Can a Coil Pack Cause Misfire? (Read This First!)

A coil pack is a new addition to updated and modern cars. It replaces the distributor of the engine. However, a coil pack mainly works to create the Spark for the cylinder’s spark plugs.

Therefore, it must be good and maintained properly. Otherwise, the coil pack will create issues for the engine. On the other hand, it is also called the ignition coil due to its working module.

Moreover, coil packs sometimes cause many engine struggles. Therefore, we will explain what precisely the coil pack does to the engine and does it cause a misfire

Can a coil pack cause a misfire?

A coil pack can cause a misfire if it goes wrong or gets damaged. The coil pack has some limitations and drawbacks as well. Especially when it gets bad, it will cause spark loss in the cylinder. That also affects the engine. After a specific time, the coil pack will cause a misfire.

Misfiring is a drawback for every engine. In particular, misfires reduce engine performance.

That’s why people are always concerned about misfires, and they try to avoid misfires by any means. You can also prevent it if you can ensure the best uses of the coil pack.

A coil pack plays a vital role between the engine and gas cylinder. You cannot expect to have a bad coil pack and get superior performance from the engine.

Also, coil packs have different conditions, including loose coil packs, cracked coil packs, and lousy coil packs. They do cause misfires. For that, you should know the reasons and conditions of the coil pack.

Loose coil pack:

Loose coil pack can cause a misfire. Sometimes, the coil pack fails to produce the required voltage for the given spark plug.

In that time, you might get a misfire. In that time, the voltage cannot jump to the spark plug gap.

However, the loose coil pack significantly reduces the overall performance. Even the check engine light may come on for it.

Cracked coil pack:

Cracked coil packs also cause misfires. When your coil pack cracks, it usually loses efficiency. As a result, it will fail to produce a low voltage into a high voltage. That’s why misfires occur now and then.

On the other hand, cracked coil packs also hamper engine performance. Using the coil packs for a long time will get cracked due to the high temperature. For that, you get misfires.

Bad coil pack:

When you struggle to start the engine, or your vehicle stalls when you push the brakes, your coil packs might go wrong. In that case, the bad coil packs will create difficulties for the engine.

Additionally, the bad coil packs can cause very obvious misfires. Apart from that, it will cause some other struggles too. Spark plugs will fail to get the high voltages due to the bad coil packs.

Can oil on the coil pack cause misfires?

Oil on the coil packs is not a good thing. Since the spark plugs and coil packs both need to be dry and work with high voltages, oil can damage them. In a nutshell, oil on the coil packs can cause misfire to a great extent.

Oil hampers the overall health of the oil pack. So, when you go to a garage and ask to repair the spark plugs, you should also ask to check the coil packs. Oil may ruin the coil packs too. You can also check the engine light here.

If you check engine light comes on, you should check both the spark plugs and coil packs. On the other hand, oil leakages are dangerous for the engine. It can damage both the spark plugs and coil packs. In that case, you should also check the fuel tank.

If you truly find oil on the coil packs, you may require changing the coil packs as well as the spark plugs. Otherwise, you may find further misfires because oil on the coil packs.

How to know it’s your coil pack causing misfire?

Some symptoms will tell you that your coil pack is causing a misfire. What are they? They are given below.

Check Engine light:

When you have no other issues and your brakes are working fine, yet you see that the check engine lights are coming on and misfires, you should check the coil packs.

Coil packs go wrong most of the time, and your engine starts to show you the lights.

Engine power:

You should check the coil packs when you notice that your engine is getting poor without any reason, and you get misfires. Maybe your coil packs are wrong; that’s why your engine gets weaker and misfires.

Gas Warning Light:

When you have full gas, yet you get the misfires, you must check the coil packs. When coil packs go bad, you will get misfires despite full gasoline.

Louder Engine Noise:

Sometimes, the louder engine noise and misfires can occur at the same time.

At that time, you have to check the coil pack’s health. Maybe they are wrong; that’s why you are getting louder engine noise and misfires.

What causes a coil pack to misfire?

Some reasons cause a coil pack to misfire. We are about to explain them.

Worn-out Spark Plugs:

When the spark plugs get worn, they fail to transfer the high voltage to the cylinder and engine. At that time, your coil packs go wrong and start to misfire. So, worn spark plugs are the first reason why a coil pack misfires.

Bad Coil Pack:

Any bad or faulty engine or vehicle part is highly injurious to the car. The same goes for a coil pack. When the coil packs go wrong or bad, they will misfire. It’s a common reason.

Oil leaks:

Oil is the foe of both the spark plugs and the coil packs. If the fuel tank leaks and oil come out, the coil packs will misfire. We have already explained why the oil on coil packs causes misfires.

Improper Installation:

If you fail to install the coil pack correctly, it will usually misfire. It’s another common reason if you are new to driving.

How do you fix an ignition coil pack misfire?

You can surely fix an ignition coil pack misfire. You can follow our steps and sort out the misfire problems quickly.

Find out the bad coil pack:

You need to find out the bad coil pack that is damaged or worn out for some reason.

In that case, you can use a handy scanner to find out the code. It will be easier to get the damaged or bad coil pack when you get the code.

Check the code:

You have the code; now, you need to scan the check engine light and find the same code over there. It will help you to find out the bad ignition coil pack. It’s the easiest way to get the bad coil pack.

Replace the bad coil pack:

It’s time to replace the bad ignition coil pack that is misfiring. You need to buy the brand new coil pack and install it properly. It might come with instructions, follow these and install it properly. That’s how you can fix an ignition coil pack misfire.

Clean the coil pack:

If you find that your oil pack is good but has oil on it, you need to clean it properly and find out why it gets the oil. In that case, you should check the fuel tank and close the gas cap tightly.

Those are the four steps to help you fix up the ignition coil pack misfire. Hopefully, you will not get the misfire again. So let’s try and sort out the issues.

How much does it cost to replace a coil pack?

It costs around $200 to replace a coil pack, including labor. If you can install the brand-new coil pack, you can save 50 bucks for labor. However, the cost will vary from car to car.

You might find coil packs under a hundred bucks. But that entirely depends on the car brand and model. If you have a BMW car, you will expect to spend more than the average budget for sure.

 It would be better to ask the shopper or search on amazon with the model number and find out the actual cost to replace the coil pack. If you have an average car, the cost will be around $200. It’s a standard budget for changing or replacing the coil packs.

Final Thoughts

Due to some significant issues, a coil pack can indeed cause a misfire. One of the main reasons is a bad coil pack. When the coil pack goes wrong and loses effectiveness and efficiency, it will misfire frequently. Also, when you find the oil on coil packs, your coil packs will misfire too.