Pickup Coil

PAguy
Club4AG Regular
Posts: 19
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Western PA

Pickup Coil

Postby PAguy » Sat Mar 18, 2017 5:04 pm

Both my GTS and my daughter's MR2 are starting to show signs of distributor pickup coil flakiness - occasional tachometer madness and random acts of roughness. I see on Ebay several 4AGE pickup coils, with prices from $45 to over $1000, although they all have the exact same image (i.e., I expect they are the exact same product).
Has anyone ever used any of these coils? I am concerned about how long aftermarket electronics will last. Is there an issue gapping from the rotor shaft?
Western PA
Long string of old Toyota's over the decades.
Currently daily an '84 SR5 hatch, an '85 GT-S coupe and a 91 FJ80.
Daughter #3 has an '86 MR2.

User avatar
jondee86
Moderator
Posts: 2907
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 10:21 pm
Location: Wellington, New Zealand

Re: Pickup Coil

Postby jondee86 » Mon Mar 20, 2017 3:05 am

This link... http://mr2.org.nz/docs/AW11BGB/BGB-09-Ignition.pdf
... has the test procedures for the AW11 ignition system. The reluctors (pickups)
have no moving or wearing parts, and are generally as reliable as a rock. The weak
points are the wires where they leave the distributor and are subject to a lot of
flexing. Check for broken or shorted wires close to the distributor. Check the dissy
shaft for play as if the bearing is done, the shaft will move around and affect the
pickup gap.

Cheers... jondee86
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress
depends on the unreasonable man.

PAguy
Club4AG Regular
Posts: 19
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Western PA

Re: Pickup Coil

Postby PAguy » Sat Mar 25, 2017 3:12 am

Interesting. Thanks, I'll check.
I know my 4ac pickup coil was fried with the symptom of occasional wild tach needle flopping + intermittent spark, especially warm. My buddy said he had the same issue with his 4Runner. In both cases, the problem was intermittent, so all the checks showed normal 99% of the time.
My 4AGE's seem like the exact same thing, but aren't stranding us yet.
Western PA
Long string of old Toyota's over the decades.
Currently daily an '84 SR5 hatch, an '85 GT-S coupe and a 91 FJ80.
Daughter #3 has an '86 MR2.

PAguy
Club4AG Regular
Posts: 19
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Western PA

Re: Pickup Coil

Postby PAguy » Sat Apr 29, 2017 6:04 am

Well, about dissy coils, but not 4ag's, I just unexpectedly lost the distributor coil in my '91 Landcruiser last week.
But this was a new twist - the wires got hung around the rotor and made a big fuzzy bird's nest around the rotor.
Western PA
Long string of old Toyota's over the decades.
Currently daily an '84 SR5 hatch, an '85 GT-S coupe and a 91 FJ80.
Daughter #3 has an '86 MR2.

aukword1
Club4AG Expert
Posts: 485
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2013 6:03 pm

Re: Pickup Coil

Postby aukword1 » Sat Apr 29, 2017 6:23 pm

I've never heard of that happening lol...thats a new one. Did your cap melt?