My 95 had a similar problem, I broke the plastic boot which caused an arc; unfortunately you can't only buy the boot. I tried everything, Large heat shrink over the plastic of the boot with some electrical tape and liquid tape but no luck.

Anyway I have an extra used coil that worked last time it was on a year ago. I really wanted to hold on to it but I can part with it being it's your daily driver. Let me know.

Jonathan

x2 on a good oil. I use 5w40 Mobil 1 and my lifter tick is gone except for pump up at cold start. Even at that it only lasts 1-2 seconds.

I checked my bottle to make sure, I have Quaker State 10w30 conventional oil.

bOURGE is mailing me a coil tomorrow, but I'm keeping an eye out for one still because I'm taking his only spare. Things should get rolling when that arrives.

Ah, yes, QS, the mechanics friend. I hate paraffin based oils. I've spent cumulative years in cleaning out QS and Pennzoil sludge from engines.

Castrol if you use dino, and I'm no help on synth. That stuff just ain't quite right...

OK, I got the new spark plugs in. The ones in cylinder 1, 3, 4, and 6 looked okay- whitish brownish patina. The plugs from 5 and 2 looked black and presumably fouled. 5 and 2 are both controlled by the same coil, so there we go.

However- I have not put the plenum back on yet because I am not confident in my spark plug wires. I've tried measuring resistance but I can't get a decent reading- one I can't get a reading at all, one I will get a reading for a split second on the 200k setting, and one reads around 17-18k. That doesn't sounds right to me at all. Aren't spark plug wires just really, really well insulated wires? Why can't I get a decent reading? Is there a special test I could do? I don't object to replacing them, but I'm not sure my local parts store will have them and I really don't want to wait for more parts. Besides- I know at least two of them were working before. Your input is appreciated.

Thanks!
-Ned

Ignition wires are usually of the resistance type with carbon conductors which reduce current for good RF interference suppression. The resistance/foot varies with carbon content and age, but is generally 3-8k ohms/foot.

If Mitsu used the same wires for your engine as the Gen1s, the shorter wires should measure about 8-9k ohms and the longer ones should measure 10-12k ohms.

You may have your meter set on the wrong scale. If you have a 20k ohm scale, try that. If you continue to get the zero and 17-18k ohm readings, I'd say your wires are shot and probably the cause of the coil failure.

If I didn't know the condition of the wires for certain, I'd replace them on principle - particularly after a coil failure. At a minimum, if you're getting screwy readings, replace the wires - again, they could be the cause of the coil damage. If after replacing the coil and wires you still have an issue, suspect the PCM - the coil driver may be damaged inside the computer.

I would also replace the plugs and make certain they're gapped correctly. Today's engines with computers need a good spark..... and a breakdown in spark quality can lead to electronic problems. Coil failure can be due to bad/worn plugs or too much plug gap.

Finally, coil failures can sometimes be traced to lean fuel mixtures - perhaps caused by dirty injectors, faulty EGR systems or vacuum leaks..... not likely in your case, but worth knowing.

Frank

Got the part from bOURGIE today and put it back together tonight. It works! Hooray!

Swell <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

OK, one last issue. I apparently lost overdrive somewhere in this affair. I can be going 65 in third(~3500 rpm), let up on the thottle, and no upshift. Normally I'm at 2500 at 60mph, so I know it's not upshifting. I tried cycling the OD switch on the shifter and had no luck. The light doesn't come on except when the switch is. I'm guessing I screwed up or forgot a wire somewhere. CEL is not on(yet). Any ideas on where to check first?

Only about 15 miles on it since I got it running, and it's a bit rough yet- I imagine that the 15 miles I put on it with two cylinders out would have made those two a little bit crusty and would explain the slight roughness.

Bourge, sending you a PM now.

Just a WAG but IIRC there's a cold engine temp sensor wire that goes to the tranny which prevents going into OD when the engine is still cold (helps warm it more quickly too).