Broke Ignition Coil during Distributer Cap replacement

I’m hoping this experience will help someone else.

Failed my Drive Clean test - high NOx.
Decided to change the oil, put in new plugs, cap, rotor for a start.

When I went to change the rotor, couldn’t access the cam screw so decided to turn ignition key for a few moments to allow the screw to appear in the access hole. WRONG THING TO DO!!! After reading further, they say to turn the motor manually so that the screw will line up.

I put everthing back together and it would crank, but not start.
wtf? Some tuneup. Checked all the fuses.

I put an old spark plug on one of the cables, touched it to ground, cranked the car - no spark. This narrows down the troubleshooting to ignition - not fuel related.

What happens is the high ignition coil voltage doesn’t have a dist. cap so the electricity finds the shortest route to ground - which burns a permanent passage through the coil (you can see a slight burn mark on the side of the coil.)
I tested the resistance of the coil as per the troubleshooting docs, but it measures as a good coil.

Anyway I replaced the coil (about $85CAD) and now it starts fine.

Hope I pass this &^%$ drive clean test soon :slight_smile:

Graham

OK, passed the Drive Clean test today!
The oil change, new plugs, dist cap & rotor plus a bottle of gas additive called “guarenteed to pass” from Canadian Tire(cleans out carbon build up) all worked together.
First time my NOx was 1105 and pass was 550 or so.
This time my NOx was 497.
Thought I needed a O2 sensor or new cat.
No worries for 2 years now. :slight_smile:
Graham