F430 Ignition Coil

Dan, Thanks for the update and follow up...Great information.!

 

Thanks Dan...so helpful. To be clear I would need 4 of each coil type for a total of 8?

 

Dan, thanks for the great info! Would you mind sharing what type step that is? I’m going to be changing my valve cover gaskets and I could use a little more height.

 

Thank you so much Dan!

 

Got to get me a little set of steps like yours

 

Nice steps. I need some of those

 

Thanks Dan! Greatly appreciated! Another trip to Harbor Freight coming up.

 

Check out this link for ignition coils 188504. Almost too cheap to be real

https://www.ldinkopum.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=214742

 

Thanks for posting this! It’s very useful.

I need to replace an ignition coil and may just replace all of them at the same time. Two questions from the attached files:

(1) It says “Avoid disconnecting the coil for long periods of time, as it might not be possible to obtain a good contact when re-fitting it. The power modules which transmit the control signal to the coils are located inside the Motronic ECU which,
depending on the peculiar values stored in the memory, calculates the coil opening and closing angles, in
accordance with the operating conditions (speed, battery voltage etc...).”.

What is considered too long?

(2) It says to carry out the self learn cycle after the coils are replaced. What are the steps for the self learn cycle? Is it the following steps I found in another non-coil thread?

“Cycle the main power switch, wait 15/20 sec (in other words disconnect then reconnect the battery).

Switch off A/C, fan, lights, radio etc.

Cycle the ignition in position II, wait 15/20 sec.

Start the engine and let it idle for min. 10/15 minutes.
Don't switch on any electric devices during idling. Best is to wait until you hear the cooling fans start.

This will delete the "CEL"

Then just drive as normal.”

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

I don’t know the answer to #1 but your answer to #2 is precisely correct. Same procedure you do whenever you disconnect main power to the car, this allows the ecu’s to refresh/reprogram.

 

Thanks!

 

Excellent!

 

Brilliant, it seems tho that in general the advice you only replace coils when they fail, unlike say spark plugs, this happened on my 911 Turbo

 

I’m not sure if the coils are binary in nature such that they either deliver current to the spark plug or they don’t or if the amount of current they deliver degrades over time. Also, it’s my understanding that they tend to fail at about the same time as they get older.

While replacing them isn’t too difficult, it is tedious and not something I would want to redo in a few months if another coil failed. Given the low cost per coil and the amount of labor to replace them, I’d at least replace all of them on the same bank if I was replacing one of them.

I was able to get the coils for ~$65 each on eBay from the UK. I ended up just replacing all 8 coils when I changed the plugs even though only one had failed. I figured that it would start to become an issue and an irritant that I could nip in the bud. Also, it was a good opportunity to teach my son a little about making repairs. That’s just me though. I can certainly understand why some may choose to do it differently.

I cannot believe how much better the car runs now - which I’m sure is mostly, if not all, due to the spark plugs. It’s actually surprisingly much quieter now. Don’t get me wrong, the car was fine before and was strong. I would best describe it as being more raw vs refined now. Having never owned a Ferrari and after Ferrari and independent mechanics have heard/driven it and never said anything, I thought that’s just how it was supposed to be.

I have very good service records on the car but noticed that I didn’t specifically see where the plugs had been changed. Lots of 2 year services at the dealer, etc. but no specific mention of the plugs. Having now removed them, I’m sure they were the original plugs. At 34k mikes it was definitely time. That won’t happen on my watch!

 

Hi there,
No problems here at 42xxxk miles. I worked at Raytheon missiles in El Paso in the 78ish period I BELIVE?? The MSD creators were reatheon engineers I heard, radar modulator dudes. It was a missile place….so since the first MSD 6’s with Mil Spec parts days through newer designs I’ve used them on a Saab 99 EMS jag 420 a Dino - Porsches up the….wife’s benz’s in the day of carb beasts plus talked many folks into using them …back before they were the name recognition and reputation

So, yesterday I contacted the special projects engineering portal folks and “told them of the issues I read plus added I’d like an amped up “system” and that the current part was a Bosch I do not know the electrical specs of the coil pack …blah and suggested/begged they look into building a new one or adapting an existing pack I suggested red of course but at this juncture not An issue tbd

I’ll keep you informed it’s very early in the process - R

 

I have the Bosch coils as mentioned above. When I went to install today, I noticed that the shaft of the coil itself (that runs down and connects to the spark plug) is made of a soft, flexible rubber - vs the original one I have pulled out is much firmer and more rigid.

Has anyone experienced this with the Bosch replacements? I am wondering if it will be more difficult for them to seat onto the spark plug correctly.

Would appreciate and thought and experiences others have had.

Thanks

Matt