Coil Pack Test Not Working.

HighMileage

Albany,NY
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
I read in the Archives how to test the coils. I've got the orig (?) one piece coil assembly with a "turbo V6 22207" sticker on the side,and a 2/24/87 stamp.

None of the terminals will test. 1-4,2-5,3-6. I have even tested all different terminal combos just for the heck of it. I see the embossed # for each post.

Yet,if I test other DIS coils from other late '80s GM
cars I have,they will test.

Example: I have a DIS coil from a '87 Century right here in front of me. ..yep,12 ohms. Got another with 265. That's one I should have thrown out.

It's too bad it's only 8am and my frustration level is already building.

Steve from Albany,NY. '87 GN. Mostly stock.
 
Maybe you have a bad coil, I would test it with a different tester and be sure to check the batteries on it-maybe they re weak.
 
The coils that wouldn't test sure worked good. Thru help from this Group,I've been working the bugs out of this car that I haven't even had one month.

Yeah,the coils must be ok.

Blew away some VW ricer looking thing with a phart can tonite. Hey,he hunted ME down.

I pulled away even with traction probs from the dig. No powerbraking,either. Then they broke loose again when my tranny banged 2nd.

I gotta get used to this gas pedal!

Steve from Albany,NY. '87 GN. Mostly stock,I think.
 
Maybe you have a bad coil, I would test it with a different tester and be sure to check the batteries on it-maybe they re weak. I ve got a few good spares if you need one.
 
Maybe you have a bad coil, I would test it with a different tester and be sure to check the batteries on it-maybe they re weak. I ve got a few good spares if you need one.

Not sure what was going on. I found it strange that the coils showed nothing. So I broke out spare ones I have laying around. ...and they all tested.

With all the coil threads I've seen here,I'd really like to know what mine read.

Thanks for the suggestion!
 
I would check the connections and the battery of the tester you are using.

Sometimes my testers display window goes blank and i turn the dial back to the off position then back to the test position and it works fine then.It would do this even right after me using it to check the car battery and the tester was working fine.New battery and good connections so maybe my tester is just to old,15 years worth of use.

You can take the coil to Autozone and they will test it for you.

They just started doing testing on coils, i used to ask them in the past and they would always tell me they couldn't test them.
 
Maybe you have a bad coil, I would test it with a different tester and be sure to check the batteries on it-maybe they re weak. I ve got a few good spares if you need one.

I tried to test them again today. The 2-6 coil barely showed a reading.

Figuring I'm doing something wrong (how can I be??),I took the coil pack to Auto Zone. They got the same readings I did. ..two coils won't even test.

Unfortunately none new in stock,and after reading about bad Duralast coils here,I went to NAPA.

$59 later,I have a new coil pack that tests correctly.

I notice the idle is much smoother. No test-drive yet.

Gone is that original coil!

Thanks for everyones input.

Steve. '87 GN. Mostly stock. Powerlogger,NAPA Echlin coil pack.
 
I tried to test them again today. The 2-6 coil barely showed a reading.

Figuring I'm doing something wrong (how can I be??),I took the coil pack to Auto Zone. They got the same readings I did. ..two coils won't even test.

Unfortunately none new in stock,and after reading about bad Duralast coils here,I went to NAPA.

$59 later,I have a new coil pack that tests correctly.

I notice the idle is much smoother. No test-drive yet.

Gone is that original coil!

Thanks for everyones input.

Steve. '87 GN. Mostly stock. Powerlogger,NAPA Echlin coil pack.

Get a good one from Glen at Highway Stars Buick Grand National Parts Home Page & keep that one as a spare. ;)

Here they are. http://www.nos4gn.com/servlet/the-1/Buick-Grand-National-12353801/Detail
or this http://www.nos4gn.com/servlet/the-443/Buick-Grand-National-parts/Detail
 
Get a good one from Glen at Highway Stars Buick Grand National Parts Home Page & keep that one as a spare. ;)

Here they are. Coil Pack - ACDelco
or this Coil Pack - High Output

One of those original ones is what I had. I'll prolly just bring my vom to the j/y next time and pick up a spare.

I've already got a good sized list going for nos4gn including visors,sweeps,etc. When the list stops growing,I'll order.

I wonder how long that orig coil has been going bad. Was at my local track last Wed as a spectator. All 3 TR's (1 GN and 2 T's) there had the orig coil packs. ...and all were in the 11's. I quietly checked each one out underhood. Some stuff I had no idea what it was. lol

I feel like such a newb.

Steve. '87 GN,t-tops. ..an 8 1/2 out of 10. Only had it a little more than a month.
 
One of those original ones is what I had. I'll prolly just bring my vom to the j/y next time and pick up a spare.

I've already got a good sized list going for nos4gn including visors,sweeps,etc. When the list stops growing,I'll order.

I wonder how long that orig coil has been going bad. Was at my local track last Wed as a spectator. All 3 TR's (1 GN and 2 T's) there had the orig coil packs. ...and all were in the 11's. I quietly checked each one out underhood. Some stuff I had no idea what it was. lol

I feel like such a newb.

Steve. '87 GN,t-tops. ..an 8 1/2 out of 10. Only had it a little more than a month.

Have you checked out Vortex Buicks or Turbo Regal Web Site yet?
LOTS of Great Info & really a Must Read for a new owner!
 
Hello..................anyone have a good test & condition process for this decades old problem??? We have some coils that test 0 on one & 0 on two...... and 12.30 on the last one??????? The car runs,starts and drives too good for me to believe that 2 out of 3 are dead.......PLEASE CONVINCE ME WITH ANY INFO YOU CAN....... as always the expert information from the forum is appreciated...................
 
Hello..................anyone have a good test & condition process for this decades old problem??? We have some coils that test 0 on one & 0 on two...... and 12.30 on the last one??????? The car runs,starts and drives too good for me to believe that 2 out of 3 are dead.......PLEASE CONVINCE ME WITH ANY INFO YOU CAN....... as always the expert information from the forum is appreciated...................
If two of the coils are measuring open and one coil is reading 12.3K then the coil pack is bad. Replace it. Just because two of the coils read open doesn't mean they are "dead". The spark will jump the open gap and the car will still run.
 
i realize that the method of of testing the coil pack with an ohmeter is mentioned in the GM manual. I can't imagine how that slipped into the book. That method is totally useless and will tell you nothing useful. You might as well get a bathroom scale and test the coils for weight ! The most troublesome failure mode for these coils (and virtually any ignition coil) is secondary insulation breakdown in the presence of high voltage. An engineer would use a device called a "megger" to test for this type of problem but they are expensive and can be dangerous to use. Someone mentioned the caspers coilpack tester. That is a well thought out device and will give you results that you can trust and since it is designed specifically for the GN coil pack it is the only way to go. I could not imagine working on these cars without one of these devices
 
I wonder how long that orig coil has been going bad. Was at my local track last Wed as a spectator. All 3 TR's (1 GN and 2 T's) there had the orig coil packs. ...and all were in the 11's. I quietly checked each one out underhood. Some stuff I had no idea what it was. lol

Take and post some pix of the mods, or just ask the owner.
Most are pretty proud of the stuff they have laid out cash for and will tell you all about it.

As far as testing the coil that casper tester sure looks like the cat's meow, but for us low budget guys a meter testing for an open coil will have to do.
 
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