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2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
My original module lasted 44 years, 77k on the odo.
I replaced it with a $40 NAPA Echlin unit that's U.S. made & it came with the grease.
Make sure all 4 connections are tight too. A loose one can burn out a mod...
When I get around to it, I will double check EVERYTHING . Thanks for all the help guys, When I first started driving, these were just 5-10 year old cars and didn't break much. Can't remember now what exact problems we had or how we fixed them. Glad we have the internet now and a million gearheads around the world to help each other out! I raise my glass!
Some of the "modges" came with the compound. Most do not.
Last time I saw a tube of Heat Sink was at Radio Shack. And we all know what happened to those stores.
If Amazon sells it, it will be on EBay too, maybe cheaper, maybe free shpg. (Amazon sells on EBay, its a secret)
I keep a tube in my tool box at work….just about all industrial machine CPU’s have a heat sink on the board….in Texas, it is important that the grease is not ten years old….a common thing I do is remove the heat sinks and clean off old shitty caked grease and reapply new….this tube came from Altex Computer supply in San Antonio.
Can you store that stuff in the refrigerator to make it last? I think a tube would last me a lifetime...
Just put it on the shelf next to the Anti-Seize…or some other **** you will never use….
You can buy a $5 pack at the parts store that has barely enough in it too….
I hear ya, I can splurge $15 on a tube. I actually use anti-seize quite often. I do WAY more mechanical stuff than electrical, and almost NEVER electronics.
Ok Vetters.....
I have read some good suggestions and solutions. But what it really seems to come down to is.......Its the nature of the beast. Which is to say.
#1......Its a shitty ignition design
#2......If anyone has had the same module for 40+years, in my opinion is because quality control and quality of materials were much better back then
#3......Carry a spare at all times
#4......There is no 100% fail safe solution
#5......Its a total crap shoot on how long the next one is going to last
#6......Listen to the girlfriend when she says "Im tired I don't want to cruise Woodward anymore"
But seriously. What it comes down to is..... purchase as good of a module and coil as you can. (most expensive doesn't necessary mean the best). Use heat shrink paste/grease. Good ground on the coil, and maintain the secondary circuits.
Thank you Vetters
Cruise Safe
I had good luck with the OEM that came in the car.
It started acting up in little tach needle movements.
At the same rpm when the car was cold the needle would bounce a few hundred rpm until it was fully warm and drove normally.
20+ years and 50k miles.
Changed it out with an AcDelco didn't last long and almost did not let me get home.
Had to cool off a little then it would work enough to get home.
Could have been my fault with the temp paste but a coil went out around the same time.
Then the mag pickup cost me a new module.
I carry an extra one now. I am real lucky I didn't have to be towed.
So make sure the coil, pickup, and connections are good.
Last edited by calwldlife; Aug 24, 2021 at 06:57 PM.
Yep 4 pin module uses red and yellow wired coil and 7 pin uses red and white wired coil. If you swap them you end up with more heat on the module and a shorter module life.
Those coils are electrically the same. The only difference is the direction of the windings, and that was to match the pick up coil, so the magnetic fields don't interfere. A red and white coil has to go with a green and white pick up, A yellow and red coil goes with a green and yellow pick up.
2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2019 C3 of Year Finalist (appearance mods)
Originally Posted by Mrvettenick
Those coils are electrically the same. The only difference is the direction of the windings, and that was to match the pick up coil, so the magnetic fields don't interfere. A red and white coil has to go with a green and white pick up, A yellow and red coil goes with a green and yellow pick up.
Those coils are electrically the same. The only difference is the direction of the windings, and that was to match the pick up coil, so the magnetic fields don't interfere. A red and white coil has to go with a green and white pick up, A yellow and red coil goes with a green and yellow pick up.
You may want to do some research on that part of your statement, they are not the same. Not even close. Maybe your chevy engine turns in the opposite direction than every other chevy out there. Same pickup field generated in the same direction.
Last edited by Gunfighter13; Aug 24, 2021 at 08:54 PM.
Here are the specifications for the red and white coil and the red and yellow. Pickup coils have green and white wires on sbc and bbc engines. Some people look at the pickup coils and think the white wire is yellow but it is not. Only discolored by heat.
Red and white coils
Primary is .300 ohms and secondary is 8.8k ohms.
Red and yellow coils
Primary is .600 ohms and secondary is 8.9k ohms
Both windings are in the same direction. Pickup coils are the same direction.
Like I said the type of module you have determines the coil you use.
Last edited by Gunfighter13; Aug 24, 2021 at 10:00 PM.
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if you really want to do your module a cool favor ... mount it Outside of distributor on a dedicated heatsink (as GM did beginning ~1996 w/ Vortec L30 & L31 motors). Use the thermal paste too.
if you really want to do your module a cool favor ... mount it Outside of distributor on a dedicated heatsink (as GM did beginning ~1996 w/ Vortec L30 & L31 motors). Use the thermal paste too.
I like this idea, got any pictures of one done that way?
You may want to do some research on that part of your statement, they are not the same. Not even close. Maybe your chevy engine turns in the opposite direction than every other chevy out there. Same pickup field generated in the same direction.
I did my research. I worked on GM HEI systems. I worked for a manufacturer. And just because you disagree, I really don't care. And there's no need to get snotty.
Last edited by Mrvettenick; Aug 25, 2021 at 12:15 PM.
Here are the specifications for the red and white coil and the red and yellow. Pickup coils have green and white wires on sbc and bbc engines. Some people look at the pickup coils and think the white wire is yellow but it is not. Only discolored by heat.
Red and white coils
Primary is .300 ohms and secondary is 8.8k ohms.
Red and yellow coils
Primary is .600 ohms and secondary is 8.9k ohms
Both windings are in the same direction. Pickup coils are the same direction.
Like I said the type of module you have determines the coil you use.
Tell me where those specs are? And if the windings are the same then why are some of the primary leads are crossed in the cap mount. Also, show me one application where a red/white coil uses a yellow lead pick up. And when I say lead, I'm talking lead connector.
Last edited by Mrvettenick; Aug 25, 2021 at 12:43 PM.
