GM OBD1 and no O2 codes?

In article om>,
Mike Romain > wrote:

> aarcuda69062 wrote:
> > In article >,
> > "M.M." > wrote:
> >
> >> aarcuda69062 wrote:
> >>> In article >,
> >>> "M.M." > wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Steve Austin wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> The coils fire from tower to tower. ...
> >>>>> they fire in a loop, from one coil tower -
> >>>>> thru the plug wire - thru the plug - thru the head - thru the other
> >>>>> plug
> >>>>> - thru the other coil wire - and back to the coil to the other tower
> >>>>> ...
> >>>> So you're saying that the plugs are in series? And the head/block
> >>>> 'floats' wrt to the secondary? That means that pulling the wire from one
> >>>> plug would kill both cylinders. Are you sure about that?
> >>> You can kill both cylinders if you pull the correct wire, but not
> >>> necessarily either wire.
> >> I meant pulling either plug wire would kill both. If that's not the
> >> case, then they're not wired as Steve said.
> >
> > Steve's description was accurate.
> >
> > My only exception to what he wrote is in regards to whether a DIS system
> > has the capability to detect power of waste firings...
> > Saturn has used such a system since the mid 90s.
>
> I still don't get it....
>
> On mine, plug #3 had no spark period, yet the other tower on the same
> coil, #6 was sparking just fine?
>
> Then when I hooked 'both' #6 and #3 to post #6, I got spark showing at
> both plugs... Post #3 was left open.
>
> It did run worse like that though, under load....

The problem with the coil was located very close to the #3 secondary
terminal.
When the magnetic field collapsed in the primary, high voltage was still
generated in the secondary windings, assume that the #6 terminal is the
negative side and the #3 is the positive side... Since there was a much
greater voltage potential at the #6 terminal than there existed in the
cylinder head, voltage flowed as it was supposed to.

It would be wrong to assume that there -has- to be a completed circuit
with respect to the entire secondary loop as described by Steve, there
only has to be enough -electrical potential- between #6 terminal and the
cylinder head.

Had the coil secondary failed near(er) to the #6 terminal, both
cylinders would have been dead.

Steve Austin wrote:
> Mike Romain wrote:
>> aarcuda69062 wrote:
>>> In article >,
>>> "M.M." > wrote:
>>>
>>>> aarcuda69062 wrote:
>>>>> In article >,
>>>>> "M.M." > wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Steve Austin wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The coils fire from tower to tower. ... they fire in a loop, from
>>>>>>> one coil tower - thru the plug wire - thru the plug - thru the
>>>>>>> head - thru the other plug - thru the other coil wire - and back
>>>>>>> to the coil to the other tower ...
>>>>>> So you're saying that the plugs are in series? And the head/block
>>>>>> 'floats' wrt to the secondary? That means that pulling the wire
>>>>>> from one plug would kill both cylinders. Are you sure about that?
>>>>> You can kill both cylinders if you pull the correct wire, but not
>>>>> necessarily either wire.
>>>> I meant pulling either plug wire would kill both. If that's not the
>>>> case, then they're not wired as Steve said.
>>>
>>> Steve's description was accurate.
>>>
>>> My only exception to what he wrote is in regards to whether a DIS
>>> system has the capability to detect power of waste firings...
>>> Saturn has used such a system since the mid 90s.
>>
>> I still don't get it....
>>
>> On mine, plug #3 had no spark period, yet the other tower on the same
>> coil, #6 was sparking just fine?
>>
>> Then when I hooked 'both' #6 and #3 to post #6, I got spark showing at
>> both plugs... Post #3 was left open.
>>
>> It did run worse like that though, under load....
>>
>
> Mike-
> When you hooked up both wires to the same coil tower, the spark could
> fire either plug. It wouldn't fire both at the same time. It would fire
> the easiest plug. That would be the waste plug. It takes far less
> voltage to jump the waste plug than the compression plug.

That would appear to be exactly what happened. It fired under no load,
but messed up under load.

Man what a scam, 3 coils to replace now at $60.00 each instead of one or
even the new ones with one coil per cylinder!

Mike