davidwanj

would anyone happen to know that, how do I know if I need new ignition coils or not?

and also, from the search I found that everyone seems to have easy "burn" problem with the OEM coils, what are some of the better coils out there I could buy?

Mazmart Will

Loss in power is one of the best ways to know your coils are failing. If you pull your coils off and look on the back , if there are white burn marks they're definitely failing.

How Many miles are on your coils? The average usable life span of these coils is ~20K Miles.

Just stick with the stock coils. They can be found cheap (~100 for 4 brand new)

chetrickerman

stupid question, but where are the coils?

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

Right under the corrugated part of the air inlet.

S

DOMINION

^Is there a way to test them myself?

chetrickerman

so pretty much underneath the air filter box? or not, im a little confused

savedsol

Find your spark plug wires. Plugs on the bottom, coils up top.

davidwanj

my car is at 40k, I guess it is time to change them out huh? :P I did notice a lose in power for some time now, maybe it was the coils

Slick8

Per MazdaManiac:

Slick8

MazdaManiac upgraded his coils, but the location is the same:


https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...light=ignition

chetrickerman

oke doke, thanks much

67Z28LT4

Pull the coil wire off at the distributor, put a screw driver into the end of coil wire and hold blade of screw driver between your thumb and index finger. If you are still holding onto the screw driver after having someone turn over the ignition switch YOU NEED A NEW COIL. However if your arm hurts all the way up to your shoulder and your hair is now curly and the screw driver went flying your coil is probably OK.

HiTMaNN

Wasn't that de bunked by Dan and MM in the Petit Owner thread? Cause I had brand new coils and it had white marks under it and they were still in the OEM packaging. The only way to check is with a Volt meter I think but someone with more technical aspirations will chime in.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

Average Lifespan only 20K miles ? ... sheesh .... thats pretty low, and if thats really true, my coils are *due* for replacement LOL

imput1234

iTrader: (6)

Damn, that low. My coils have had over 30+ but seem fine

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

I dunno, but I've been having Misfires at high rpm, like if I suddenly burst some high rpm I will get misfire.

It could be fuel pump dying or something else, I replaced my coils almost 17K miles ago. so Im not sure if thats the cause.

Will see.

Heavytarget

Hmm. I'm replacing mine and I am pretty sure they have been in the car since the factory; but I did buy my car sues so who knows. When I changed out my plugs, I pulled the coils to look at them and they have the rough white spots. After I saw that, I kinda assumed they were going so I order a new set. Then again it has been 50,000 miles; 30k of them are mine. I hope this helps with my performance like the plugs did.

Hopefully the UPS guys are coming tomorrow, with the wires as well.

rled

i The average usable life span of these coils is ~20K Miles.



I must be lucky. I have 60k on my coils and still runs great.

I8U

iTrader: (1)

You're just used to your car running like crap that's all...get a new set and you will be able to tell a huge difference.

1.3L

Very interesting. I got a flashing CEL last Saturday after a spirited run in 3rd gear and brief pull in 4th. I granny shifted to 6th and as the car was gradually slowing down, the CEL quit flashing and went dark. I pulled over when it was safe a few minutes later, lifted the hood and checked things over.

About 10 minutes later, I tried a full throttle run in 2nd gear and didn't get past about 6k RPM; the engine just pooped out, and the CEL came on solid and stayed on.

So, I took the car in for service yesterday and got it back last evening. Verdict? Code P0302 rear rotor misfire. The technicians "swapped" the coil (not sure what that means, but my guess is they swapped position of 2 of the existing coils) and did the latest flash update. Car now runs great all the way to redline.

After reading the above comments, I'm concerned about the coils. My '04 only has 15k miles, however.

1.3L

rq1rx8

Ok... Does anyone have instructions for me to do the spark plug & coil replacement myself?

I'm about to order the leading & trailing spark plugs (2 each) and one ignition coil to match. Along with that are rotors & pads.

I'd love to save even more money by not using the dealership if its an "easy" job to do.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

rq1rx8: the search button is your friend! But, seeing as how you're local, I'll help ya out.

here's the spark plug DIY: https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=31872.html
I simply jack up the front left side, remove the front driver's side wheel and using a ratchet with an extension you can remove the spark plugs. (swivel end makes it easier)

You're only replacing one ignition coil?
Pop the hood, remove the engine cover
while looking at the center of the engine bay, look slightly to the right.
There you'll find the intake, it should have a rubber accordian attachment to it, I find it easier to get to the coils if i remove that. (a phillips head screwdriver is needed)

Now take your trusty ratchet and you can get to the coils. follow the spark plug wire to each coil and remove the nut holding it. change one at a time so you don't get the spark plug wires mixed up.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

do all coils at the same time.

u can get all 4 for a bit over 100 bux.

u need a 10mm socket, extension bar and ratchet.

plugs, see diy

search is ur friend.

rq1rx8

Jedi54 & NYCGPS thanks for the heads up...

I was a bit lazy there and not using the search button...

See the reason why I placed ONE underlined is because my dealership neglected to tell me how many coils I need... I'm assuming now I need one for each spark plug... Thats why a few posts mentioned 4x$100 ... (duh, I know...)

The dealership is charging $70 a piece for each Ignition Coil, $28 for cabin air filters, $47 or $31 a piece for the spark plugs but not sure which price goes for leading and trailing plugs.

I almost tripped when my service advisor said replacing my front pads along with new Rotors was going to hit a little over $500 with the service.

So I decided to start shopping for aftermarket parts and save some money. With the DIY info I hope to find on this site, I can probably save more money on the labor I was going to pay Mazda to install all this stuff for me. I'm only apprehensive to do it myself cause I'm not a grease monkey at all.

I ordered my Hawk Pads & Rotor from Goodwinracing (same place I got my RPF1)
and now the only site that has the rest of my list of things to get is PartsGeek.com.

Do you have a place you like to shop at locally Jedi54? I'm Rocky BTW in case you peeps want to use real names....

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

hey rocky, for spark plugs and coils I actually don't buy them locally, I find that it's easier (and cheaper) to get them online.

www.finishlineperformance.com or www.onlinemazdaparts.com both carry them for great prices. (I've ordered from both; great vendors)

the prices the dealership quoted you are ridiculous! Ignition coils are like $25-$30 each. Spark plugs are under $100 for a full set.
Even if you're not very mechanically inclined, these are pretty simple to do on your own.

You can knock out the coils and splugs in an hour or two from home.
Don't forget the anti-seize on the spark plugs.