rallyruss Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 on my trip down to work at Rim of the world Rally. I was climbing some good long hills. car starts to misfire. it get worse as I go. finally as we get to the hotel and meet with the team it wont run.:-\ well after geting the rally car all preped and ready. I decided to swap coils with my old one that I kept in the back. after coil swap no problem. It ran 300+ miles home with no problems. these accel coils are a down grade part. junk. problem waiting to happen. I was lucky and had kept my old coil with me and made it to the hotel before it completely died. I can se it getting towed because of this crappy coil. my mind is made up. If you guys still want to run them I recomend that you carry a spare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 Herm I have a missfire issue on my EA82. Running the Accel 'super stock'. Wonder if this is the culprit? Plugs and wires are new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanky_pete Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 Coils can be very sensitive, I wonder if they are getting vibrated or shook to death. I have a 'Super Stock' on a Small Block Chevy that's been on there for years with no issues. :-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 Coils can be very sensitive, I wonder if they are getting vibrated or shook to death. I have a 'Super Stock' on a Small Block Chevy that's been on there for years with no issues. :-\ The Accels are a bit more narrow diamiter in the main body. Hence they dont fit in the stock coil bracket w/o a shim of some sort. Even the stock coils came with a rubber boot around the body. I thought it was more for making it fit but maybe its also to dampen vibration? Mine is in there just flopping around. Maybe I'll try securing it first! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowmastered87GL Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 When I installed my Accel 2-3 years ago I had to re-do the bracketry on it. I had to tighten up the fit and use a different hole (so the diamater was smaller) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanonsf Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 hey russ, got the same coil, haven't had any grief. but will take your advice and put the old one in the car for long trips. keep me posted on those rear bearings, let's wait a couple of weeks. How about early June? No time before that. thx again, Shanonsf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallyruss Posted May 10, 2004 Author Share Posted May 10, 2004 the coil is only about 6 months old and I have beat on the car a little bit but not much. I had no dificulty fitting it in the bracket either. just gradualy went kaput. the long drive must have pushed it over the edge. still lame. I dont know what the count is on dead accel coils but its far to high for me to ever run one again. shannon I am going to start on your stuff soon. I will let you know whats up with the old ones. you want to wait on the new ones? PM me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill90Loyale Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 I've been running the Accel in my 90 loyale for past four months. Had no mounting or other installation issues. Replaced plug wires at same time with a set of Magnecors. Standard NGK plugs. No problems so far. But I discarded the fourteen year old coil. Now I wish I hadn't. With respect to vibration, I'm having a bit of a problem thinking that vibration will hurt a healthy coil. Also, if a coil failed (short or broken circuit) wouldn't it shut down completely instead of causing misfire condition? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myxalplyx Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 RallyRuss, I'm glad you posted what you did and have brought a possible problem to light. I'm reading about other people's installation 'issues' that may not have been posted about before as well too. Not saying this is a bad product but you get the impression that it's a simple 'bolt on' without any issues. I'm the type that likes to know about the problems (even small, minute, easily modified to make it fit problems). So thank you guys for your input(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archemitis Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 these coils have been working for years, in all kinds of stuff. just buy another one, stuff breaks. dont go dissin our only upgrade option =] mine works great, but how hard is it to stick a stock one in the back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scooby Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 ive had mine for about a month now, no problems as of yet... just breaking off the psitive post when i first put it in. still enough on there to get it to work which it does. but i always tray to carry atleast one spare of everything i can in the car, timing belts, tetioners, belts, coils, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 I have an old MSD that was on my buddies Jeep Cherokee, then on my friends subaru gl, now on my EA81T wagon and its still running wel! 2 years and counting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 Which color is it? Earlier threads on this seem to indicate that the chrome coil is failure prone and the yellow one is quite reliable. I've had a yellow one in my Brat for more than two years now without any trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest taprackready Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 I've got the chrome version in my brat. I took it out of a donor GTI Rabbit that had it banging around on the firewall with one screw in the bracket holding it. I mounted it in the stock horzontal location in my 82 brat with no problems.Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subiemech85 Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 My 8140C was a "ture" bolt in in the ea82, and the ea81 I had to cut the bolt and drill out the hole to put a "real" bolt in, because the old "factory" bolt wouldn't budge under the influence of vice grips! there was no issue of it not fitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregg Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 I've been using a yellow Super Stock for almost a year in my XT-GL without a single problem - it's even mated to 8mm Super Stock wires and Bosch Platinum 2's (which I am about to replace with NGK V's). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallyruss Posted May 11, 2004 Author Share Posted May 11, 2004 well yeah I am going to "diss this mod" it freakin died! a long way from home. less than a year old. not a race car. just my daily driver. funny that the old coil lasted 200,000+ miles without issue and the accel died in under 10,000. oh it was a yellow coil not chrome. and I never really noticed a power gain anyway. I wanted to to justify the purchase. If you want to run an accel, fine. I just reccomend carrying a good stock coil. I appear to not be the only one that has been let down. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12600&page=1&pp=10&highlight=accel+coil chose wisely young subewalkers thats ony one link about failed accel coils there are more. my parts guy told me I was wasting my money. I told him that lots of subes run em with sucess. guess I was wrong. stock coil for me. If some one has real data to prove there is a better more reliable option out there let me know. untill then I go back to what I used to say. whats wrong with the one on there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 MSD makes good high power coils, but as far as I can tell, a stock one should be all you need. Put it this way - if you're seeing a performance boost from a high power coil, then your old coil was probably weak, and you would have seen the same performance boost from a new stock coil. That, and just the act of properly gapping the plugs could account for what most people claim as "performance". If the spark lights the mixture then it worked, if it didn't you have a miss. It's one or the other. There is no "better" or "worse" for ignition in these cars. You either have a miss or you don't. The stock coil's last a LONG time, and I see no reason to upgrade. One should note that the resistance of the coil must match the distributor, and if it does not, damage to the coil WILL result. This may account for some of your "problems" you guys are seeing. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 Well, in earlier threads about this, and I'm sorry but I can remember who brought it up (I'm to lazy right now to look), but the Accel coils are oil filled. When mounted in the horizontal position, the oil isnt cooling the entire unit. Hence overheating is created, then failure results. But theres alot of people running thier coils in this postion, me included (the Hatch)and have had no probs for years. The chrome Accel I had in my 86 Turbo Wagon died in 3 months mounted horizontaly, so there isnt a definate pinpoint cause of failure. And it seems like its been in the last 6 months that the failures have popped up, so I'm leaning towards QC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest taprackready Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 but the Accel coils are oil filled. When mounted in the horizontal position, the oil isnt cooling the entire unit. Hence overheating is created, then failure results. True, however 99.9 percent of all coils of this type including factory coils are oil filled. So it very well could be a quality control issue with Accel. I don't really care myself. I picked up the coil for free out of a wrecking yard car. Chrome Accel adds a little "bling, bling" to my engine bay. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubaRube Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 I emailed MrGasket tech support and they verified it. Time to redo my mount. Question -"Someone told me I shouldn't have my #8140 in the stock horizontal position. Something about it overheating. True?" Answer - "Correct it is not a very good idea, it is oil filled and when overheated can leak. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKIRA Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 i have had one on my brat for almost a year now and it has caused no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 So it should be mounted verticly but which end is up ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutt7 Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 Morgan, the side with the output wire is up... GD, shouldnt the accel be putting out a stronger spark than the stock ones thus creating a better, cleaner ignition of fuel/air? you said it shouldnt make a difference from stock. I dont understand this... has anyone noticed a decent gain in power or fuel economy, compared to as good working stock coil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebz Posted May 11, 2004 Share Posted May 11, 2004 Morgan, the side with the output wire is up... GD, shouldnt the accel be putting out a stronger spark than the stock ones thus creating a better, cleaner ignition of fuel/air? you said it shouldnt make a difference from stock. I dont understand this... has anyone noticed a decent gain in power or fuel economy, compared to as good working stock coil? I had a brand new stock coil and a brand new Accel.. with the Accel coil, throttle response from a stop was greatly improved.. 9 months later.. still working.. may reposition it to be safe though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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