Last year while driving my Polo in the snow, I was left a bit stranded when one of my coil packs died, leaving me with effectively 2 cylinders. Prior to the failure, out of the 3 coil packs, 1 of them had been replaced recently, with two older ones fitted from before I bought the car (it was one of the older ones that died). On the recommendation of the garage, I had the two older coil packs replaced. This was in January earlier this year, and I had given it no thought since.
However, I was on the M1 this evening, just approaching the M25 having come all the way down from Sheffield (left in absolute blizzard conditions!). Suddenly, I get an emissions light and I find my power is dying. I end up crawling along in the slow lane at 60 with my foot on the floor, going little over 45 on the hills. I suspected I'd lost a coil pack again, but decided to soldier on and run out the motorway as far I could to minimise the looming rescue mission from home! My fears were confirmed as I pulled off the M1 onto the slip road of my junction. As I dropped below 40mph, the accelerator suddenly became response-less. Flicked the hazards and stuttered along at about 10mph until I found a residential street. Came to a standstill, shut everything off and sat for a second dreading having to call out a tow. But for whatever reason, I gave the ignition another go. Hey presto, engine turns over perfectly with all 3 sparks firing. I continue my journey and get home fine.
Sorry about the essay of a story, but I've got a few questions for all you knowledgeable folk as a result of this experience...
Why do these coil packs seem so temperamental when exposed to a bit of cold? Am I doing something wrong here? Surely after 100 miles of 50-80mph motorway driving, everything would be warm and ticking nicely.
In terms of going about a repair, what would you suggest? Is this isolated problem and indication that the coil in question is about to fail totally, or might I get a fair few more miles out of it?
Thanks for any help guys!
However, I was on the M1 this evening, just approaching the M25 having come all the way down from Sheffield (left in absolute blizzard conditions!). Suddenly, I get an emissions light and I find my power is dying. I end up crawling along in the slow lane at 60 with my foot on the floor, going little over 45 on the hills. I suspected I'd lost a coil pack again, but decided to soldier on and run out the motorway as far I could to minimise the looming rescue mission from home! My fears were confirmed as I pulled off the M1 onto the slip road of my junction. As I dropped below 40mph, the accelerator suddenly became response-less. Flicked the hazards and stuttered along at about 10mph until I found a residential street. Came to a standstill, shut everything off and sat for a second dreading having to call out a tow. But for whatever reason, I gave the ignition another go. Hey presto, engine turns over perfectly with all 3 sparks firing. I continue my journey and get home fine.
Sorry about the essay of a story, but I've got a few questions for all you knowledgeable folk as a result of this experience...
Why do these coil packs seem so temperamental when exposed to a bit of cold? Am I doing something wrong here? Surely after 100 miles of 50-80mph motorway driving, everything would be warm and ticking nicely.
In terms of going about a repair, what would you suggest? Is this isolated problem and indication that the coil in question is about to fail totally, or might I get a fair few more miles out of it?
Thanks for any help guys!
