In search of a RELIABLE spare coil

[rsawatson]

I think it is already widely known that a lot of the newly manufactured ignition coils available on the market are unreliable, and prone to deteriorating quickly or being very sensitive to heat.

I am looking to purchase a suitable spare: touch wood my current coil (which is very old) works fine, but just in case, I think it's about time I carried a spare. Can anyone recommend the best for me to go for from experience? If doing so would violate the terms of this forum, a PM would be appreciated. Cheers.

[faversham999]

put the new one on the car and keep the old reliable in the boot

[rsawatson]

haha, what happened to "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"?!

[bmcecosse]

Try SimonBBC. But old is best! Be sure to get a 12 volt coil - and not one designed to run on 9 or even 6 volts with a resistor in series. 12 volt coil should have 3.2 Ohms resistance. Others are lower - and soon overheat horribly.

[rsawatson]

Thanks for the info BMC.

[Blaketon]

I got one from the Welsh MG Centre in Wrexham and that was fine, though I think the one that used to be on my mother's MGB may have come from there and that was a duffer. She now has an Aldon coil and that's been fine for five years.

My two MGs each have "Old" Lucas coils, which so far are fine.

[dalebrignall]

the coil i got from bull motiff is very good the lucas ones you get now arnt lucas there intermotor in lucas colours

[millerman]

Apart from putting the coil on the car and trying it which is the correct/best way to check a coil off the car

[katy]

The best/proper way is with a distributor & coil tester.
Other than that; after verifying that the windings are OK with a multimeter, hook it up on the bench with a spare distributor, a battery and a spark gap tester then spin the distributor shaft by hand (in the proper direction) and see what spark you get out of it. Should get a fat blue spark at least 3/8" long.
This will tell you how the coil is working but won't tell you how long it will last.

[bmcecosse]

If it's leaking oil - or the terminals are wobbly - don't use it.