92' Loyale 4WD A/T. I installed a new Accel 8140 coil & coil wire (same as I had on it before) & i'm still getting an orange spark. The spark is consistent, but yet, still it's orange & should be white.......right?? I tested it at the coil wire & not at the spark plug wires, so this has nothing at all to do with the distributor.

Here's some info that might lend a clue: The reason I replaced the old coil is because it was starting to leak oil from it's case after only about 3 years of use (about 30,000 miles). When I removed the coil wire from the old coil, I noticed that under the boot the wires sheath was almost burnt completely in two & the wire element WAS burnt in two. Of course this would be part of the reason the car was running like crap, bit still the coil needed replaced regardless. Could this coil & wire have been damaged because it was getting too low of voltage? Could this be caused maybe by the inline resistor below the coil being bad? Maybe that would explain the new coil having a weak orange spark & the car still having about as much power as a lawnmower. By the way, the new coil wire hasn't burnt in two yet so that's not it either.

... Could this coil & wire have been damaged because it was getting too low of voltage?

 

I Think that your Coil is Gettin` Low Voltage, I have an Accel Superstock 8145 Coil in my Weberized EA82 white Wagon, and it Performances Great!

But, What Resistor are you Writing About? ... my EA82 is a 1985 Model, so maybe that`s why mine Doesn`t have Any Resistor... Are you Shure that resistor came Stock? , Could you post here Pics of that Config? could be so Helpful.

Good Luck!

attached to the coil bracket, below the coil is a resistor. it's a standard item, all late model XT's and XT6's have them. i think if it's bad it wouldn't have any spark at all, but i'm not sure about that either as i've never seen one fail myself.

 

have you checked grounds? aftermarket coils tend to be a headache....and i know people will pipe up, there are some that use them fine but the "new" aftermarkets fail waaaay more often than the original 20 year old stock units still motoring around today.

 

how's the battery, got enouch juice?

any other recent work done prior to this happening?

There's no resistor on a 92 Loyale. Are you refering to the ignitor transistor mounted to the coil bracket? Could be that it wants replacing, but I doubt it. Being a transistor, it either works or does not - there's no real way for it to fail the way you describe as it's a solid state device.

 

Accel coils are junk, and for the SPFI they aren't correct anyway, and could contribute to ignitor failure as the ignitor isn't designed for it. Get a stock Hitachi coil - they run about $40. Also check your 12v supply's to the coil - make sure they are in good condtion.

 

GD