2005 AT, 78k miles.

A few weeks back I smelled a burning electric smell in the cabin of the car once in awhile. This went on for about three weeks. I just wrote it off as being from the outside, although it was a strong odor. As these weeks went on the car would idle rough to very rough. Also if I was in park and pressed the accelerator it would sputter until about 2500 RPMs.

I read on the board here about the ignition coils being a problem in some cars and figured I would change them out along with the spark plugs. So I did that tonight, plugs and coils took about one hour total to change.

After I put everything back together I started her up and let it idle to get warm. Once the engine was warm I tried raising the RPMs while in park and there was no more sputter. There was some on the way back down, but a smooth way up. Once I get it back on the road I can test more.

Either way, I am leaning toward a bad coil. Can anyone find it in this picture, lol?

 

Good question!

Hard to tell from the photo.

The left one looks bad.

 

when did u get ur coils ?

cuz as far as I know, The design of the coil box has changed, I got mine like 2 months ago and mine has the new version of the box :P

Its same stuff inside, so no worries lol

oh ur question? nah, no one can really tell by the looks. even with proper tool still cant tell if the coil(s) are in good shape.

 

Get a whole new set.

 

I changed all four tonight. I was assuming the brighter white one may be the one in question, if any at all. Either case, it is running better. Well, as good as a car with 78k miles would run.

 

I helped turborx8 with his coil inspection, you can read through this thread if interested:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/diy-testing-oem-coils-146929/

 

i have 38k, what are the chances i need to replace my coils?

 

I don't know when you should replace them but I can tell you what my car was doing before I did...

After about 120 miles of driving today I would have to say it is almost like driving a new car! The idle is so smooth and the acceleration is great. Just like it was when it was new. I forgot how nice the car ran.

Before I changed the coils and plugs it would have a really rough idle that has been getting worse over time. When I would step on the accelerator in park it would sputter until it got into the 2000 RPM range. I noticed my fuel enconomy was going down slightly, about 20 miles a tank. When the car was new I would get about 275 per tank, lately I was getting about 220. Right now I am sitting at 250 with alittle less then quarter left. i should be able to get 275 out of this tank, and that is with AC.

Just my two cents.

IMO the coils should be changed with the plugs as the schedule calls for.

 

I just got a call from dealer saying that I need to replace the coils.
Is this something that you can replace without much of knowledge?
and how much did it cost you to buy it and where?

 

YES, you can easily change them yourself.

You'll need a ratchet set, an extension, and the coils.
- Unplug a the spark plug wire (ONE at a time)
- get ratchet
- loosen bolt
- remove coil
- insert new coil, tighten down.
The coils are all the same so don't worry about which one goes where. Just make sure you plug the wires in correctly.