# Burning your coil pack?



## Chevy_Country (Oct 16, 2015)

Has anyone heard of burning your cool back because you haven't used ac Delco spark plugs? I put the MGK copper spark plugs and a few mechanically inclined friends said o need to swap out for the ac Delco oem equivalent iridiums because it'll burn my cool pack? Anyone have any further information to support or argue that ?


2011 Chevy Cruze LTZ 1.4L Turbo


----------



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

We have several members running non-OEM plugs. Other than an occasional torn boot none of us have had problems with our coil packs.


----------



## 30 Ounce (Nov 18, 2012)

That's total BS! I had to school the dealer about how a coil works when he claimed my NGK (stock!) plugs burned my coil pack. It's likely the coil is fine and the spark plug gap has grown to a point that the coil can't jump the gap under boost. It is difficult to create a spark under high boost conditions so that does take more energy but properly gapped plugs make it work.


----------



## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

As above.....old time, I don't know where it started, thinking.

Coils only see excessive resistance in which case they find another ground path......sometimes burning a hole right through the side.

You would have a misfire code long before that occured......

No worries,

Rob


----------



## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Yeah, I'd worry more about excessive gap than the plug itself. Unless the plug is defective or wears out fast, I'm not sure how the brand would make a difference. 

I've heard the old DIS system which fired half the plugs with a reverse polarity would eat some sparkplugs and result in a excessive gap in short order. But I don't think the Cruze uses that system. That may be where this came from.


----------



## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

My previous car, a 2004 cavalier used a similar coil pack setup, and it was known that certain plugs resistance was different enough to put more load on the coil pack causing them to fail quicker.


----------



## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

A properly layered wound coil of the correct AWG with vacuum impregnated varnish would never burn up. Using under sized wire random wound is when problems started to occur. With a misfiring spark plug, first thing to take a beating is a zener diode that protects the gated bipolar transistor. Never was permitted to make those large enough due to cost restrains.

If that shorts out, full current flows through the coil, uninterrupted and no more controlled current. We call this a chain reaction. 

Use to have a separate ignition module, bean counters came along, know its driven by the ECU, why are you making these separate. To reduce maintenance cost. Screw that, make it a part of the ECU so we can make more money saving all that extra wiring and module case cost. What about the consumer? Screw the consumer. AT controller, cruise control, and others also had separate modules, now all part of the ECU.

Friend is having cruise control problems in his VW, his dealer claims its in the ECU, wants 1,300 bucks plus labor and programming to install it. Screw the consumer. Really screw the consumer. 

See my daugthers Kia Soul is using coil on plugs, if one goes bad, just replace that, not the entire module like in the Cruze.

Usually keep my valuables in a safety deposit box. Should get a large one for some of these way overpriced car parts. Sure started a many chop shop businesses.


----------



## Mznicetea (Jun 6, 2020)

Chevy_Country said:


> Has anyone heard of burning your cool back because you haven't used ac Delco spark plugs? I put the MGK copper spark plugs and a few mechanically inclined friends said o need to swap out for the ac Delco oem equivalent iridiums because it'll burn my cool pack? Anyone have any further information to support or argue that ?
> 
> 
> 2011 Chevy Cruze LTZ 1.4L Turbo





Chevy_Country said:


> Has anyone heard of burning your cool back because you haven't used ac Delco spark plugs? I put the MGK copper spark plugs and a few mechanically inclined friends said o need to swap out for the ac Delco oem equivalent iridiums because it'll burn my cool pack? Anyone have any further information to support or argue that ?
> 
> 
> 2011 Chevy Cruze LTZ 1.4L Turbo


My 2014 Cruze repeatedly burned coil packs. My mechanic replaced the engine harness and I haven’t had the problem since.


----------

