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**MustangEater8251** · 01-30-2002, 10:01 PM

you can test them with an ohmometer. I bought one for $20. The specs are in the Haynes Manual. Which I reccomend to get, but if you definitely do not I can type up the exact description out of the book, and the specs the coils should be in.

**Brian Dieckman** · 01-31-2002, 10:06 AM

Thanks for your help... I have a Chilton's manual that says "check the resistance between the primary terminals on the underside of the coil. The resistance should be 0.50 to 0.90." It then says to check the resistance between the secondary terminals, but I don't know where they are. Are they talking about the terminals on top, the ones the spark plug wires plug into?

I just have a description, not a diagram :(

Are the Haynes manuals better than the chiltons? I've always bought the chiltons for my fords. (I've come to the dark side with this camaro... I'm kinda in over my head)

Anyway, thanks for the help.

**dstrbd1** · 01-31-2002, 06:19 PM

ok, what you need to do is get two paper clips (just trust me here, you don't wanna break your ohmmeter) and stick them in the hole on the bottom of the coil pack, looks kinda like a side ways wall outlet. now stick positive to one, negative to the other and get your primary reading. then flip it back over and touch positive to one node where the plug wire connects, and negative to the other. that's your secondary. bene and i broke the autozone tester with his coil, that's how i know about the paper clip thing :D

**Bene** · 01-31-2002, 06:31 PM

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by dstrbd1:
bene and i broke the autozone tester with his coil, that's how i know about the paper clip thing :D <hr></blockquote>

Yep, yep... :D :D [img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img]

**MustangEater8251** · 01-31-2002, 06:45 PM

hehe how did you guys break it, I jsut used a papaer clip cuz I couldn't think of an easier way to do it.

basically what is said above.

I like both, one usually has what the other doesn't, but if I had to chooose I would go with chiltons, I couldn't find one for my car with ease so I got a haynes. I liked the chiltons on my old 3rd gen camaro, good wiring diagrhams.

**dstrbd1** · 01-31-2002, 06:52 PM

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by MustangEater8251:
hehe how did you guys break it, I jsut used a papaer clip cuz I couldn't think of an easier way to do it.

<hr></blockquote>

the guy just tried to jam the round tip into the flat slot and i pushed with the coil while he pushed the tester and snap, hehe. then he decided maybe we should try a paper clip. and they pay this guy!!!

**TurboProject** · 01-31-2002, 10:23 PM

That's a good way to test them. I've had problems w/ my 3.4 at two different times over a period of two years. If you're coils check out(which mine always seemed to) you can also take the spark plug wires off of the coil posts one at a time. Leave the engine turned off, then remove one of the wires from one of the coil posts, then start the engine and pick the disconnected wire up by the wire(far enough behind the boot not to get shocked) and se if you get a substantial arc. Then turn the engine off, reconnect the wire and move to the next one. You will get an idea of what is a good arc and sound of the jumping arc when you play w/ them a little. Basically if when you take the wire off and you hear it poping all over the place then it is doing pretty good. It will probably seem like one of them(even just one post on one coil) will be weak. I always used this "test" when I had bad missing problem and both times it turn out to be one post on one of the coils(which seems wierd to me since the two posts fire together). Both times I replaced the ignition modual(the thing the coils are bolted on). The 1st time the car wouldn't even run until I replaced the ingnition monual, then it missed until I replaced the weak coil. The second time I just replaced the ignition modual and all 3 coils with ones I got when I bought a whole 3.4 engine from a recycle yard. I just didn't want any bad parts in the mix so I replaced it all. But that test w/ pulling them off always worked for me better than actually measuring the secondary and primary coils. Just shut the engine off inbetween removing wires unless you like getting hit by a few 1000 volts...

**Skinny** · 02-01-2002, 01:38 AM

Even after you test them, it might be a good idea to replace them. I had the same problem, only the miss turned into a severe one. All of the coil packs would ohm out fine, but one of them was still missing. Unfortunately, I spent $400 before I figured this out. :(
I would suggest buying ONE factory replacement coil pack. Then rotate the new coil pack in place of each of the others one at a time until the miss stops.

**3.4 slow to go** · 02-01-2002, 10:13 AM

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> the guy just tried to jam the round tip into the flat slot and i pushed with the coil while he pushed the tester and snap, hehe. then he decided maybe we should try a paper clip. and they pay this guy!!! <hr></blockquote>

well I know for sure it wasn't me [img]smile.gif[/img]

next time you go in, tell them you want to test the volts by applying power from the starter tester & have the dude hold the coil w/ 1hand & the teser w/ the other ;) [img]tongue.gif[/img]

**Brian Dieckman** · 02-01-2002, 02:47 PM

Thanks guys, You've been a great help. I've got the full university shop available to me tonight, so I'll probably start with the plug-pulling thing, then move on to the ohm meter if I find a "weak" one.

How much should a new coil cost? I'm getting numbers all over the place. $19.99 at Autozone, and $46.99 at NAPA. What's the freakin' deal? I'll most definitely go to AZ for a "tester" coil!

Thanks Again,
-Brian

**dstrbd1** · 02-01-2002, 02:54 PM

we got quoted $29.99 at autozone here, but luckily we had a member of venom who had swapped to accels and still had the stock ones laying around, so we got em free. seemed to fix the problem, but i think i'm still gonna have bene get some plugs and wires to be safe.

wait a minute, i think i've become bene's pit crew, and i'm not getting paid. damn.

**strange_trp** · 02-03-2002, 05:38 PM

remember that even if the coils test okay when the engine is not running, they still may fail during actual driving conditions.
i have seen many coils ohm out fine, then you drive it for 10 minutes and put it under a load (start from a dead stop in 3rd) and it misses like hell.
huge difference between static testing and dynamic testing. if at all possible, test coil after you have been driving for a while, so they are nice and warm. but you still may get a false "good" result since you're not testing under normal operating conditions.
check plug wires by testing resistance and compare with spec. make sure you twist and turn the wires while testing to locate intermittent open in the secondary cable.

also, you'll see little if any benefit by switching to bosch plugs. just because they have a cool german name and the box shows several sparks firing on the plug at one time, does not mean these plugs are any better than AC platinum. unless you are running forced induction (which may require a little cooler plug) the AC plugs are the most suitable ones on the market for your application. they are the ones your engine and powertrain management system were designed to use, as far as heat range and resistance, etc.

just my $0.02....

strange_trp

**Brian Dieckman** · 02-04-2002, 11:17 AM

Uh, yeah... I like Bosch, that's why I bout them. I would have got bosch wires too, but they were out. Anyway...

Here's what happened. (Finally) got the coil pack holder thingy removed, and terminal one on the first coil was rusty. I was getting a weak spark on the middle pack so I swapped the middle and left packs and put the new one in the middle. Runs great. It missed once coming to work today... tried to leave a stop light and it nearly died... It wasn't warmed up though. (I should have known better) I think it's the wires.

(the #1 cylinder wire was rusty, like the post, and I cleaned it but who knows... I'll be replacing those with new wires next time it's above 18 degrees)

Thanks for all your help and I was wondering, are there any "performance" coils out there for the 3.4? I've found plenty for the 3.8 but...

Anyway, thanks again!

**Brian Dieckman** · 02-12-2002, 01:07 PM

SOOOOOOO Glad the board is back!

Okay, as some of you may know, I've been tracing down a steady miss for about 5 weeks now.

Here's what I've done:
Replaced plugs
Replaced wires
Replaced coils
Cleaned contacts on coil pack holder (pins and spades)

None of that has worked, and I decided to go high tech and buy a scanner. I went to Autozone and Orileys and they both told me that a 1995 Camaro has an ODB1 computer and an ODB2 connector and their ODB2 scanners can't read my computer. I checked and its at least partialy true. The standard wasn't enforced until 1996 and the 94/95 ports are pretty useless unless you have an expensive snap-on or similar computer that knows the difference.

If any of you have the 3.4L V6 in a 95 Camaro and you have a scan tool that will read the codes, LET ME KNOW!!! I still think they're blowing smoke, but whatever.

At any rate, I'm going to post this question seperately, but: have any of you had to test/replace either the camshaft or crankshaft position sensors? I have a scope and I can check them, but the testing procedure seems a bit archaic. (if they check out they may still be dead and the like)

I'll be testing them next week some time, but as long as I'm down there, should I just replace them? Are they expensive? Which one controlls the ignition? (My chiltons is a bit unclear about this)

I'm about to pull my hair out. After this I'm going to start checking the fuel delivery system, then the valves. If I need a valve job I'm gonna be P1SSED!

Any help would be appreciated.

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