I have virtually zero knowledge of the complexities of the engine on my 2003 Limited 350Z and that is why I'm hoping some you fellows can help me out. Back in June I revved the engine up to about 5000 rpm's for no more than 3 - 4 seconds while the vehicle was stationery. When I went to drive it there was a different exhaust note (I have a dealer installed Nismo exhaust) and I felt a strong vibration under the left side of the car. I took it to my local Nissan dealer and $404 later I was told "you blew a coil and we had to replace it and a spark plug".

Okay, jump forward to about two weeks ago. I took the car out to give it some exercise and did rev it up a while before it got warmed up and immediately I started to hear that reverberation kind of noise again under the left side of the car and at rest the car was running rough and I could see it was vibrating. The "Check Engine" light came on and was flashing on and off.

I had the car towed in on a flat bed to the same dealer and this time they told me you blew a coil again but on a different cylinder. Does every cylinder have some kind of ignition coil (please excuse my ignorance) and why do I keep blowing colis and spark plugs? It is not like I'm sitting at a drag strip revving the engine to high rpm's for a long time to launch off the line nor do I abuse the vehicle.

 

each cylinder has its own coil pack, from the top it looks like this



and when removed it looks like this

 

being the car is 13 years old, the plastic is probably becoming brittle.

i wouldnt rev the car when it is cold

 

Thanks for those responses. Why does each cylinder need it's own coil? Does it perform a similar function as the coils on older cars performed before electronic ignition? In the future I'm going to let the engine warm up in the garage before taking it out. Besides the coil issue I was told the front brakes were worn, but could be re-machined, and I needed an A/C belt and some other engine belt.

I bought it in December of 2005 with 35,500 miles on it and have only driven it 21,000 miles in ten years.

 

Doesnt matter how many miles are on it, plastic degrades with time. The fact that youre reving a cold engine makes things worse. Youre gonna have a bigger problem than coils if you keep it up.

I dont even go pass 3k when my engine is cold. If i want to drive spiritely, i cruise for a minimum of 20 mon first to warm everything up.

 

It the same as an old coil(energy storage) just electronically controlled instead of a mechanical gap. Reduces high voltage wire runs, generally improves performance, reduces RF generation.

 

Thanks for the advice. I will be very careful from now on when it is cold before I rev it up in the garage or get on it on the highway.