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99 V70, turbo AWD, Dealer says all 5 ignition coils bad. Can I fix myself? V70-XC70 1999

Our 99 v70 has had difficulty turning over now for over a year. It's also had a rhythmic RPM fluxuation and we just brought it to the dealer.

They say the RMP flux is the electronic throttle. They cleaned it. Didn't do any good. They are proceeding with the extended warranty on this.

THey said ALL 5 of the ignition coils are cracked and quoted $600 to fix this. I see them on FCP Groton for $52 a piece. My question is: can I replace these myself? Is this straightforward?

I just replaced our ABS Computer/Control module and I do everything on our 89 245, so I'm not affraid of getting dirty.

THanks for your responses
Jason
--
89 245 'loaded' with a Great Pyrenees; 91 245 project








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99 V70, turbo AWD, Dealer says all 5 ignition coils bad. Can I fix myself? V70-XC70 1999

The dealer is trying to make some money!! You don't need to replace the coils unless you get a misfire. Replace the plugs, yes, but not the coils.

I used a large vacuum hose, split length wise, to cover my injector plug wires. Works great! And that should also work for the coil wires. Just make sure there is a lot of air space - ie., the wires don't fill up the inside of the vacuum hose.

DIY for the coils.

Klaus
--
Just driving a 1998 V70R :)








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99 V70, turbo AWD, Dealer says all 5 ignition coils bad. Can I fix myself? V70-XC70 1999

Replacing the coils is dumb easy, you need a T30 Torx to remove the pretty covers over the timing belt and cam cover, and a 10mm socket to remove the coil. Each is held on by one bolt. Pop it out, connector comes off easily, pop it in, simple as that.

Be prepared to see the sheathing on the wiring harness crumpled and disintegrating.

Now, as far as all 5 coils needing replacement...that's hard to swallow. I'm having coil issues myself and will post them in another thread.

G/L

Ron








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99 V70, turbo AWD, Dealer says all 5 ignition coils bad. Can I fix myself? V70-XC70 1999

Ron,
What are you doing, if anything about the sheathing? Protecting it another way?

Let me know about your coil issues please.

Jason
--
89 245 'loaded' with a Great Pyrenees; 91 245 project








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99 V70, turbo AWD, Dealer says all 5 ignition coils bad. Can I fix myself? V70-XC70 1999

Right now, I am ignoring sheathing...running without the covers until I am confident.

Current status:
Replaced #3, now #4 throwing a misfire code. Sigh.

Thought: When I pulled the plugs for a compression check, I not only disturbed the coils but also cleaned/wirebrushed the plugs. Somehow I disturbed this engine's fragile balance.

Checked the Owners Manual, it says change plugs at 30,000 max, 15K with city driving (which we do). Existing gen-u-ine Volvo plugs had a least 40,000...combined with my cleaning them, they might have pushed the coils over the edge.

Other things:
- pull the rubber boots off and look for cracks in the coil body. Doesn't necessarily mean they're bad but it ain't a positive sign either.
- the burning smell is not the wires, it's the coil frying itself. That's one reason why I'm back-seating the wire issue. Besides, where they are, the wires will heat soak so fast that the sheathing can't really affect the wire temp.








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99 V70, turbo AWD, Dealer says all 5 ignition coils bad. Can I fix myself? V70-XC70 1999

I'm no master mechanic, but I had one once tell me to never clean spark plugs with a wire brush, as the wire will leave traces on the ceramic causing mis-fires. As a result I've never cleaned plugs this way so can't confirm it. Can any other brickyarders?

Jerry








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99 V70, turbo AWD, Dealer says all 5 ignition coils bad. Can I fix myself? V70-XC70 1999

Negative Jerry. The wire brush "might" leave scratches on the ceramic but will not have any effect on the plug operation. The ceramic is an insulator and the wire brush will not harm it.

Klaus
--
Just driving a 1998 V70R :)








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99 V70, turbo AWD, Dealer says all 5 ignition coils bad. Can I fix myself? V70-XC70 1999

All I can offer is that I put 5 new ones in (Champion, per the Owners Manual) and the difference is amazing - considering how it ran beforehand with one known failing coil - still got a misfire on #4 after awhile but in general far smoother. Lesson might be not to clean with a wire brush but definitely is to put fresh plugs in when coils show signs of stress.







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