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#1 Ignition Coil keeps Burning Out

7K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  JZeeJr 
#1 ·
I have a 2006 S 4WD and having a problem where my ignition coil on the #1 cylinder keeps burning out, right near where the wire plugs into the coil there's a little square area that gets blown out to the point the plastic even splits in that little square pattern. This has happened 4 times now, have swapped 2 used coils I had as spares and 2 brand new coils into #1 and every time within 30 miles the coil burns out and I get the blinking SES light for #1 cylinder misfire. The X has just under 200k miles, but barely 700 miles ago the motor threw a rod bearing and shot a rod through the oil pan. Pulled that one out and replaced with a 4.0 that had 107k miles. When my mechanic first did the swap, she ran for about 3 weeks just fine with no issues whatsoever, even took a 500 mile trip to visit some friends with no issues even then. The week after I get back from that trip, she wants to burn the #1 coil every 20-30 miles now.

It's always happened in the middle of trips into town(work or errands about 10 miles from home) and of course #1 being almost impossible to take out without removing the intake I've had to drive it back home those 4 times, a few miles each trip. Well consequently I burned out my passenger side cats, they were completely melted so had to spend $400 replacing those the other day, and also the #1 cylinder fuel injector replaced because sometime during this whole ordeal it decided to get stuck wide open. She's parked now even with the 5th coil being put in, I don't want to risk burning up 2 brand new cats.

My mechanic is thinking bad ECM, but wondering if I should start there or look to see if I have a bad ground somewhere or what.
 
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#6 ·
Link to relevant information.
.
Spark plug, plug boot , wiring, heat, vibration etc.
Something is definitely causing some resistance leading to your coils failure
 
#7 ·
Well nothing has changed in the way the vehicle runs after the motor swap. Temps are normal, the engine when not misfiring runs smoother than the original, and she's being used the same way as before. Whether it's the trails, highway, or scooting around town it's always burning out the coil in roughly 20 miles.

Does anyone know the amount of amps/ohms/volts I should be seeing if I check with a multimeter? At this point idk if I should be chasing down a grounding/wiring issue or just replace the ECM.
 
#9 ·
I see and know exactly what your problem with the X is! Had this exact same fun years ago. Got a 2005. Much like your 2006. Take a look at the recommended spark plug metallic surfaces for a 2005- 2008 and the difference with 2009 - 2016 Xterra's are. I tried Iridium's and blew my cats out quick. Too hot, melted stuff and killed the coils as well as the cat's. Im pretty sure if you go back to the original - im thinking double platinum was the issue form 2005 to 2008 and switched over to iridium in 2009. Dump the iridiums and get the platimum's in there and get your cats and or sensors fixed. I have over 385,xxx miles on this X and it is still a dream!
 
#10 ·
Well the issue may have been solved, got a lab scope on it and it's clear as day that the ECM is faulty. It's not properly sending or drawing power as it does for the #2-6 coils, it's all over the place on the graph. So either time for a new ECM or have this one repaired and hopefully that's the end of this story lol.
 
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