Coil issues?

In 2019 when we went on a big European trip had running problems in Belgium ending up getting a new coil which fixed the problem, it was a heat wave back then too, very similar to now.
Probably with slightly less than normal usage due to covid I’ve probably done 7k miles on it.
Yesterday set off down to Hayling island, 220 miles ish, on about 190 miles started noticing a slight miss particularly on hills but then it seemed to get better.

This morning after loading up an engine and setting off it got worse, pulled over had a fettle with cabs etc but no better. As we were only 7 miles from Winchester, found a motor factors and got a new coil, duly fitted it in the car park, problem solved.
Just driven home 200 miles running perfectly.

7k miles doesn’t seem much on a coil, it was a Bosch I bought in Belgium?

Running accuspark ignition iirc!

Crap quality parts?
Some other issue?

 

The answer I suspect is in the last part of your post...

 

Good spot, and fix. Another thing for rolling parts list, out goes a bacon.

 

The last 2 running problems I have had has been down to a dodgy coil, first I was told it definitely wasn’t the the coil and you guessed right it was, I replaced coil with a blue Bosch one and within 5 k miles the problem returned, I checked everything on the camper I even took the carbs off and rebuilt them, because the coil was new it was the last thing on my list and guess again it was a dodgy coil I’d fitted I replaced it again and hay presto problem solved

 

Do Accusparks kill coils?

Could you try good old fashioned points for a bit?

 

Lots of people are having difficulty getting hold of the right coil nowadays. Most of the heritage steam railways are starting to struggle, can't get Welsh steam coil any more!


Ooops....wrong thread maybe!

 

The Last time I had coil issues my ex wife got pregnant

 

I had a JK “flamethrower” one as part of a Pertronix bundle. It lasted 175 miles , luckily I’d kept the old blue Bosch as a spare. JK refunded without quibble but I didn’t want a replacement

 

Could be coil, could be the faffing time allowed the Pertronix time to cool down.

I expect a few problems could be fixed more cheaply and simply with an ice cream. Find an ice cream vendor, buy ice cream, sit in bus and eat it. Go and find a chip shop, buy some chips, eat them.
Try to start engine, problem gone because the distributor (and coil) has cooled down.

 

Annoying that Pertronix is now trading on it's name only. My flamethrower coil and ignition have been going strong for 25 years without a single misfire. Personally I think they are idiots to let the quality nose-dive like this but no doubt in the short term they've been making lots of profit.

 

No it’s definitely the coil, it had plenty of time to cool overnight !
After I replaced it we drove 5 hours in yesterdays heat at 55/60 without a hiccup.

 

Did you keep hold of the old one? Be interested to see if the primary or secondary are reading open circuit?

 

Same problem during the trip back from Hessich Oldendorf on a friend T2B.
Ran fine at idle, lost power and strong fuel smell on the road.
One year old Bosch Black "made in Mexico"...
And on the way, a 2 weeks old 180€ starter crap out on a Mcdonalds break... He bought a rebuild genuine one on the swapmeet for 400€, hopefully will last more than 2 weeks
I believe a transistor box to delete condensator and a modern coil is more reliable than the stuff we bought through VW aircooled dealers.

 

60? Showoff!

 

No real way an electronic unit can kill a coil. Heat can get to them (as it can with coils). My money's on the Crapuspark.

 

Agreed, that's why I was interested in the continuity of the coil, primary, secondary and across the windings.

 

As I understand it part of the problem is the coils are filled with oil for cooling.
Unlike most cars have them with the terminals pointing up or horizontal our vans have them pointing down so the oil leaks out or there’s not enough oil in them exposing the end.

 

I once had a visit down Grimethorpe pit in Barnsley. Coil is what they call it there. Is that your neck of the woods?

 

You would like to think so, but when Alibaba.com will sell you 500 pieces of a transistorised VW "ignition ignitor" unit at $3 each, quality may not be there..


For other units, there is always the "bathtub curve" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_curve?wprov=sfla1
where brand new products are very unreliable, and plotted on a logarithmic time scale, very old products are unreliable.
So the brand new starter motor is more likely to break this year than that rusty looking 10 year old one, but the 50 year old motor is also probably broken.

Then there is the fact that lifetimes of products are inversely related to the fourth power of the temperature.. the same pertronix at 350 deg K/ 80C on a water cooled engine lasts maybe 1.4 times as long as a distributor at 380 deg K/110C on a VW engine. Just arm waving..

 

Usually the secondary that goes open circuit...but only when it's hot. Most frustrating.