Engine "Coughing" During Accleration?

[WhatAmIDoing]

Very typical of worn ignition parts.

How old ( miles/time) are your

Coil
Spark plug wires
Distributor cap
Rotor
Spark plugs ( Brandt new)

Thanks for replying. I took it out for a drive and noticed the coughing is gone. I’ll need to drive it a few times to be sure.

What’s a coil?

As for the other parts I’m not sure. I’d have to check my records.

Rotor... as in brake rotors?

When should one replace wires and distributor cap? More importantly what signs does the car give to indicat those 2 items need to be replaced?

The coil is what provides the spark plugs with the power to spark.

Rotor as in cap and rotor. The rotor is what spins and makes contact with the pins in the distributor cap. If it's worn out, then you will have issues similar to what you described.

My rule for replacing ignition components has been 60k miles for wires. 30k miles for cap and rotor. 30k for spark plugs if using platinum, 15k for copper plugs (especially in a turbo). Others may recommend different.

If you do not know the age of your ignition components, then you should replace the cap, rotor, and wires as well with Bosch / Bougicord. The coil itself is almost always not the problem.

[misha]

Still original cables 300+ k km,cap & rotor replaced around 300k km just in case with Bosch....no problems, hiccups or misfiring of any kind.
Original Volvo spark plugs around 80-100k km from new...i'm on 3rd set right now.
One from the factory and 2 sets replaced afterwards.

[viper69]

Thanks a lot guys, very helpful information!!

[viper69]

Very typical of worn ignition parts.

How old ( miles/time) are your

Coil
Spark plug wires
Distributor cap
Rotor
Spark plugs ( Brandt new)

Thanks for replying. I took it out for a drive and noticed the coughing is gone. I’ll need to drive it a few times to be sure.

What’s a coil?

As for the other parts I’m not sure. I’d have to check my records.

Rotor... as in brake rotors?

When should one replace wires and distributor cap? More importantly what signs does the car give to indicat those 2 items need to be replaced?

The coil is what provides the spark plugs with the power to spark.

Rotor as in cap and rotor. The rotor is what spins and makes contact with the pins in the distributor cap. If it's worn out, then you will have issues similar to what you described.

My rule for replacing ignition components has been 60k miles for wires. 30k miles for cap and rotor. 30k for spark plugs if using platinum, 15k for copper plugs (especially in a turbo). Others may recommend different.

If you do not know the age of your ignition components, then you should replace the cap, rotor, and wires as well with Bosch / Bougicord. The coil itself is almost always not the problem.

Is there any advantage for my car for getting platinum or iridium spark plugs, as opposed to copper? My car is not a turbo. I wish it was.

[WhatAmIDoing]

Allegedly platinum is best and lasts longer. Copper plugs don't last as long, but are usually cheap and perform well. I'm running bosch platinums because they were what was available locally. They perform as expected, but wouldn't say they perform better. Will see how long they last.

Champion, NGK, or Bosch plugs are all quality brands and should perform fine in your Volvo. just make sure they are gaped to spec.

[abscate]

Thanks for replying. I took it out for a drive and noticed the coughing is gone. I’ll need to drive it a few times to be sure.

What’s a coil?

As for the other parts I’m not sure. I’d have to check my records.

Rotor... as in brake rotors?

When should one replace wires and distributor cap? More importantly what signs does the car give to indicat those 2 items need to be replaced?

The coil is what provides the spark plugs with the power to spark.

Rotor as in cap and rotor. The rotor is what spins and makes contact with the pins in the distributor cap. If it's worn out, then you will have issues similar to what you described.

My rule for replacing ignition components has been 60k miles for wires. 30k miles for cap and rotor. 30k for spark plugs if using platinum, 15k for copper plugs (especially in a turbo). Others may recommend different.

If you do not know the age of your ignition components, then you should replace the cap, rotor, and wires as well with Bosch / Bougicord. The coil itself is almost always not the problem.

Is there any advantage for my car for getting platinum or iridium spark plugs, as opposed to copper? My car is not a turbo. I wish it was.

You can boast to your friends.

Hthe Pt and Ir ones last 2-3x longer but I don’t use them because I don’t want any steel plug sitting in anAluminum cylinder head for 50-100k miles without being removed.

once I remove them, I May as well as replace. The 2-3x life is not paid for by 4-5x the cost unless you Can find then cheaper than me.

[viper69]

The coil is what provides the spark plugs with the power to spark.

Rotor as in cap and rotor. The rotor is what spins and makes contact with the pins in the distributor cap. If it's worn out, then you will have issues similar to what you described.

My rule for replacing ignition components has been 60k miles for wires. 30k miles for cap and rotor. 30k for spark plugs if using platinum, 15k for copper plugs (especially in a turbo). Others may recommend different.

If you do not know the age of your ignition components, then you should replace the cap, rotor, and wires as well with Bosch / Bougicord. The coil itself is almost always not the problem.

Hthe Pt and Ir ones last 2-3x longer but I don’t use them because I don’t want any steel plug sitting in anAluminum cylinder head for 50-100k miles without being removed.

Why is that, is it because the heating of steel is different than the heating of aluminum? Just curious.

[WhatAmIDoing]

The coil is what provides the spark plugs with the power to spark.

Rotor as in cap and rotor. The rotor is what spins and makes contact with the pins in the distributor cap. If it's worn out, then you will have issues similar to what you described.

My rule for replacing ignition components has been 60k miles for wires. 30k miles for cap and rotor. 30k for spark plugs if using platinum, 15k for copper plugs (especially in a turbo). Others may recommend different.

If you do not know the age of your ignition components, then you should replace the cap, rotor, and wires as well with Bosch / Bougicord. The coil itself is almost always not the problem.

Is there any advantage for my car for getting platinum or iridium spark plugs, as opposed to copper? My car is not a turbo. I wish it was.

You can boast to your friends.

Hthe Pt and Ir ones last 2-3x longer but I don’t use them because I don’t want any steel plug sitting in anAluminum cylinder head for 50-100k miles without being removed.

once I remove them, I May as well as replace. The 2-3x life is not paid for by 4-5x the cost unless you Can find then cheaper than me.

I hate the added price, but the fact is I cannot find copper plugs anymore for less than the price of platinums at any local autoparts store. When I did the job, I couldn't find coppers available online either for less than $6 / plug.

[scot850]

You asked a few questions which have not been directly answered from abscates original request for info:

Coil: This is mounted on the LH inner fender by the LH strut tower. It has a single cable that runs to the center of the distributor cap.
The coil produces the spark that fire the spark plug and it gets directed to the correct plug by the distributor. 98 and older Volvo
V/S/C70's and 850's use a single coil. Later cars have one coil on each spark plug and no distributor. Coils start to break down
with age and produce weaker sparks. The do fail but not all that often.

Rotor: This is a rotating arm that sits inside the distributor cap and connects the coil to the spark plug cable at the right time by
connecting the coil contact to the cylinder inside the distributor cap. Only use Volvo OE or Bosch for this part. The rotating tip of
the rotor arm wears making the small gap between the tip and the contact in the distributor cap contact for the cylinders bigger
until it weakens the spark.

Distributor cap: Brown cap on the top left side of the engine with 6 wires coming out of it. Use Bosch or Volvo OE only.

Spark plug cables: These break down internally with age making it harder to move power to the spark plugs. Use Bougicord (OE
supplier) or Volvo only.
Spark plugs: These wear with age and again do not transfer power as efficiently. I prefer to use Volvo only but others may suggest
cheaper options.

As for fuel/injector cleaners. Some say yes and others no. I personally use a can of Seafoam injector cleaner every couple of years added to a full tank of gas, followed by a good long run.

Neil.

[abscate]

Is there any advantage for my car for getting platinum or iridium spark plugs, as opposed to copper? My car is not a turbo. I wish it was.

You can boast to your friends.

Hthe Pt and Ir ones last 2-3x longer but I don’t use them because I don’t want any steel plug sitting in anAluminum cylinder head for 50-100k miles without being removed.

once I remove them, I May as well as replace. The 2-3x life is not paid for by 4-5x the cost unless you Can find then cheaper than me.

I hate the added price, but the fact is I cannot find copper plugs anymore for less than the price of platinums at any local autoparts store. When I did the job, I couldn't find coppers available online either for less than $6 / plug.

NGK coppers at FCP $1.49