s60 ignition coils

buffalo-s60 · Post by **buffalo-s60** » 23 Jan 2018, 14:28

I have a 2001 s60 2.4t 230,000 mi,, suddenly running rough , reduced power and sometimes it guns great HAHAH
today I found lose spark plug #3. and #4 plug well was 1/2 full or oil.
I did have an ignition coil die a couple years ago and replaced it, now most of the seal boots are rotting and leaking oil down in the well. It runs better now that I tightened to plug but still misses some and seems weak sometimes.
I am thinking 5 new ignition coils and plugs. any opinions?? what about non-volvo ignition coils ?? much less $$$$ are any of them any good ??? or should I spend the money for Volvo coils ??
thanks in advance
brad

Post by **oragex** » 23 Jan 2018, 14:35

Buy original used Volvo from scrapyard or Ebay, they are Bosch I believe, these last forever. I don't trust aftermarket on this item
Spark plugs also only Volvo ones

Post by **mrbrian200** » 23 Jan 2018, 15:32

Bosch sells them direct as an OEM part, lower price if you don't mind the silkscreen saying "Bosch" instead of "Volvo".
If you're on an extreme budget and need to consider aftermarket parts, the only aftermarket CP brand I might be willing to try would be Delphi. They supply domestic OEs so they're going to be built to OE quality standards that would would at least be similar to Volvo.

If Hitachi made CPs for our engines I might make a B-line straight to theirs over Bosch, but they don't.

Post by **June** » 23 Jan 2018, 16:27

oragex wrote: ↑23 Jan 2018, 14:35 Buy original used Volvo from scrapyard or Ebay, they are Bosch I believe, these last forever. I don't trust aftermarket on this item
Spark plugs also only Volvo ones

Excellent advise! June

buffalo-s60 · Post by **buffalo-s60** » 24 Jan 2018, 19:24

Could bad coils run poorly for the first couple minutes then Smooths out. I replaced the plugs today and they all look okay. At this point the car runs much better after 45 seconds or a minute

Post by **mrbrian200** » 24 Jan 2018, 22:09

buffalo-s60 wrote: ↑24 Jan 2018, 19:24 Could bad coils run poorly for the first couple minutes then Smooths out.

Yes. This is how they would act when hairline cracks in the plastic or epoxy allows atmospheric moisture to penetrate into the coil windings. The moisture is electrically conductive causing the spark to jump between the windings (basically a short circuit) instead of going out to the plug. The internal spark/short, which is a plasma arc, causes electrolysis of the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Eventually as the water dissipates through electrolysis the arching lessens/stops and the spark delivered to the plug becomes stronger again.

The process is very destructive to the coil windings, eventually it will cease to 'recover' after running to a permanent weak/no spark.