Optra Ignition Coil problem during service at authorised dealer workshop

aman_pec · 17th September 2009, 15:11

Hi All,

I need some advice... I gave my Checrolet Optra 1.6 for service to the authorised dealer. Before giving the car for service, there was no trouble with the car really except for headlamp' focussing. I had to leave the car overnight at the service center due to my engagements. Next day I got call from the service center that Ignition Coil and alternator belt need replacement. My car has done 30k in 3 years. I want to understand if ignition coil and alternator belt can go bad in this much time? there must be some MTBF for thee spares. Second part is that before I gave my car for service, there were no symptoms of bad ignition coil which I can feel now (I took a drive test and could sense missing ignition, low pickup in higher gears, etc). As per the dealer, they have already diagnosed the problem and found that its only the ignition coil thats causing the trouble. How come these problems surfaced during the service? 3rd thing I want to know is about the availability of genuine ignition coil from market rather that auth dealer. Is it safe to get it replaced from outside market?

silver_shadow · 17th September 2009, 17:06

you have no way to tell them for sure that they changed your coil with an old faulty one. this is one reason why some folks go to non-authorised centers and sit and watch every nut and bolt taken off and put back in their cars.

weejai · 17th September 2009, 17:19

The ignition coil and fuel pump are some of the parts that can stop working abruptly...for both, there are options available in the market. If you google, you will find many.

Also, check the battery. The ignition and fuel pumping happen before the vehicle actually starts, so the battery plays some role.

ashthedivx · 17th September 2009, 17:22

Frankly speaking, you don't have any grounds to fight upon. One should never leave his/her veichle in service center untill and unless some major issue is cropped up.

Best is, if you can afford get it done from authorised service center else try sourcing up from after-market & get fitted from a local garage.

aaggoswami · 17th September 2009, 17:52

Ignition coil will not go off so abruptly. First it will start a bit of malfunctioning and give jerks atleast, this is from my experience an Accent that I was driving. IMHO, not so abruptly.

About Alternator belt, well, its too early for replacement, but depends upon where the car is used. Dusty and hot climate can reduce the life.

About the coil, there is something fishy, but you are out of options as you made the mistake of leaving the car overnight. Do give them a fight before allowing them to change the coil. About Alternator belt, may be they are correct.

Correct me if I am wrong in my points/observations.

vdiatech · 23rd September 2009, 00:11

I am sure the mechanics would have swapped yours with a faulty one to help one of their 'friends' . It would be difficult for you to prove it though.
How much are they quoting for a replacement?

Can some one please tell me if a failing ignition coil can cause the RPM to fluctuate to the lower end of the gauge and then raise back to normal ?

cheers

msaudf · 30th September 2009, 11:54

your chevy comes with a E-TEC II 1.6 engine which is a second gen engine from the GM family. well modern engines these days run based on electronics. its like a mechatronic device, elctronically controlled mechanical machine yada yadaa... so the basic point is its got a programmed computer chip that tells it what you want the car to do. i'm sure you know all this stuff.
and when the ignition coil reaches a certain life span it gives us a sign that its gonna konk off by sneezing and coughing.
how i gotta learned these details is by experience.
i used to drive a ford fusion which did the same and i ignored the sneezing and coughing and then all of a sudden it died. my odometer read around 30,000 when it started sneezing and coughing and when it died it was 30,700.
and about the alternator belt my friend, please check the user manual and service schedule and you know all those manuals you get with your car to find out if its actually time.

silver_shadow · 30th September 2009, 15:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by msaudf

your chevy comes with a E-TEC II 1.6 engine which is a second gen engine from the GM family. well modern engines these days run based on electronics. its like a mechatronic device, elctronically controlled mechanical machine yada yadaa... so the basic point is its got a programmed computer chip that tells it what you want the car to do. i'm sure you know all this stuff.
and when the ignition coil reaches a certain life span it gives us a sign that its gonna konk off by sneezing and coughing.
how i gotta learned these details is by experience.
i used to drive a ford fusion which did the same and i ignored the sneezing and coughing and then all of a sudden it died. my odometer read around 30,000 when it started sneezing and coughing and when it died it was 30,700.
and about the alternator belt my friend, please check the user manual and service schedule and you know all those manuals you get with your car to find out if its actually time.

what do you mean by sneezing and coughing??

msaudf · 1st October 2009, 21:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by silver_shadow

what do you mean by sneezing and coughing??

haha i was speaking in a layman way, by sneezing and coughing i meant miss-firing and oh yeah one cylinder completely died before total failure

silver_shadow · 5th October 2009, 14:49

mis firing of course!

so you say one cylinder died as in the cylinder wasn't firing right? and then none of the cylinders were firing there after?

sudharma · 5th October 2009, 15:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by msaudf

i used to drive a ford fusion which did the same and i ignored the sneezing and coughing and then all of a sudden it died. my odometer read around 30,000 when it started sneezing and coughing and when it died it was 30,700.
and about the alternator belt my friend, please check the user manual and service schedule and you know all those manuals you get with your car to find out if its actually time.

Ignition coils rarely fails, specially modern ones. Unlike the old coils which are low voltage high current ones the modern coils are high voltage low current ones.( I mean the primary coil voltages ) and smaller in size. Then if there is any fault with the coil, it will effect all the cylinders identically and not only one. if you have spark plug fowling or HT fault in one cylinder then you will get the "Sneezing and Coughing" in that cylinder only.

silver_shadow · 5th October 2009, 19:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by sudharma

Ignition coils rarely fails, specially modern ones. Unlike the old coils which are low voltage high current ones the modern coils are high voltage low current ones.( I mean the primary coil voltages ) and smaller in size. Then if there is any fault with the coil, it will effect all the cylinders identically and not only one. if you have spark plug fowling or HT fault in one cylinder then you will get the "Sneezing and Coughing" in that cylinder only.

define "modern". ignition coil failing is a fairly common problem in ikons (for instance) any ikon owner will testify to that. also, the problem which happens in the ikon coil will usually result in two of the secondary voltages not being delivered, basically two of the 4 cylinders will not fire while the other two will. the other 2 will not necessarily stop firing unless that part of the circuit in the coil also malfunctions.

mdesai_1981 · 5th October 2009, 19:57

they must have changed the v-belt according to the service interval as the manual for optra says that v-belt should be changed at 30,000kms or 3 yrs . so no harm in that it cost 720/=+labour of 130/=
regarding ignition coil well its difficult now to diagonise it. i would say go in for e genuine GM part as these things dont really give way so fast and try to source it from a reseller .

17th September 2009, 15:11	#1
aman_pec Newbie Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Chandigarh Posts: 6 Thanked: 0 Times	Optra Ignition Coil problem during service at authorised dealer workshop Hi All, I need some advice... I gave my Checrolet Optra 1.6 for service to the authorised dealer. Before giving the car for service, there was no trouble with the car really except for headlamp' focussing. I had to leave the car overnight at the service center due to my engagements. Next day I got call from the service center that Ignition Coil and alternator belt need replacement. My car has done 30k in 3 years. I want to understand if ignition coil and alternator belt can go bad in this much time? there must be some MTBF for thee spares. Second part is that before I gave my car for service, there were no symptoms of bad ignition coil which I can feel now (I took a drive test and could sense missing ignition, low pickup in higher gears, etc). As per the dealer, they have already diagnosed the problem and found that its only the ignition coil thats causing the trouble. How come these problems surfaced during the service? 3rd thing I want to know is about the availability of genuine ignition coil from market rather that auth dealer. Is it safe to get it replaced from outside market?
	() Thanks

17th September 2009, 17:06	#2
silver_shadow BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 366 Thanked: 3 Times	you have no way to tell them for sure that they changed your coil with an old faulty one. this is one reason why some folks go to non-authorised centers and sit and watch every nut and bolt taken off and put back in their cars.
	() Thanks

17th September 2009, 17:19	#3
weejai BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Bangalore/Mumbai Posts: 89 Thanked: 3 Times View My Garage	The ignition coil and fuel pump are some of the parts that can stop working abruptly...for both, there are options available in the market. If you google, you will find many. Also, check the battery. The ignition and fuel pumping happen before the vehicle actually starts, so the battery plays some role.
	() Thanks

17th September 2009, 17:22	#4
ashthedivx Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 1,356 Thanked: 24 Times	Frankly speaking, you don't have any grounds to fight upon. One should never leave his/her veichle in service center untill and unless some major issue is cropped up. Best is, if you can afford get it done from authorised service center else try sourcing up from after-market & get fitted from a local garage.
	() Thanks

17th September 2009, 17:52	#5
aaggoswami Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Vadodara Posts: 4,982 Thanked: 2,931 Times	Ignition coil will not go off so abruptly. First it will start a bit of malfunctioning and give jerks atleast, this is from my experience an Accent that I was driving. IMHO, not so abruptly. About Alternator belt, well, its too early for replacement, but depends upon where the car is used. Dusty and hot climate can reduce the life. About the coil, there is something fishy, but you are out of options as you made the mistake of leaving the car overnight. Do give them a fight before allowing them to change the coil. About Alternator belt, may be they are correct. Correct me if I am wrong in my points/observations.
	() Thanks

23rd September 2009, 00:11	#6
vdiatech BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 414 Thanked: 10 Times	I am sure the mechanics would have swapped yours with a faulty one to help one of their 'friends' . It would be difficult for you to prove it though. How much are they quoting for a replacement? Can some one please tell me if a failing ignition coil can cause the RPM to fluctuate to the lower end of the gauge and then raise back to normal ? cheers
	() Thanks

30th September 2009, 11:54	#7
msaudf BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Cochin Posts: 269 Thanked: 163 Times	your chevy comes with a E-TEC II 1.6 engine which is a second gen engine from the GM family. well modern engines these days run based on electronics. its like a mechatronic device, elctronically controlled mechanical machine yada yadaa... so the basic point is its got a programmed computer chip that tells it what you want the car to do. i'm sure you know all this stuff. and when the ignition coil reaches a certain life span it gives us a sign that its gonna konk off by sneezing and coughing. how i gotta learned these details is by experience. i used to drive a ford fusion which did the same and i ignored the sneezing and coughing and then all of a sudden it died. my odometer read around 30,000 when it started sneezing and coughing and when it died it was 30,700. and about the alternator belt my friend, please check the user manual and service schedule and you know all those manuals you get with your car to find out if its actually time.
	() Thanks

5th October 2009, 14:49	#10
silver_shadow BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 366 Thanked: 3 Times	mis firing of course! so you say one cylinder died as in the cylinder wasn't firing right? and then none of the cylinders were firing there after?
	() Thanks

5th October 2009, 19:57	#13
mdesai_1981 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 186 Thanked: 26 Times View My Garage	they must have changed the v-belt according to the service interval as the manual for optra says that v-belt should be changed at 30,000kms or 3 yrs . so no harm in that it cost 720/=+labour of 130/= regarding ignition coil well its difficult now to diagonise it. i would say go in for e genuine GM part as these things dont really give way so fast and try to source it from a reseller .
	() Thanks