internal
>>> adhesive (special  kind of shrink wrap that basically has a layer of
>>> hot-glue type stuff inside it).   This worked very nicely for some
>>> time until yet another OEM coil started to go and I got fed up with
>>> taking them apart and resoldering.
>>> I still have 11 OEM coils in the basement and I'm sure there's a
>>> good 5 in there somplace but I don't have the patience to screw
>>> around with it. Long live the awesome power of and easy diagnosis of
>>> the LS2s & Magnecors.
>>>
>>> JC
>>>
>>> On 1/2/2012 3:58 PM, Keith Franchetti wrote:
>>>> Update:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The one obvious possible source of my problem is that I'm still  
>>>> using the
>>>> coil that got damaged (partially melted) on the Thanksgiving Day  
>>>> when
>>>> spark
>>>> plug blew out and caused the fire.  (You'll remember I also had a
>>>> significant valve cover gasket failure causing there to be a LOT  
>>>> of oil
>>>> in
>>>> the spark plug bore hole--so that when the plug blew out, there  
>>>> must have
>>>> been a bit of fire that completely melted the boot, and some of the
>>>> plastic
>>>> covering to the coil).  I actually HAVE a spare set of coils all  
>>>> still
>>>> wired in a loom--though the wiring overall is not in great  
>>>> shape.  I'm at
>>>> a
>>>> bit of a loss as to how to replace the one coil.
>>>>
>>>> That's where I am right now.  Any thoughts or recommendations?   
>>>> Thanks!
>>>>
>>>> Keith