Tips on How to Test If the Coil on Your Car or Truck is Bad

If your vehicle is not starting do to a lack of spark it might be that your coil has gone bad. So how do you test a coil to see if it is the problem? Well there are many ways to check a bad coil, most of which are easy and can be done at home with simple car care items.

The first thing you want to do if you believe your coil has gone bad is examine the wires that are going to the coil. If any of them are shabby you will probably either want to replace them, or repair them with electrical tape and new connections. Once you have done that you should check the connections to the coil, if any of them are loose then you will probably need to tighten them up. Pinch the connections together. Once you have done this, try to start the engine again.

The next thing you can do to see if it is really the coil that has gone bad, and not a more mysterious problem involves a set of jumper cables and another battery. You can also do this with a car jumper or a battery charger. Connect the red, or positive cable, to the positive side of the coil, in other words put it on the side that has power going to it. Now connect the black, or negative, wire to the metal of your car. If you are using a set of jumper cables, carefully attach the positive to the positive and the negative to the negative. If you are using a battery charger, plug it in and if it has a start setting turn it to that. If it is a mobile jumper, turn it on and set it to jump. Now go inside your vehicle and try to start it. it might take a couple cranks before it will go so be patient.

If your car does not fire once that happens, or you do not have the means to try it that way, there is another thing you can try. Find another coil, one that will work with your car. And plug all of the wires that are in the one on your car into it in the same pattern. Now that you have this one in a place that will keep it steady as the engine vibrates the car, try to start your engine. If it starts turn it off right away and replace the old coil with either the one you used to test it, or a new one.