Coils keep failing?

2008 NISSAN ALTIMA
150,000 MILES • 2.5L • 4 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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SAMGREW
Coil on number 1 cylinder quit working. Replaced with new coil, still would not fire. Changed spark plug, still no fire.
Apr 7, 2025 at 8:34 PM
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STEVE W.
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
  • 15,172 POSTS
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
From the description it sounds like we need to test the driver circuit for that coil. What can happen is the coil can fail and put a very large load on the driver circuit in the ECU. That high load stresses the MOSFET that actually turns the coil on and off to fire the plug. To test it you need a couple things a test light and a NOID light. The first one should be one of the cheap incandescent like the image and the NOID lights can be found as loaner tools. For the testing, we know it isn't a fuse, all of the coils share a power feed and the ground feed. However, the wires could break internally. So, unplug the coil and use the test light on pins 2 and 3 in the harness connector with the key on. Does it light? Yes- power is okay. Now to test the driver. Take the same test light and connect it between pins 1 and 3, it should be off, if it's on there is a short to ground in the control side of the circuit. We'll say it's off, take the proper NOID light and connect it between pins 1 and 3. Crank the engine, does the light flash? Yes - you somehow got a bad replacement coil No= the control side is not working. Now we need to test at the ECM Pin 11 in connector F14 You would use a back probe to connect to the pin in the connector, then connect the NOID light between the probe and the light and jump power to the other connection on the NOID light. Try starting the car. Does the light flash now? No= The ECM driver has failed, and you need to replace the ECM. The light flashed= there is a break in the control wire between the ECM and the coil. Inspect the harness for damage from rubbing on a sharp edge or rodent damage. Repair the damage and it should start firing again. Another check to do before you replace anything, get a spark tester, put it in the coil in place of the plug and ground it, does it show spark? If it does, then it's possible you have a bad plug or there is an internal engine problem causing it to misfire.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-for-ignition-spark
Apr 8, 2025 at 3:45 AM
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