2002 Chevy Silverado Ignition Coil

Tiny
RAYRUTH
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 CHEVROLET SILVERADO
  • V8
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 150,000 MILES
The dealer tells me I have one bad ignition coil. I would like to change it myself. Can you tell me how to test the condition of ignition coils?
Thursday, July 8th, 2010 AT 8:41 AM

6 Replies

Tiny
MMPRINCE4000
  • MECHANIC
  • 8,548 POSTS
No real good way to test, you measure primary and secondary resistance.

If you have a miss, move coil to another position, if miss follows, coil is bad.
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Thursday, July 8th, 2010 AT 9:15 AM
Tiny
02REDCAMARO
  • MECHANIC
  • 65 POSTS
Hi,

You can test coils with an ohm meter, but that is a waste of time - they can test good but still be bad.
I just replaced all 3 coils on an '02 V6 Camaro. One or two were definitely bad. I only replaced the third because they were cheap enough and I wanted more peace of mind. Found mine CHEAP on eBay,
brand new and OE too. They are easy enough to replace, you might try getting a whole new set if you can find them cheap enough, otherwise, just buy 4, chances are you don't have 4 bad ones, but you will have a spare in case of future trouble.
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Thursday, July 8th, 2010 AT 6:31 PM
Tiny
MMPRINCE4000
  • MECHANIC
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If you have a coil on each cylinder, it may be worth a trip to dealer, they can test coil output with there scanners, but the individual coils are expensive for these types.
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Friday, July 9th, 2010 AT 8:25 AM
Tiny
02REDCAMARO
  • MECHANIC
  • 65 POSTS
Sorry, but all due respect to prince, I wouldn't trust a dealer mechanic to tell me which coil out of 8 is bad. I've had TOO MANY bad experiences with dealerships to go this route, unless you have a REALLY GOOD relationship with a long time dealer. They aren't in the business these days of fixing it right the first time and giving you the lowest possible bill, trust me.
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Friday, July 9th, 2010 AT 6:52 PM
Tiny
02REDCAMARO
  • MECHANIC
  • 65 POSTS
I'll bet that individual coils don't cost very much, especially if you buy them from the internet. I bought **3** coils for a V6 Camaro for $60, including shipping, from eBay. They were brand new,
OE, and worked GREAT. My car now runs like brand new. My coils fired 2 cylinders for each coil. If I had bought them from a local parts store, I'm sure that I would have spent at least $150, PLUS sales taxes.
Consider that.
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Friday, July 9th, 2010 AT 6:56 PM
Tiny
MMPRINCE4000
  • MECHANIC
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Well you have to find an honest dealer or garage, not impossible.
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Saturday, July 10th, 2010 AT 8:14 AM

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