wankelhead

There are great DIYs for replacing sparkplugs, but I don't see much for replacing the coils and wires for that matter, although the wires seem common sense to me. Are the coils just super simple and straight forward to replace and that's why no DIY or am I missing something?

czar

iTrader: (3)

hmm when u take the coil off under the coil o nthe bracket it says which one it goes to t1 l1 t2 l2 are labeled on the bracket and on the side of the engine, ^_^

remove air box and acordian hose unbolt one at a time replace ^_^ its pretty simple at least i thought so

the wires also have tape on them so u can tell which one is a trailing

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

u just need a 10mm socket, a ratchet, and an extension bar, if u have those hmm forgot what was it called, its like a connector thing that connects the socket and ratchet and u can twist it around. hmm. anyway, if u have that u dont even need to remove the stock airbox.

czar

iTrader: (3)

sorry for being poor and not having a swivel(joking)... good luck unpluging the coils though >_> easier to get everyting out of the way. but yes extension is needed, and if ur doing bhr coils u need a deep socket ^_^

i take the airbox out, pull that accordian thing off, and put it to the side (i dont take out the hoses)and have nice space

though i am a workspace ****

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

its easier if u take the airbox out.

but I took mine out with the airbox in between. so ... maybe thats just me

G-ReX

Just don't drop a nut while you're doing this. At best, it gets to the undertray. Mine fell through a little hole on the hollow suspension subframe and got inside. It took me an hour of cussing with a coat hangar and magnet to get the damned thing out.

Otherwise, like they said, move the accordion tube, keep track of the wires and you're good.

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

It is best to use a deep-well 10mm socket and u-joint in any case when romoving the coils.

ApexZen

I agree. There could be a more comprehensive coil replacement thread. That said, I love this board, and it's saved me about $1600 in the past 3 weeks. I had a strut go bad in the L rear ($968 repair estimate from Dealer); and a stutter/stall problem w/ flashing CEL (misfire). Had it towed - Dealer said it was the coils/wires/plugs/battery and wanted another $800. Thanks to this board I was able to repair both issues for $180 and about 3 hours of my labor.

Lets see:
RE Coil Replacement only: (Dealer quoted $70 per coil + $95 labor @ 1 hr; I know they gotta eat, but damn. My cost - $27 per coil from finishlineperformance.com ($118 total, arrived in two days) + 25 minutes labor - done in the dealership's lot)

Tools:
a. Ratchet (3/8" or 1/4" - I used a 1/4")
b. 10mm deep socket
c. 8" socket extension
d. universal-joint for socket
e. Phillips head screwdriver
f. dielectric grease (optional)

Task:
Let the car cool down! (Mine was already dead, so not a problem) & write down your radio stations.
1. Pull off battery cover - careful, it's easy to break the plastic clips holding it on.
2. Use 10mm socket and remove negative terminal.
3. Pull out air filter box - this is a pain. Literally. I jammed one of the metal lid-clips into my palm. You have to push the front of the filter box towards the windshield until the oval shaped opening in the front clears the receiver in the bumper. Lift up in the back of the box a little, near the accordion tube, then push hard from the front while exerting upward pressure. Search Youtube for "removal Rx8 air filter" for a sweet vid of the filter box removal.
4. Remove the 2 wire harnesses from the back of the filter box and push out the wire-guide clips - tuck them out of your way. (Guide-clips are kind of a pain, but you can press the clips from the back w/ the screwdriver)
5. Loosen the hose clamp on the front of the accordion tube (between filter box and accordion) w/ the Phillips head.
6. Pull the filter box forward and out of the accordion tube - twisting L & R gently helps.
7. Under the filter box, Detach the odd black canister thing w/ the small hoses from the brass bracket and let it hang there - it just pulls off the bracket.
8. Done w/ filter box - You can now rotate it over and set it on top of the battery.
9. Loosen the hose clamp on the back of the accordion tube (between the accordion and the throttle body) w/ the Phillips head. The tube can then be gently twisted off. I didn't detach any of the hoses, just pushed it aside.
10. The 4 coils are now exposed below the throttle body - you can see the top connections of the spark plug wires - they plug right into the coils.
11. Start from the front and work your way back: Pull off the spark plug wire - they don't come off easy. (Note on 2004 models, w/ the old coil design there's a extension piece w/ a spring in it that will come off and remain stuck on the plug wire. You must remove this from the plug wire - it will expose the standard plug wire tip - ie a male connector that will fit in the female coil receptacle - if you're replacing the plug wires as well, don't worry about this)(Also note, you can unplug all the plug wires, but only do this if you mark them and remember which one goes to which coil - detonation is bad! very bad!)
12. Unplug the wire harness/connector from the back of the coil - clip on type, use the 10mm ratchet/extension/u-joint and unscrew the one retaining bolt that holds the coil to the backing plate. (Mine were corroded as hell, but a little constant pressure was enough to break 'em free)
13. The coil can now be pulled out. The very front coil is trapped under some sort of hose/mount guide - I just flexed the hell out of it until the coil cleared the screw post. The back one is also a pain to access unless you have a child handy, and is what makes the u-joint for the ratchet essential.
13. All the coils are the same, so you can just apply a little dielectric grease to the screw post (optional), drop the new coil in, bolt it down tight, re-clip the connector on the back, and plug in the PROPER plug wire. Repeat 3 more times.
(Note: Wiring is as follows: Starting w/ coil @ front of car and working your way back to the windshield: Coil#1. Leading front rotor, 2. Trailing front rotor, 3. Leading rear rotor, 4. Trailing rear rotor. On each rotor, the the lower/bottom spark plug is leading, the upper/top plug is trailing. Make sure it's wired right!)
14. Now undo what you did in reverse order. Twisting helps to reinstall the accordion tube and filter box into one another. Re-tighten the Phillips screws on the hose clamps. Reattach the black thing under the air box to the brass bracket.
15. You have to push really hard to get the filter box back in. Try not to impale yourself/crush your thumbs; then, once it's in, pull the box forward to seat it.
16. Remember to re-connect the two wiring harnesses to the air filter box.
17. Reconnect the negative battery terminal. Screw it down and replace cover.
18. Put the key in and turn it to "on" - don't start it yet. Reset all the stuff you need to. The DSC light will flash, and the Traction light will come on solid - this means you need to recalibrate the steering sensor (happens after battery disconnect) - see owner's manual: turn wheel clockwise to lock, then counter-clockwise to lock, then center wheel, then turn key to "off," then turn it back to "on."
19. Then give 'er a spin. If you did it right, you might notice significant low-end torque improvements (I did) and a more rapid engine start. Maybe even some mpg gains (I'm hoping - since I'm getting 11.8mpg, all city - but I've been driving on bad coils for a while)
20. If no start - check all of your connections, harness @ coils, battery, plug wires, intake harnesses.
20. Ideally, you should also change/clean your plugs (and maybe wires) at this time since the plugs are likely fouled due to poor combustion/misfire.
- I literally did this @ the dealership parking lot in 25 minutes; Thanked them for their accommodation and proceeded to drive my car off and pocket the $272 I saved in parts and labor for just the coils. Hope this helps!

laythor

i would agree with everything but removing the negative terminal.. zero power to the coils when the ignition is off.

peregrinus

i think thats moreso just a common practice when working with ANYthing dealing with the electrical system. i know alot of people that do it on anything more extensive then changing oil. lol

ApexZen

I can just envision the chain of events that could lead to someone grabbing a hot coil. Maybe I need smarter friends.

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

For the BHR Ignition System swap we suggest that the battery STAY connected and the key off so the fuel trims don't reset. Otherwise, people flip out and think the coils are bad when they first start the car.

Just sayin'.........

czar

iTrader: (3)

o_O ive never had issues with reseting the ecu with or without the bhr coils

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

Some do, some don't.

RK

iTrader: (1)

When you reset the ECU it has to warm up to operating temp before it lets you rev past 6k rpms. So if the first startup you try to rev higher you'll hear what sounds like a misfire because the computer is limiting you. I know I mentioned it after my didn't really consider it an issue since the second and every other time the engine ran it was fine. I know I mentioned it in my install thread. I was close to operating temp but just jumped the gun and tried hitting a higher rev before the computer would let me.

Hard to tell when the needle in the OEM gauge reaches its happy, fake stable operating temp zone and at the time I didn't know that there was a rev limit after a reset. Usually pretty careful about never going above 5k before it's in a happy place but in a garage in January ya tend to get anxious.

czar

iTrader: (3)

o_O there is always a cold rev limiter but the needle will still be in the cold area when it turns off... its just that ive never hit it before, also i have a scanguage and watch water temp along with intake temp