 Coil Issue, Why did my coil bite the dust? |
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| PDXBob |
 Sep 7 2026, 03:34 PM
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#1
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Member  Group: Members Posts: 65 Joined: 16-May 20 From: Portland Oregon Member No.: 24,272 Region Association: Pacific Northwest 
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Hi 914ers,
So last week I had a new experience. Last Friday I was on my way home in my 914 (1975, 1.8 L, with original FI) and it died and wouldn’t restart. First time in 6 years that it’s left me stranded! Towed home. Last weekend I worked on it and determined it was an electrical issue. I was getting no spark from coil. Replaced the coil and now it runs fine. I don’t think the old coil was more than 2-3 years old. I have a 123Ignition electronic distributor, I installed about 2 years ago, so no points, condenser, etc. Sparks plugs are not very old, and look good. So, my question is: what causes a coil to go bad? Is it the engine heat off of a 914? Any guesses? Thanks for your help. PDXBob |
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| emerygt350 |
Sep 7 2026, 04:51 PM
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#2
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Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 3,718 Joined: 20-July 21 From: Upstate, NY Member No.: 25,740 Region Association: North East States |
QUOTE(PDXBob @ Sep 7 2026, 03:34 PM)  Hi 914ers, So last week I had a new experience. Last Friday I was on my way home in my 914 (1975, 1.8 L, with original FI) and it died and wouldn’t restart. First time in 6 years that it’s left me stranded! Towed home. Last weekend I worked on it and determined it was an electrical issue. I was getting no spark from coil. Replaced the coil and now it runs fine. I don’t think the old coil was more than 2-3 years old. I have a 123Ignition electronic distributor, I installed about 2 years ago, so no points, condenser, etc. Sparks plugs are not very old, and look good. So, my question is: what causes a coil to go bad? Is it the engine heat off of a 914? Any guesses? Thanks for your help. PDXBob What kind of coil was it? |
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| wonkipop |
Sep 7 2026, 05:17 PM
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#3
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914 Guru Group: Members Posts: 5,697 Joined: 6-May 20 From: north antarctica Member No.: 24,231 Region Association: NineFourteenerVille
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coils ain't what they used to be.
along with a lot of parts these days. lets see. points. condensors. fuses. ............ |
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| Shivers |
Sep 7 2026, 05:38 PM
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#4
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3,575 Joined: 19-October 20 From: La Quinta, CA Member No.: 24,781 Region Association: Southern California |
Old age, poor manufacturing, excessive heat, vibration or high resistance from bad plugs. But you said yours are good.
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| PDXBob |
Sep 7 2026, 06:16 PM
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#5
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Member Group: Members Posts: 65 Joined: 16-May 20 From: Portland Oregon Member No.: 24,272 Region Association: Pacific Northwest
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Here is picture of old coil. No name on it. Yes, car running good now, just like to know what caused the coil to go bad. Thanks for all the info so far!
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| emerygt350 |
Sep 7 2026, 06:27 PM
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#6
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Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 3,718 Joined: 20-July 21 From: Upstate, NY Member No.: 25,740 Region Association: North East States |
Check the resistance across the secondary and primary coils and post them. I am curious. Did you check the connectors on the wires going to the coil? They get brittle and just swapping might have 'fixed' it for the time being.
I have heard some oil based coils don't like to be mounted sideways. |
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| jim_hoyland |
Sep 7 2026, 06:32 PM
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#7
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Get that VIN ? Group: Members Posts: 10,129 Joined: 1-May 03 From: Sunset Beach, CA Member No.: 643 Region Association: Southern California
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? What are the parameters for a “good” coil.
I have a spare I’d like to bench test. |
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