Ignition Coil Repair / Spark Coil Repair (Long Beach, CA)

Does your vehicle ever have trouble starting? Does it stall, misfire, backfire, or get worse gas mileage than it used to? Does your engine die abruptly after running for a while? If you’ve noticed any or all of these symptoms, you may have a failing ignition coil. At Orozco’s Auto Service we know Ignition Coil Repair!

 An ignition coil, also known as a spark coil, is an induction coil in your car’s ignition system which transforms the battery’s low voltage into thousands of volts which are needed to create an electric spark in the spark plugs to ignite the fuel. Ignition coils can have either an internal resistor or an external resistor or resistor wire, which serves the purpose of limiting the current flowing into the coil from the car’s battery. They also have another high voltage wire which goes from the ignition coil to the distributor, and wires from the distributor to each of the spark plugs, called spark plug wires or high tension leads. Most ignition coil systems today use a power transistor to provide pulses to the ignition coil. Modern cars may use one ignition coil for each cylinder or pair of cylinders, and do not require a distributor. 

 Distributors started becoming less common in the late 1980s. In modern ignition systems, ignition is electronically controlled. Modern ignition coils are much smaller because they only need to power one or two spark plugs each. They can be mounted either remotely or directly on top of the spark plug – called coil-on-plug or Direct Ignition. In modern cars with individual coils for each cylinder or pair of cylinders, they may be all contained inside of one single molded block with multiple high-tension terminals, which is commonly called a coil pack. The symptoms of a failing coil pack are the same as a failing ignition coil – misfires, rough idle, being hard to start, higher fuel consumption, loss of power, or even stalling. The higher fuel consumption is because your car needs to use more fuel in order to make up for the lack of power. Continuing to drive your car with a bad misfire may cause more extensive – and expensive – damage, so if you notice an issue, you should get it taken care of as soon as possible.

 In most cars, a failing ignition coil or coil pack will also cause a check engine light. This is caused either by your car’s computer detecting misfires, or detecting an issue with the ignition coil signal or circuit, such as when a coil shorts or burns out. However, keep in mind that a check engine light may be caused by a wide variety of other issues, so having the computer trouble codes read by a professional is highly recommended. 

If you are experiencing problems with your vehicle or have questions regarding Ignition Coil Repair / Spark Coil repair visit Orozco’s Auto Service Orozco’s Auto Service at any of our convenient locations in Long Beach, Bellflower, Garden Grove or Fullerton!!