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Coil pack choices

16K views 62 replies 17 participants last post by  Westphal  
#1 ·
My van has about 13,500 miles to get to the 100k service interval. I plan to change the spark plugs and coil packs at that time.

So I am asking for recommendations for coil packs, and why you chose the ones you chose.

I have done some research and know a lot more than I did before I bought this van. However that does not replace years of experience and first hand knowledge.
 
#3 ·
Why change coil packs and spark plugs so often? The last time I had a problem with a coil was on a 1987 Plymouth Voyager, many decades ago. My 2003 Jeep Wrangler TJ has its original wires and coil pack. Also the original PVC valves, radiator, water pump, engine, transmission, transfer case, shocks (all 4), and many other parts. It's a tough vehicle and has served me well, gets an A+ for durability. Good thing I didn't mess around with all those good working parts and replace them with something not so good, or no better. :)

Well, I guess I will replace the Van's coil packs when I experience one of the following:
  • Lack of power
  • Louder than normal engine
  • Gas warning light
  • Intermittent activation of the check engine light
  • Intermittent emission of smoke from the exhaust
  • Rough idle
  • A large drop in rpm
  • Noticeable lack of power
Till then they are in until I trade it, which may be soon, with an A+ for durability. :)

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#16 ·
Why change coil packs and spark plugs so often? The last time I had a problem with a coil was on a 1987 Plymouth Voyager, many decades ago. My 2003 Jeep Wrangler TJ has its original wires and coil pack. Also the original PVC valves, radiator, water pump, engine, transmission, transfer case, shocks (all 4), and many other parts. It's a tough vehicle and has served me well, gets an A+ for durability. Good thing I didn't mess around with all those good working parts and replace them with something not so good, or no better. :)

Well, I guess I will replace the Van's coil packs when I experience one of the following:
  • Lack of power
  • Louder than normal engine
  • Gas warning light
  • Intermittent activation of the check engine light
  • Intermittent emission of smoke from the exhaust
  • Rough idle
  • A large drop in rpm
  • Noticeable lack of power
Till then they are in until I trade it, which may be soon, with an A+ for durability. :)

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Don’t think a coil rail TJ has a pvc system but does have a ccv whic is kind of similar
Do agree no reason to replace working non wearing parts especially when oem is generally better than aftermarket or current oem replacement
 
#5 ·
Bosch is the OEM for the coils. Damn near anyone is better for ignition parts. That said, I'm only just now starting to see signs of mine degrading at over 136k.

Blue Streak... I've replaced so many of those. Them and Accel are bottom tier brands for coils. I'd even buy Bosch before them, and the only Bosch ignition product I've been satisfied with were their line of "+2" (dual electrode) spark plugs. They made great power and got good mileage on my Altima.
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the info y’all.


Really, better quality ignition coils should last pretty much the life of the vehicle.
There is another one of those “lifetime of the vehicle” comments. 🤣

To answer the question of why I would change a perfectly working part, here is my reasoning. It is working properly now, but for how long? I do not want to be halfway through a Yellowstone vacation when they start to go out. The repair could be done on the side of the road or in a parking lot, if allowed. Now going by my logic above I should really buy a brand new vehicle but that is out of the question. I just thought that since I was already in there that I might as well change them.
 
#43 ·
Thanks for the info y’all.



There is another one of those “lifetime of the vehicle” comments. 🤣

To answer the question of why I would change a perfectly working part, here is my reasoning. It is working properly now, but for how long? I do not want to be halfway through a Yellowstone vacation when they start to go out. The repair could be done on the side of the road or in a parking lot, if allowed. Now going by my logic above I should really buy a brand new vehicle but that is out of the question. I just thought that since I was already in there that I might as well change them.

"It is working properly now, but for how long?"

Sadly, since we're in the world of Chrysler products, that's pretty logical thinking. Unfortunately, Chrysler didn't make the 62TE transmission field replaceable, or I would have carried an extra on my vacation - but that's a whole other story.

Regarding your coil packs and spark plugs, you may find that many, many Chrysler owners have gotten in excess of 150k miles from both. Generally, having to replace them earlier than that is a result codes be thrown for misfires and such. Don't know if you've done an OBD-II scan for look for issues, but I'd recommend starting there before putting out a few hundred dollars for possibly unnecessary repairs. On a side note, the 3.6 engines are notorious for other issues that can look like a spark plug or coil pack failure, such rocker arm/bearing failure, wiring harness & connector issues.

Good luck!!!
 
#12 ·
There is another one of those “lifetime of the vehicle” comments. 🤣
Sometimes what one uses for a replacement can be more problem, or less quality, than what's replaced. Just newer, that's all.

Perfectly working struts replaced at 50,000 miles with Monroe Quick Struts for example.

Then again, what is the replacement interval? 30,000 miles like some change their transmission fluid, 60,000 miles like some change their transmission fluid, or 120,000 miles per the Owner's Manual.

Iridium spark plugs should be good for 3,000 to 4,000 engine hours, why are some changing them at half life, or less?

Short oil change intervals are whole other topic. Any oil that has to be changed at 3,000 miles these days has to he pretty bad stuff.

Anyway, to each his own, whatever makes one feel good and provide peace of mind. Consider it a hobby and enjoy it. Changing out carburetors used to be fun, but it isn't any more, I only have one on my lawn mower and snow blower. Change any fuel pumps lately, use to change them and gas filters every couple years, needed or not. :)
 
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#13 ·
Piece of mind in vacation is very important. And for the price of the parts on the Grand Caravan, the price of the partis usually much lower then lost vacation time equivalent. Each time before I go with my van, I look at my service record and assume that nothing was done prior to me owning it (as seems mostly to be the case) and act on it.
 
#17 ·
I forget what year it was, but I thought I would replace a thermostat on a Dodge Caravan for "piece of mind" since the car had very high miles when bought used, and the thermostat was "easy".

But it was located on the backside of the engine close to the firewall, and hard to reach, let alone see. On putting the retaining bolt into the hole to secure the thermostat, I was doing it blindly, and cross threaded the bolt and BROKE OFF THE ALUMINUM EAR ON THE ENGINE BLOCK in which that threaded hole was located - completely sheared off, no hole nothing to thread to, hard to reach. Many cursewords were uttered.

HARD Lesson learned.
 
#18 ·
Here's a video somewhat related to the original topic:

I'm a bit surprised at the results of this. For one, Autolite is one of my big no brands and they outperformed my preferred NGK. But as they said, they weren't testing for reliability.
 
#21 ·
As they stated in the video, there’s really no significant difference in power between plugs. I’d bet if you ran multiple tests they’d pretty much even out. What they didn’t do was index the plugs, and that CAN make a difference. Maybe some plugs were indexed better on average out of the box. I’d say from this test you can’t conclude that any of the plugs made more power.
 
#22 ·
There are 3 (or so) basic levels of vehicle maintenance:
1. per the Owner's Manual
2. per knowledge, experience and factual information
3. per the Dealership Service Adviser's "peace of mind" come-on

Example:
Changing OE Iridium spark plugs
1. 160,000 km/100,000 miles per Owner's Manual
2. 3000-4000 hours of engine runtime or up to 100,000 miles, or more, per Repair Smith (and others)
3. 80,000 km/50,000 miles per some Dealership's "peace of mind" strategy (to empty your wallet)

My experience, per July 24th, 2023, for the 2016 DGC Crew Plus. OE Champion 9407s replaced with 9407s :
Old spark plugs have gaps of 0.051", 0.052", 0.053", 0.053", 0.054" and 0.054". All plugs look good, the same actually, nothing to be concerned about.
186,777 km/116,058 miles, 3046 engine hours.
Fuel mileage is pretty much the same, might be smidgen better, hard to say with traffic interruptions these days.

Serpentine belt was replaced the same day, peace of mindish, old belt looks to be in very good shape. That will be its only replacement, most likely. I have heard of the OE belt lasting over 200,000 miles. Engine hours would be a factor though.
 
#23 ·
To anecdote @Jeepman's anecdote.

Of the 6 Pentastar vehicles in our family. All have developed a mild miss at idle under load (sitting at stoplights) and a mild hiccup in the mid rpms around 50-60k miles.

Upon changing the spark plugs at that mileage, we found every plug eroded to over .060" gap. Plugs were replaced with NGK Iridium, coils were replaced with MSD or Accel.

Plugs get changed every 100k after upgrading plugs/coils and plugs are around .048" gap upon replacing.

Our experience is the factory coils are garbage at best. Champion plugs aren't suited for a lawnmower.
 
#24 ·
To anecdote @Jeepman's anecdote.

Of the 6 Pentastar vehicles in our family. All have developed a mild miss at idle under load (sitting at stoplights) and a mild hiccup in the mid rpms around 50-60k miles.

Upon changing the spark plugs at that mileage, we found every plug eroded to over .060" gap. Plugs were replaced with NGK Iridium, coils were replaced with MSD or Accel.

Plugs get changed every 100k after upgrading plugs/coils and plugs are around .048" gap upon replacing.

Our experience is the factory coils are garbage at best. Champion plugs aren't suited for a lawnmower.
At idle under load you mean in gear? I guess in neutral it didn't miss?
 
#31 ·
Now we’re getting some info!!!

I have always considered electronic parts to be on the verge of failing, even when new.

So if it would be the plug gap that stresses the coil is there a way to check the plug without actually taking it out. I remember years age we used a Sun machine to tune up cars, and you could see the electric heartbeat of when the plug fires. I wonder if you could estimate the gap from that?
 
#33 ·
You need an oscilloscope and two different voltage divider circuits. Then you can see the charging current under dwell and the discharge voltage.

There are videos on YouTube benchtop testing ignition coils for dwell.

Alternatively, a normal mechanic can measure the primary and secondary resistance of the coil to get a very rough idea of it's health. Or, you can check the temperatures, a bad coil or plug/wire/coil combo would result in one coil running very hot.
 
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#34 ·
Claims about short lived chrysler coils do not match my experience
Current vehicle experience I have had

1992 YJ 200k miles still original coil
2004 turbo PT cruiser 160k miles still original coil pack
2004 rubicon TJ 80k miles still original coil rail
1998 TJ sport 45k miles still original coil
1993 4.0 ZJ 74k miles still original coil
2012 town and country 190k miles no coils changed

just anecdotal but as valid as yours

agree coils and coil packs not a wear item and oem survived well for me even under hot turbocharged engine environment
 
#35 ·
Yes, much to do about nothing when it comes to coils, and wires too for that matter. Most are replaced long before their time, for many non valid reasons. Coils and wires on my Jeep are original OE. I have NGK plugs in it, if I have a problem I will blame it on them. Just kidding, both Champion and NGK copper plugs have worked the same in the Jeep. Both are specified in the Owner's Manual/emissions label. Chrysler sometimes specifies two different brands, if both will perform the same, similar to Honda specifying Denso and NGK for CRVs. Go with the "no brainer" OE. Anything else is an experiment.

The last coil I replaced was on a 1987 Plymouth Voyager (RIP) and that was a failure after many thousands of miles, a single coil did all the work back then. A friend of mind had a coil go bad, out of the blue, a year or two ago, on a 2004 Acura TSX with about 115,000 miles on it. Only that coil was replaced. Vehicle works fine with near 200,000 km on it. That would have been a Denso or NGK coil.

All that glitters isn't gold:
I've since decided to run OEM plugs on all of my engines, regardless of the manufacturer. I just don't think there is anything to gain over what the design engineers specified. But especially with Chrysler products.
Beware of NGK Iridium spark plugs, besides their measly 60 day warranty, they come in different models, one with a "lifetime" shorter than double platinum:

Your Pentastar Engine was designed by Engineers that should know best. Choosing the spark plugs wasn't willy-nilly. Here's one named Kevin who worked on the design and comments accordingly:
Another Post on that Thread. Note the comment about oil viscosity.
 
#41 ·
Just ordered NGK spark plugs and Denso coils, so I'm hoping for the best :)
Like one or two of you, I experience a slight stumble at low idle in gear. Sometimes its very slight and not consistent.
 
#44 ·
The Jeep's engine was running rough this morning, must be the NGK spark plugs that's causing the problem. What else could it be? :)

On second thought it may be the throttle position sensor that throws a P0123 code every so often. I have a new one but may have to destruct the old one to loosen up the two small diameter bolts. They don't want to break loose, no how. I can't get a good grip on them with vice grips either.

Yes, many problems are blamed on spark plugs while other components may be causing the problem. There's not much rocket science to spark plugs, other components may be more complicated.

Watch out for NGK clones and their two types of Iridium spark plugs, one performing quite different than the other. I suppose other brands are cloned as well. It's sort of scary to buy ignition parts and sensors online.
 
#52 ·
Spark plugs are so often the issue. But, they're also extremely easy to visually inspect for worn electrodes or cracked ceramic.

TPS, same thing. Usually they are 3 wire, just a simple potentiometer. You can measure the resistance to make sure that it is linear and without deadspots. The resistance from positive to negative should be a set value. If the signal wire to either ground or positive checks out as being linear resistance, and the negative to positive resistance is the correct value, the sensor should be good.

Coils can be tested too. Primary and Secondary resistance.
 
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#45 ·
At least on TJ the sensor ground for TPS also goes thru clockspring and since harness inside clockspring moves it can develop intermittent TPS problems so just unpluging clockspring and testing how it runs can be a useful diagnostic test

don’t need to unplug the airbag clockspring connector just the non yellow one and beware with clockspring unplugged you loose use of horn