Coils

[liammonty]

For those of you who have unshakeable faith in the reliability of coils, I didn't share it when mine failed at 5am on Thrsday on the M69. Why didn't I have a spare one with me so I could be on my way in a flash (no pun intended)? Because 2 weeks ago I used it to replace the coil that had just failed on the other Minor. "Ah, but it was doubtless a newfangled coil - the old ones never fail" I hear you (well, some of you) cry. Wrong - the coil in question was an oldish one. Anyhow, the moral of the story is that sometimes, perhaps even often, it IS the coil! Oh, and RH insurance's breakdown service is very good!

[lambrettalad]

of course coils fail ,both new and old .However it's worth looking elsewhere first as coils are very simple and very reliable ,whereas points ,condensers ,plugs and wiring are much more delicate and unreliable .It's a fact of moggie life

[bmcecosse]

Can you measure the impedance of each coil - and report back please? My faith in the reliabilty of original coils is not swayed in the least by this unfortunate report..... there is something else going on here....... But yes - I do urge everyone to carry a KNOWN GOOD coil in the car. Then you can fit that, and check that in fact the coil is not the problem.

[liammonty]

I haven't had a chance to measure anything yet, but this failure was different to the previous in that it seems to be the LT side of the coil that has failed (please excuse my simplistic understanding of ignition systems!). There was no power from the coil to the points, as opposed to poor HT output from the coil as has happened to me previously. Subsequently, the coil was stone cold when it failed, and gave no notice whatsoever of its impending failure. Unfortunately, it led to the same overall result...

[bmcecosse]

Both coils the same?? If you can - please measure the impedance.