Distributor pickup coil question

[wolfden6]

I have a question concerning the pickup coil in the distributor.
When it is bad does it go out completely or can it be bad and still run??
In other word is it bad or good and no in between??

[wedser]

get the service manual, and they should specify an ohm reading for the pick up coil, what year, type of ignition system etc... do you have ?

[67malibu]

Originally Posted by wolfden6

I have a question concerning the pickup coil in the distributor.
When it is bad does it go out completely or can it be bad and still run??
In other word is it bad or good and no in between??

Like alot of other coils, they tend to start misfiring when hot first, then get worse. They can burn out quickly but the one in my '88 began to skip quite infrequently (one or two misses when pulling hills) when towing in the summer and then completely burned out suddenly one day while on the way home with the boat (about a month later.) If it's 'bad', there is no fire whatsoever. The wrapping will typically begin to break down and you can see visible degradation most of the time but not all of the time. You should be able to ohm it out if you can find the specs, I've never done it myself to a pickup coil.

[MT-2500]

Like all electrical parts they can come and go. May be tempture related or just tempermental and quit when it wants to.
The only time you can realy test them out good is when they quit.
Ohm meter will catch or test one when is is bad or has completley quit.
But the ones that come and go are a pain to test out unless you have a lab scope.
What year and engine do you have?
What all is it doing or not doing?
Are you losing spark to spark plugs or rpm signal or fuel pump prime up?
MT