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Always wanted to know how to test a coil pack? Let's find out, then!

Coils are more important to a car than many people realize. A faulty coil can lead to many horrible outcomes, such as an intermittent fire. It may result in a weak spark or kill a cylinder completely. Once the winding inside weakens or breaks, there is no going back. Luckily, there is one handy tool that any driver can use to test a vehicle's coil - a voltmeter.

According to Cars Direct, on newer vehicles, a coil pack replaces the distributor. It is an electronically controlled pack of ignition coils regulated by the vehicle's computer and is used to trigger the spark for each engine cylinder's spark plug.

It Still Runs has provided a comprehensive guide on how to test this device.

Have a read and find out what is required in this process.

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The first and most obvious step is to ensure that your car is parked in a safe place and open the hood.

Unsure as to how to find the spark plugs? The next step is to do this by following the spark plug wires to them, and result - you would have located the coil pack. This is because the wires are connected to the coil pack. However, be warned as not every vehicle is the same, of course. Some coil packs may be found on one side or the back of the engine.

Next, unplug the spark plug wires from the coil and label them if necessary for proper installation.

Move on to the electrical connector and unplug it. The coil pack then needs to be removed from the engine, but it is best to use a wrench or ratchet and socket if they are required. If your coil pack is mounted on the back of the engine, raise the front of the car and safely support it on two jack stands to reach the coil pack from underneath the engine.

The ohmmeter must be set to the 2,000 ohms range by switching on your meter, and touch the spark plug wire terminals on one of the coils with the meter leads. Depending on your specific model, you may receive a reading between 5,000 to 15,000 ohms.

Set your ohmmeter to the 10 ohms range, and touch the terminal B+ with one of the meter test leads, and touch the corresponding coil prong on the electrical connector with the other test lead. You may receive a reading between 0.3 and 1.0. This monitors the primary resistance on each coil.

And if necessary, repeat the last two steps for each coil in the pack assembly, and compare your resistance readings to the specifications provided. Replace the coils if your readings are out of range. And boom - job done.

Sounds like such a simple process, doesn't it? Hope this guide helps!

Matt Snape is a freelance journalist and a news executive based in Evesham, Worcestershire, UK. He's written for numerous publications such as Inside Over/Il Giornale, the i Paper, the Metro, Blasting News, and more. As he has been monitoring Nissan's content in his role as a news executive, he will be specialising in Nissan for Valnet, Inc. Many of his hobbies include film, 90s and 00s music, reading and gaming.