Bluddi Vax'all's are shite

[New POD]

Last time I had to travel to Cardiff to drop off our daughter for the start of University Term, the mk4 astra sprang a petrol leak, the afternoon before, and required intensive rushing about to get a new petrol filter.

 

This time, at 4pm Yesterday, the bugger starts to have a very mild misfire, and the emissions warning light comes on.  Under load it flashes.

 

So I trot off to a garage who kind of owe me a favour (returning our classic mini back after much work, with a wheel nut missing).

 

Anyway they put a code reader on, and declare number 1 cylinder misfiring. They try swapping 2 of the plugs around, just in case it's one of them and not the Coil Pack. And then they declare that the coil pack is borked. They refused to bill me for the 15 mins of diagnostics. Thank you Mr Shorrock.

 

So I phone up Closest Vauxhall dealer in Ainsdale, who can get one by Wednesday if I pay in advance. Er No.

 

Then I phone up Lookers Vauxhall just off the dock road in Liverpool.

Yes they have 19 in stock. The parts dept is open for another 35 mins, but the service department could hold it for another 25 mins.

 

So into the mini, and into the rush hour traffic.  Get to parts dept, just before they close, and then off home. Fix takes 8 mins, there's no misfiring, but the light stays on.

 

Then a quick drive to my brother in law, who has just got home, and I know owns a generic code reader.  5 mins later, the light is off. and I think he said something like "That'll be £40 please" to which I said "Yes indeed. Put it on my bill"

 

Anyway 420 miles later, the light is still off. I'm £210 poorer. I realise now that I should have asked for a trader club price, but at the time I was somewhat stressed.

 

 Anyone want a knackered coil pack? This thing looks like 4 cows Udders.

 

 

[omegod]

I have a VX trade card and opcom should you ever have the need bud,

 

I have had success with £20 coil packs from scrappies in the past and used to carry a spare in my Omega as they are a weak point 

[Split_Pin]

I had a similar quandry with our Chevy. Its coil pack was arcing over cylinder 1 badly. I didnt have the time to fix it myself nor did I have a clue if a Corsa one would work on it, which I could have bought from ebay for £20, so instead bished it into my local garage. An aftermarket coil pack was £145 and it was having the MOT, 2 tyres and service done too. In all the whole lot cost over 500 quid on a 3 year old car. That stung for a few days!

[HH-R]

Jesus Christ, HOW MUCH for a COIL PACK?

[Split_Pin]

I'm still saying that now, 6 months later. A GM one was 220.

[HH-R]

Blimey. Is there anything special to them, or are they the usual pencil + HT lead type?

[Barry Cade]

Was there not a Euro close? open all day and less than 60 quid.

[vulgalour]

Is there an advantage of coil packs over old fashioned plugs and leads?  All I ever hear of coil pack is how they're breaking and expensive to replace.

[hauserplenty]

...exactly.

 

Advantage: main stealer.

 

They did away with distributors first, and went to coil packs, then coil-on-plug which did away with HT leads as well. All fired by pulses from the PCM. Fewer moving parts, but they seem to cost more, for some odd reason. [/irony]

[New POD]

Is there an advantage of coil packs over old fashioned plugs and leads?  All I ever hear of coil pack is how they're breaking and expensive to replace.

 

Theoretically better than a distributor, a coil, and 5 dodgy leads.

 

Who would have thought you could get one from Euro Car Parts http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Vauxhall_Astra_1.6_2004/p/car-parts/engine-parts/ignition1/ignition-coil/?413720321&1&9083764f5dc228d6a560988c855772833aa82ec9&000197

 

£5fucking8 quid.

 

Now I feel like I've been stabbed in the heart.

[gordonbennet]

Bloody amazing how an old fashioned oil filled coil cost peanuts and lasted the life of the car usually, while now we normally need one per cyl, they cost £££ and last a couple o years, or 10k, after warranty expires, a cynical chap might suspect they are designed like that.

How come proper made in Japan Jap car's coils don't shit 'emselves every five minutes.

[New POD]

I think It may have got wet/damp when I serviced it 2 weeks ago. And that's never a good thing, for high voltage electronics.  Mind you I'd done another 600 miles before the fault occurred so maybe not.

[beko1987]

The meriva has that style coil pack, and when the spark plugs shit themselves displayed coil pack symptoms and error codes, turned out to be the spark plugs.

 

Sorry to hear it wasn't that!

[406V6]

Coil packs are the biggest weakness in my V6.  There were some bad ones around in the early 2000s but the ones fitted in 2003 have lasted over 10 years. Being a V6 it needs 6 coils but they "only" cost £25-£35 each depending on wher you buy them.

[tommotech]

A good set of spark plugs aren't cheap these days either, world's gone mad.......

[Split_Pin]

Tbf, out of 4 cars Ive had with coil packs, the Chevy (newest) has been the only ine to give trouble. The Corsa one is tired but there is so little performance from it that a few moments of hesitation on 'acceleration' go almost unnoticed😂

[HH-R]

Aye, all of my cars bar two have had coil packs and none of them have given trouble. I ended up changing them on both Fiats because they never ran right but it made absolutely no difference.

 

The dizzy and leads setup might have been scapped when wasted spark came in for emissions reasons?

[lisbon_road]

It isn't a very helpful comment but I also always have a spare for my Astra in the back.  Never needed it.  I think that the engine light will go off itself eventually after a number of starts and the problem having been fixed, but perhaps someone else can confirm that.

[chaseracer]

...wasted spark... emissions...

 

Which is why a cared-for 2CV/Dyane rarely bothers that section of the MOT.  Assuming it's on the road and not tucked away in the garage, obvs... 

[Barry Cade]

It isn't a very helpful comment but I also always have a spare for my Astra in the back.  Never needed it.  I think that the engine light will go off itself eventually after a number of starts and the problem having been fixed, but perhaps someone else can confirm that.

Yes, if there are no other faults, it will turn off after 20 starts if I remember correctly. Or just turn the ignition on and off 20 times.

[Barry Cade]

Saab were one of the first with this set up- the thing was massive and farkin expensive. Red ones were best.

[omegod]

I have a VX trade card and opcom should you ever have the need bud,

 

I have had success with £20 coil packs from scrappies in the past and used to carry a spare in my Omega as they are a weak point 

 

That wasn't meant to sound the way it may have read i.e. quite unhelpful ! 

[twosmoke300]

A lot of coil packs ( Saabs for definate) are oil filled for cooling . If you remove the coil pack and tip it up you are supposed to wait an hour or so before starting the car to allow the oil to get back where it's supposed to be . If you don't they can overheat and be damaged

[DeeJay]

A lot of coil packs ( Saabs for definate) are oil filled for cooling . If you remove the coil pack and tip it up you are supposed to wait an hour or so before starting the car to allow the oil to get back where it's supposed to be . If you don't they can overheat and be damaged

That'd add a bit of time to your commute every morning 

[Barry Cade]

A lot of coil packs ( Saabs for definate) are oil filled for cooling . If you remove the coil pack and tip it up you are supposed to wait an hour or so before starting the car to allow the oil to get back where it's supposed to be . If you don't they can overheat and be damaged

I was hoping someone would say that. I got a smack on the back of the head for that when I was an apprentice. Now I have a second opinion that it wasn't just an excuse

[lisbon_road]

I never knew that!

[Pillock]

Like a fridge.

 

Really really different, but in that respect just like a fridge.

[Guest Lord Sward]

I never knew that!

 

 

Neither did I.

[andrew e]

Every day's a school day. Anyway, when I needed the service item coil pack for my Astra H, the local supplier was telling me they did a roaring trade exporting to the colder northern American states for the (badge engineered) Saturn Astra. Apparently they were a fortune over there, and they regularly sent a few a week. Below is yer' Saturn.

 

 

http://www.saturn.com/vehicles/saturn_vehicles.html

[New POD]

A good set of spark plugs aren't cheap these days either, world's gone mad.......

 

 

I bought the 4 electrode GM ones from the dealer, as standard, at a reasonable price.