thanks for your input, but that discussion of various posts is really beyond the scope of this DIY and really only serves to confuse the average enthusiast (that isn't your intent I'm sure, just the way I see it going).

I find the test tool works extremely well and is cheap enough to justify just buying one and keeping it for the rest of your car troubleshooting life. No moving parts and it never wears out.

Best $8 you will ever spend ;)

btw, several people sent me some OE coils to test and I haven't forgotten about them. My car has been up on jack stands for the last several months. Just had it running for the first time in forever the other night, without an exhaust manifold no less. Kind of cool to watch the flames lick out of the ports while idling at night with the lights out ... :)

Here is coil tester I used:

http://partimages.genpt.com/largeimages/255985.jpg

I took a quick video that shows what you should expect to see with properly working coil:

I have a buddy that has one of these:


Would this work like the tester in the OP as well? It seems this one still makes use of the spark plug so that you dont have to run the engine with 1 missing plug.

Nadrealista's video is aweome - Youtube has got automatic closed captioning now, and it's totally choking on this guy's accent:

"running in her parents protested for Wednesday ... regardless of oral sex constantly all-stars is due to the engine" etc.

bump, so easy to check, works on all RX8 coils OE or aftermarket

FYI, OTC makes a similar one for HEI system(model #6589), with the model #6588 being the standard. See attached photo to showcase the difference of electrode between the two. Standard on the left, HEI on the right (one needed for RX-8).

/\ That 'style' has been superseded for 'safety' for well over a year..

as long as you have a good ground and no metals near the tester, you should be safe. The only danger is the possibility of the current jumping to a stronger adjacent ground, but even that is a stretch.

Great Write Up. Subbed for Future Reference

Hey Team ... any chance you could find the tester you recommend again and post a pic ? The link just goes to Napa and I wasn't sure which tester you were referencing when I did a search of the site ......

This one

http://img1.fastenal.com/productimages/0245717.jpg

HEI spark tester

Yep. Picture is not accurate but this is the updated one.

Thanks guys :)

It was described and shown well in post #34

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-...2/#post4462628



.

Subbed

I just checked my coils with a tester made by OTC. Is it normal that when cranking, the trailing coils take 2 seconds before they start sparking? The leading coils spark right away. The test is being done with a cold engine because I just bought a 2004 with an engine that has low compression and won't start, compression test done by dealer from what I was told by seller. But I want to check everything before I decide the engine needs a rebuild. Thanks for answering

ok, just to also clarify for the next person who also searches this thread. This is a normal thing?

Somebody once claimed they didn't even spark during cranking. I know they do, but haven't done it in a while and am not sure/can't recall if there's a delay or not. Regardless, as long as they're actually sparking I can't see how even an initial delay would result in it having starting issues.

Thanks for the clarification!

bump for all the noobs - see post #1