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Extinct and I am working on relocating the coils in our trucks and we are going to share the results here. I'll post some pictures and links a little later.
Basically, I had to swap my heads last weekend so while I had it all out I planned to move the coils to the passenger firewall. Being an ape with electronics, I immediately chopped up an old harness and started pulling wires out of my working harness. Extinct, being wiser, found the connectors online. And together we figured out how to basically make an extension cord for coils. Those things are ordered and on the way.
All that is left is a bracket or some way to secure the coils to the firewall or wherever they will go and, when it comes time to replace he spark plug wires, some longer ones.
If you have never had to work on your coils or swap plug wires, or if you have service done at a dealership, I don't know why you are reading this. Most Discos need new coils or new wires occasionally, and the only way to swap the wires is to physically lay on the engine (probably after removing the hood), hurting your hands, working where you can't see, on coils that have wires crossing over each other like spaghetti. You are looking at a diagram for the coils that may be drawn from the vantage of the radiator back, or from the driver seat forward. Make one mistake, and you are in another world of hurt. The coils, which are located behind the upper intake, are the hurt locker.
Misfires can be caused by so many things there is no point in listing them, but the easiest way to eliminate simple causes is to swap the plugs, then the wires, then the coils.
Why are the coils in such a bad spot? Probably because Discos were not designed to be worked on by shadetree mechanics. The myth that a rover can be repaired with a screw driver and some duct tape applies to old series rovers and maybe defenders. A little known fact is that some defenders were equipped with out engines. If you google it you will find that the only Thor equipped defenders were sent to the United States. Why? Emissions and we all want "big" v8s; they weren't fitted for defenders anywhere else in the world. So the rover v8 is not the pick of the litter at Rover.
The best way to swap wires and the only way to change coils is to remove the upper intake. This results in the loss of the plenum gasket, threatens delicate threads, and puts you over the engine in an awkward position with a heavy object (the upper intake) that is connected with hoses and wires that you'd better not have forgotten to disconnect, and you'd better not drop it.
I saw a video on youtube of a guy who actually adapted a chevy v8 to rover electronics in a Disco II. That was all very exciting, but the best part was when he panned over the engine bay and I saw the coils sitting on the passenger firewall. Swapping wires would be a breeze if the coils were there. Swapping coils would be no more difficult.
Extinct is working on the same thing, so we combined forces.
Anyway, that's the problem.
Last edited by Charlie_V; Apr 26, 2016 at 08:41 AM.
As I mentioned, I originally thought the solution was to remove the coil wires and connectors from a spare harness. I took them out. But Extinct sent me an email and had found the holy grail of coil relocation. And here it is:
So what you end up with (after adding the wires) is an extension cord for your coils.
When I pulled the wires from my old harness I found two wires (green yellow and green red) that attach to both female connectors on the harness. Those wires are bared and crimped together. A bundled group of separate wires goes to each female harness connector; they are wrapped in black plastic, then some sort of metal shielding, then the wires and a fourth, bare wire.
If anyone knows the specific purpose of the bare wire, that might be helpful. I don't know where it goes or the significance.
At this point we are waiting on parts.
Extinct has a bold plan to use TWO sets of coils. And I'm hoping he will explain that theory here.
Tomorrow I am going to find universal spark plug wire (bright red, of course) in 8mm with all of the good shielding, so I can make my own wires. I'll post that as soon as I find it. I needed new wires anyway.
Last edited by Charlie_V; Apr 26, 2016 at 08:43 AM.
You wouldn't be willing to part with the wire pieces from those clips, would you? A couple of mine have wandered off. I still have the plugs but not the wire retainers.
You wouldn't be willing to part with the wire pieces from those clips, would you? A couple of mine have wandered off. I still have the plugs but not the wire retainers.
That stinks. I've been in the same boat. If I have any extras when I'm done I'll pm you and mail them. They are impossible to find by themselves.
That's a good find. I was just reading another thread and it seems that the longer the wires, the more the resistance, or impedance, I can't recall which. I have to look into that.
I have two sets of wires and three coils so I can so some experimenting. There is a 50 50 chance that I'll have the intake off this weekend (to replace a damaged piston) and if I do that I'll run some experiments with the wires I have.
But the back spark plug wires are probably 1/3 or less the length of the front ones... I am just not sure about this.
It's very important to note that not just any plug wire will fit on the coils. I tried to get some universal plugs once to make my own and they wouldn't fit.
Official coil relocate thread
