Rusting rear ignition coils

[English Tom]

I have just checked out the cause of an erratic idle and found to my horror that the rear bank of ignition coils were flooded with water which had flowed in from the air intake at the base of the rear screen. There is no lip on the intake to divert water to the side where it would drain through the engine bay and out onto the road.The result is that all 3 ignition coils have rusted, with the metal base having seperated from the plastic case. There is no lower seal on the coil cover and none shown in the parts diagram,so short of using duct tape to seal the cover (not very attractive) what can i do? am i missing somthing or is thia a design fault, any ideas?

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Tom,

I was under the impression that the coils had a seal that was ONLY on one side. So, if the coils were installed backwards, which is possible, this would be the result. My understanding is that a non-experienced mechanic could easily make this mistake if they were not aware of it, since the coil CAN be installed backwards.

I am thinking someone on the forum may have more details on this, I have not experienced this first hand, but read about it. I would check the FAQ here on NSXPrime.

HTH,
LarryB

 

[Lud]

Larry is right. It is easy to install them either way but the way that makes sense is to install them with the seal on the intake side. I am pretty sure that's how they come from the factory but it's been a while so I could be mistaken (it wouldn't make sense for them to do it the other way though).

If yours were installed the other way they have probably been replaced... Or maybe it's related to the fact that you drive on the other side of the road over there.. <g>

If they are trashed you will need to replace them. When installing new ones, make sure the seal goes towards the intake side and even apply some dialectric grease. BE CAREFUL when you put the new ones in; aluminum is soft so you don't want to misthread them.

 

[English Tom]

Thanks Larry and Lud for your advise, ive had flu hence the time to reply. I have checked as you both advised and sad to say all is installed correctly. What is happening is that water is flowing over the lip of the intake and pouring (remember this is England) onto the lower part of the rear coil cover and seeping into the ignition coils themselves then going rusty over a period of time. The symptom is a slight misfire on tickover and soot on the left hand exhaust pipe. So i am waiting for a price on some new coils from Gunn. Thanks again to both of you, TOM.

 

[nel]

Originally posted by English Tom:
Thanks Larry and Lud for your advise, ive had flu hence the time to reply. I have checked as you both advised and sad to say all is installed correctly. What is happening is that water is flowing over the lip of the intake and pouring (remember this is England) onto the lower part of the rear coil cover and seeping into the ignition coils themselves then going rusty over a period of time. The symptom is a slight misfire on tickover and soot on the left hand exhaust pipe. So i am waiting for a price on some new coils from Gunn. Thanks again to both of you, TOM.

Hi Tom,

I'm wondering if you replaced the coils and the symptoms went away. Thanks.

-Nick

 

[English Tom]

Hi Nick,

I havnt got around to ordering the coils yet but will do so in the next week or so and let you know. Do you have a similar problem? The way i confirmed the problem was to check the emmissions from each exhaust pipe. the front bank was spot on and the rear was well over the expected level, and as i had just fitted new plugs it began to indicate that the coil was the problem (very rusty). The coil is only $45..... Tom.

Originally posted by nel:
Hi Tom,

I'm wondering if you replaced the coils and the symptoms went away. Thanks.

-Nick