See the pic

See the middle two plugs



This is the second set of plugs this has happened to since I switched to the Pilo HO ignition coil. The car runs noticeably smoother with the Pilo coil for a few thousand miles, but then all of a sudden it seems to "miss" on part throttle acceleration.

I've now put a set of iridiums in, and put back the OEM ignition coil as well.

Anybod else have a problem like this?

 

10,000 miles........nope, no prob.

 

Have you doublechecked torque settings on your plugs?

 

>>Have you doublechecked torque settings on your plugs?

That's my thought too. It looks like you are getting burnt by flamage passing the threads of the plugs.

 

yes that is a thought. I'll double check it.

 

21 ft/lbs, I believe that is correct, is it not?

 

Those plugs do not look happy!

I have 4000+ miles and no problem. I'm also using Denso IK22 and Nology wires, along with Pilo coil. I hope this is an isolated case. Have you contacted Dan from Pilo to discuss the possible causes?

_________________

 

Ah, another important point, I should have the plugs torqued to 21ft lbs in a "cold head". I will wait until morning and check again.

I now really suspect it was "blow by" from the plug not being tight enough.

 

If you continue to have problems, please let me know. I woud like to make sure that you do not have any problems. I'm lad that you engo it when it is working :smile: Let me know if there is any thing else that I can do for you.

 

MiniPilo, this is a touchy subject, so I don;t want to tick you off. Honest question from me.

Do you provide a waranty if the ECU is damaged by your coil?

 

Trippy-Tangent: Most vendors can only provide a product guarantee, not a warranty, per se. Certainly you can't expect an aftermarket vendor to pay for any potential damage to other equipment on the car that may or may not be associated with a product that is sold "as is"


--->FraserBonnet; the contacts and the gaps of the plugs look good. Why the bodies near the hex look burnt probably cannot be directly associated to the Coil Pack. Like Yucca questioned, do you check your plug torque regularly? My first guess would be that it looks like you're getting some sort of blowby underneath the plug hex. Clean the plug bodies, torque them when the engine's cold, and drive for a while before rechecking.

Hope that helps,
Ryan

 

Yes, it seems I didn't have the plugs torqued correctly before. They certainly bloody well are now!

I have a new set of Iridiums in now, and the OEM coil. I'll check them every so often and if all looks well, I'll switch back to the Pilo coil.

 

>>MiniPilo, this is a touchy subject, so I don;t want to tick you off. Honest question from me.
>>
>>Do you provide a waranty if the ECU is damaged by your coil?

I provide a Warrentee on the coil. Are you aware of any ECU that has had a problem from a coil. I am not. I have sold hundreds of units with out issue of an effected ECU. I only am asking out of curiosity about your statement.

 

I don't know of any problems with the ECU and a Pilo coil.

I'm not going to go into details, but someone put an aftermarket ignition device on his car, blew up two coils, and the ECU, and was claiming the device didn't have anything to do with it, so I think he ended up paying for a replacement ECU out of his own pocket.

Anyway, if MINI has any smell of an aftermarket coil, they seem to be inclined to refuse an ECU replacement under warranty, so I was asking about it.

I'm just a nervous-nelly when it comes to the ECU that's all.

 

Just an update, 500 miles since I re-torqued the plugs. Checked them this morning, torque is still at 21 ft/lbs and no perceived engine miss. I guess I'm now convinced my problem was not torquing (sp?) the plugs properly in the first place.

Pilo coil is now back on!