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Burning up Coil pack

57K views 74 replies 33 participants last post by  Blasirl 
#1 ·
Hello, everyone been having a problem with the coil pack.2014 Cruze 1.4T. Cylinder 1 keeps missing. Have swapped out two packs already and replace the spark plugs. First time it happens I chalked it to normal wear and tear. 85k miles in car. Did tune up replace plugs and coil pack. (AC Delco). Been driving perfectly fine for almost 3 weeks, and again started missing on cylinder 1. Looks like the pack burned up again. Any advise? Thanks.
 
#4 ·
How does the bottom of the #1 plug well look? Is there any oil down there? The 1.8's are prone to valve cover leaks which allow oil to seep into the well and short out the coil, which can damage it, as well as causing a misfire.

As I recall, the gen1 1.4T valve cover gaskets are prone to doing that, too. (Hopefully somebody with one will chime in here.)

When you swapped plugs and replaced the coil module, did you notice any oil on the #1 boot?

Doug

.
 
#5 ·
No oil residue, Boots on coil pack look great no burn marks or oil. The old Spark plug (which I replaced) looked burned up as it would be expected at 85k miles, new one looks a bit smoked up but it can be due to the miss-firing nothing to unusual . DTC p0301 keeps setting on ECM and engine has a hard misfire at idle but levels out at about 2k RPM. Same code both times, cleared it after I replaced the coil 3 weeks ago didn’t set again until this new coil went out.
 
#7 ·
True, many causes for a misfire. But how many for #1 cylinder, intermittent causing the coil to burn up. It is possible the injector could be bad too. Only has a P0301 code. The first time it happened I was at a stop light, engine started to shake and SES light began to blink...had to drive about a block to park. Replaced coil pack and plugs. Car drove fine for about 3 weeks(daily driver to work) no problems. Two days ago same exact thing happened. Pulled the plug it’s not too bad has a bit of white residue But no oil or heavy fuel smell. Coil was under warranty so I have the new one already, but before I just drop it in I just wanted to make sure I’m not missing a bigger issue. I was also thinking faulty fuel injector. Easiest repair was swapping the coil...specially when out on the street. It did Fix the problem so I didn’t think much more of it it now lol.
 
#8 ·
But how many for #1 cylinder, intermittent causing the coil to burn up. It is possible the injector could be bad too. Only has a P0301 code.
The injector may cause a misfire, but will that kill the #1 coil?
That said, inspect the wiring at the #1 injector to be sure it's not damaged.

The other thought I had is, maybe the #1 plug is somehow bad leading to misfires and coil failures. Maybe there's a hairline crack in the ceramic, for example. Try swapping plugs 1 and 2, and see if the misfire moves.

Lastly, inspect closely the wiring going to the coil pack. I can see how a damaged wire could cause misfire, but not sure how that would kill the #1 coil. Nonetheless, make sure the wires are not damaged at the connector.

I've seen someone get a bad coil module right out of the box, but you've replaced it twice now, right? So I'm thinking the problem lies elsewhere, but I'm about stumped.

Doug

.
 
#13 ·
I'm willing to bet it's not the coil. I've very rarely seen an actual ignition coil fail (internally anyways, I've seen the boots rip, internals fall apart etc) Especially since he replaced it several times along with the spark plugs.

I'm with Doug - swap #1 and #2 plugs and see if the misfire follows. If it stays with #1 then it's something else - wiring to the coil, injector, wiring to the injector, etc. as coil failure (especially multiple times on the same unit) is a very rare thing.

You could also try the MSD unit: 8236-MSD Ignition Coil 2011-2016 GM 1.4T

Or you could go all-out and get their LS7 coil upgrade. They say it requires a tune but I seriously doubt that. I've never seen anything need a tune after upgrading the coil: BNR-LS7COIL-BNR LS7 Coil Upgrade LUV-LUJ 1.4T

Mice like to eat wires. Toyota made the smart move to soy-based wire insulation a bunch of years ago. The animals LOVED that stuff.
 
#14 ·
Thanks to everyone for the help. Been getting out late from work so haven’t been messing with the car. I replaced all four plugs last time, the chance of getting a second bad New plug on the same cylinder are very low. I’ll give it a shot and straight replace the plug but since I already traded the old coil for the new one (Under warranty) I can’t really duplicate the problem. An Other thing that came to mind is a short somewhere in the coil wiring circuit and possibly shorting out On the frame when I hit a bump. Anyone seen that or now of a common rubbing point. I understand coils don’t just go bad. Most of the time a bad coil is easy to detect even without a scanner, my problem is I can’t narrow down the reason for it going bad or giving me a misfire. No DTCs set other then p301. I don’t work at a shop anymore so I don’t have access to any of the big diagnostic toys or electronic libraries. I Really do appreciate every ones input and help. Thanks guys.
 
#17 ·
I know what you are talking about, the coil pack is burnt on the side of the coil, it's cracked and burnt and cooked, probably smells like an electrical fire. These guys that are trying to help you by saying " I have never heard of a coil pack burning up, it's your spark plugs" or what ever they are saying just shows they are not technicians and probably shotgun parts at cars and hope they fixed it. I have a 2014 Cruze in my shop right now for the exact same problem. We have not figured it out yet but as soon as we do I will post the fix for you and hopefully that will helps.
 
#18 ·
I ended up replacing spark plugs with higher quality ones replaced the coil with oem and added die electric grease to the connector to make sure it has a better contact point also been putting high octane fuel. It’s been a few months, driving it every day and still good. Never found a solid cause for the problem,I checked all the harnesses around the engine and connectors. Every thing seemed to be good. Only other possible cause could be a harness around the frame that I can’t see rubbing and shorting out. If anything changes I’ll definitely post it up. Thanks
 
#29 ·
Back the ign1 terminal out of the ECM connector, see if your short to power goes away. If it does you either need a new ECM or just need to clean better(likely taking apart the connector body and cleaning in between the female terminals) if the short doesn't disappear you have a physical short through the insulation, just run a new wire from the ECM to coil
 
#31 ·
no amount of cleaning could stop the short. This was ridiculous. I swapped the X3 and X2 connectors (I had to shave a bit of plastic off so the connectors would swap.) Every wire transferred over easily and X3 doesn't use pins 1 or 2 which is where the short was located.
 
#43 ·
My son's 2014 1.4T was doing the same thing..after many coil packs and spark plugs later the problem was the middle connector to the ecm..corrosion shorting #1 causing it to blow. Cleaned it and the inside cap with electrical cleaner and added some electrical grease. Bought a new ignition coil and so far running like new again. Hope this helps.
290325
 
#45 ·
I was wondering if this issue was going to be similar to what my brother had to do on his '01 Mustang GT to get it to stop exploding coil number 5 instantly, but it looks like the fix is much, much similar.

His, for reference, required removing the entire engine harness, and then "opening it up" to find the ground wire for coil number 5 (those coils have constant power, and the ECM switches the ground when it is time to discharge) and fixing the short.

290326

290327
 
#46 ·
I was wondering if this issue was going to be similar to what my brother had to do on his '01 Mustang GT to get it to stop exploding coil number 5 instantly, but it looks like the fix is much, much similar.

His, for reference, required removing the entire engine harness, and then "opening it up" to find the ground wire for coil number 5 (those coils have constant power, and the ECM switches the ground when it is time to discharge) and fixing the short.

View attachment 290326
View attachment 290327
Luckily my son's harness was ok and just the connector had corrosion.
 
#60 ·
I

I am have samn problem I replaced my valve cover and gasket bc it was leaking oil in to plug hole and shorting them out so got that fixed replaced plugs coil pack also had to replace catalytic converter bc code said it was going bad and o2 sensors pcv valve had to be changed twice from getting stuck open after all the the car would start up and drive for about 16 miles then burn up the coil pack again but valve cover is not leaking anymore so that's not the problem also have Stabilitrak light flashing now got feed up took it to dealer the said it needs coil pack plugs something in the dash cluster reprogrammed an they wanted 1600 to do it all witch is insane but I asked them I said ok if I let u all do that witch is the samn thing iv done except the cluster reprogramme and then it doesn't fix it are u all going to put my parts back on and give me my money back and then try somthing eles to fix it they said no I said well what if u do all that and it's not the problem these ass holes said well u got to start somewhere lmao I about smaked the guy like he was a transexual that I had sex with and didnt tell me till after the deed was done so anyways sorry for long story but if u fig it out could h pls shoot me a message I'd be really grateful
 
#62 ·
I was having a bad misfire in cyclinder 1 (Closest to driver side). I removed the coil pack and did that knowing there was a risk of tearing a boot. Cylinder 1 boot remained in the plug hole and I could see exceptional corrosion on the spring tip. I removed the spring and cleaned it and sanded so I could see metal again. After reassembly the misfire was less frequent so I ordered a new coil pack to be installed this weekend. Is this a common problem? I'll let you know how it goes after the new pack is installed.
 
#64 ·
2014 1.4 turbo 146K KM

The connecton looks fine, allthough it was dry and I assume there should be some grease in there. The spring and the tip between the spring and the coil pack was very green and inside the coil hole was a lot of crud. No codes were ever tripped atleast on my budget OBD reader but the CEL blinked during misfire and "Service Stabiltrax" appeared on the console. I let the car sit all day and just went out and started it up and there is no misfire anymore although I have had a few drinks so we did not go for a ride and get up to operating temperature. I noticed my purge solenoid is unusually louder than the normal Clicking from this engine.

A few things to note,
It was +40C with humidity
87 Octane
Valve cover has been replaced and a boost leak test was performed.
My orange nipple check valve in the manifold is still in place and my valve cover is not leaking air or oil.
twice now it has a produced a low boost code and the boost was disabled but reengaged on it's own without me interfering.

Hope that helps
 
#65 ·
I replaced the coilpack yesterday and my misfire is gone. I noticed after startup once everything winds down to operating speeds the purge solenoid starts clicking. I know these things have a click to them anyway but it seems aggressive, mind you I don't open the hood everyday and listen to purge valves. Is there a way to check this? Like, is my clicking normal clicking or is it broken clicking? lol
This car rarely produces codes either. With the misfire we had to drive about 20KM with the car surging dumping fuel down the exhaust and a code was never produced.
 
#66 ·
I am wondering if anyone has tried this yet. I am considering doing so myself, unless someone here can talk me out of it. This "High Performance" Coil pack from ZZ. Is our plug gap issues and misfires, rough idle really, in part, caused by a weaker OEM coil pack? Are there any Quasi-Electrical engineers out there that can, make a case for this? It seems to make some sense, intuitively. Better spark, better performance. I also saw a comment, where folks are using NGK with the wider plug gap, do to the increased power at the plug. This is intriguing as well. What say you? LINK: ZZP 1.4T High Voltage Coil Pack
 
#67 ·
I am wondering if anyone has tried this yet. I am considering doing so myself, unless someone here can talk me out of it. This "High Performance" Coil pack from ZZ. Is our plug gap issues and misfires, rough idle really, in part, caused by a weaker OEM coil pack? Are there any Quasi-Electrical engineers out there that can, make a case for this? It seems to make some sense, intuitively. Better spark, better performance. I also saw a comment, where folks are using NGK with the wider plug gap, do to the increased power at the plug. This is intriguing as well. What say you? LINK: ZZP 1.4T High Voltage Coil Pack
I replaced the coil pack with a mexican AC delco off Amazon, it was about 1/3 the price of the dealership and exactly what you get from from GM (I work for GM Parts Distribution so I have a lot of time to look at the differences between the General Motors parts I ship to dealerships, and parts I order from Amazon) The car runs great now, no misfires.
The purge solenoid I removed I could blow/suck through the tube which meant the valve was stuck open causing rough Idle. Same deal, I bought the part on amazon for a fraction of the cost, tried blowing/sucking through the new valve and it was air tight. I installed it on the car and rough idle was dismissed.
I've never tried any of the performance parts so I have no input for the ZZP parts.
 
#69 ·
Hey guys I’m new to the chat but am having problems with my Cruze I have blown 3 coil packs also my coil pack is sending power to ground and giving a dead short it physically melts cracks the housing and the plastic inner came out I just put a new one and same problem I have the hole wire harness apart took the hole fixed panel apart and changed out the Ecm changed plugs changed cam sensor
 
#70 ·
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