# Ignition Coils



## LONDONDERRY (May 19, 2004)

Does this sound like the ignition coils on a 96 Altima I own is going bad?
Primary resistance is 1.2 ohms, which is within spec.
Secondary restitance is 13.7 ohms, which is out of spec. FSM recommend 10 -12 ohms.
Is there another test that can determine if the ignition coils are bad or have I done everything that can be tested?
I manually looked for any codes on the ECM, but nothing appears. Should I expect if the ignition coils are bad I would get p1320 or DTC 0201?

If did this test because of an ongoing electrical issue I have, where if the car is not used for a few days or a week something is draining the battery. In addition, I check the battery and everything is which in spec.

Any advice is well appricated.

Frank


----------



## KA24Tech (Feb 2, 2004)

Frank, 
With the key and lights off as well as the door shut, check the stationary current draw. This is done by going in series with an ampmeter (with at least a one ampere range) between the positive cable (after unhooking it) and the battery. 
You should read less than 200mA, but if it is higher try pulling the fuse for the radio to see how much it goes down. Next check all the lights for the glovebox, trunk, etc. to insure that they are going off. 
The next thing would be the battery, fully charge it and make sure the electrolyte levels are where they should be and clean the top of the battery with a commercial battery cleaner or a solution of bicarbonate and water. I have seen where the parasitic draw was from the acid on the battery allowing a trickle current to flow between the two posts.
Also check the charging system and load test the battery.
If the battery is more than five years old then it is probably just time for a replacement.
The coil measurement is not that far out so I really don't think that is a problem at least for the immediate future.

Troy


----------



## jserrano (Oct 27, 2004)

Yeap, like KA24Tech said, the coil reading is NOT bad, and unlikely to cause your battery drain problem.

Check for parasitic current draw as the battery like what he described and start pulling fuses to see what is causing the excess current draw. If you cannot find anything then disconnect the B+ wire from the alternator. Sometimes a leaky diode inside an alternator can also cause excess parasitic current draw.


----------

