Coil Packs

[matthewdaye]

Could someone tell me where to locate the coil packs on a 2001 Cavalier with a 2.4L engine. The engine won't start in the rain and im suspecting cracked coils? I'm going to replace plugs and wires too while I'm at it. If anyone can tell me where or how to replace coils and wires and stuff, that would be great. Also if anyone happens to have pics, I learn better with pictures lol.

[TEXAS-HOTROD]

It has a coil-on-plug design. The 2 coils are housed in (what I call) a shell, spark plug boots plug into the bottom of the coil shell which slide over the plugs.
There's four 13mm bolts in the top of the cam cover. Remove those 4 bolts, unplug the harness to the module (to the right side of the cam cover) and lift the assembly straight off.
I have seen a cracked/shorted coil shell cause a misfire, but never a no start situtation.
Chack the spark plug boots to see if there's any signs of cracking. There 4 rubber (silicone) boots, each boot also has its own plastic tube.

[matthewdaye]

The plug boots are in perfect condition, no cracks. The shell that houses the coils doesn't seem to be cracked or damaged. Now should I look at the coils themselves, what would I look for? Could they be faulty or something? Also the car has original AC Delco plugs, and car has 139, 000 kms on it.

[TEXAS-HOTROD]

I was going to guess Europe, you're a Northern neighbor instead.

It's odd that the car won't start in the rain. If it started and ran before you removed the cam cover, then it will be hard to diagnose. If you can get it to not start, then it can be checked.

To check fire at the plugs is tricky.
I've had several come in for a mis-fire, so the next step is to find the one that's missing. I can run a misfire test on my scan tool, but the older ones have to be checked manually.
I remove the cam cover and take out the spark plugs. Put the plugs back into the boots, plug the harness connector back into the module and lay the assembly on top of the engine. Make sure all the spark plugs have contact with the rear cam tower (or anything metal) and crank the engine over. Look at each spark plug for a nice blue spark, if you watch closely and see if any plugs skip a sequence.

You might have to reinstall the plugs and cam cover and wait for a no start situtation.
Are you sure that it isn't temperature related instead of a wet weather condition.

[matthewdaye]

Haha, yeah I live in Nova Scotia, Canada. Which basically means if you have a car for 5 years and its not rusted through from all the snow and salt, then your doing good. Anyways, after I checked the boots and cam cover I drove down to the store, and it didn't misfire from what I could tell. Not sure about it being temperature related, you might be right there...because when it rains here it tends to be cold. But then again, its also cold when its not raining in November. Its raining a little this morning, I will go start it and I will update when I get back from school.

[TEXAS-HOTROD]

What classes are you taking. Any career choices?

[matthewdaye]

Actually I'm in college for Culinary Arts.

[matthewdaye]

Also I drove car yesterday in rain fine, which means I don't know whats wrong with it. Guess I will have to take it to the garage, cause now I don't trust the car...I have no idea the next time it's not going to start for me. Thanks for help anyways guys!