If you have need to replace your ignition coil and consult a Nigerian auto mechanic, 95% of them will tell you that buying a new ignition coil is a waste of scarce resources. They’re usually ready to bet everything they stand to lose that you’ll never get more than 6-month service life from any new ignition coil. Is this true? In most cases, they’re right. Would you blame them? There is not straight answer to that, because this mindset has been shaped by their experiences over the years. From their days as apprentices to setting up their own shops, they have been bitten by new coils and now, even the tokunbos alike. Some new ignition coils even die in a few days!
OEM ignition coils are very expensive and very few vehicle owners can afford them. Some cost over N100,000 (a hundred thousand Naira). For this reason, everybody is resorting to used, aka tokunbo. But here is the challenge – where can you get used OEM ignition coil that is still in good working condition? It is common sense that most good ones are still firing in their original engines, since engines typically outlast ignition coils. So, it’s practically impossible that all the tokunbo ignition coils are actually OEM. When you do find them, they’re long gone past their prime. What you’re most likely going to be sold as tokunbo is a knockoff, which has been made to look like a tokunbo – some dust, scratches, oil and then the white or black marker, depending on the colour of the circuit-sealing epoxy.
If you get your hands on tokunbo OEM that is on the final quarter of its service life, it will stop your misfire, but your fuel economy will suffer. You’ll endlessly pay the price at the petrol stations. But how do you know which has nothing much left? There is not way, unless you have a professional testing machine. I have seen firsthand, the very weak sparks produced by some of the ignition coils and can only imagine the plight of any potential buyer. Strong coils emit straight bright blue sparks that should comfortably jump at least, 1.5 cm gap at atmospheric pressure. At the point of purchase, a seller who shows off as a ‘professional’ would spark them in your presence before handing them over, but what do you know apart from seeing sparks produced under infinite dwell (charging) time of the coils? When the demands crank up under typical engine load, they buckle, leaving you with misfires or engine guzzling petrol because of incomplete combustions. If your catalytic converter is still in good shape, unburnt petrol is a recipe for early failure.
Given this challenge, which I have had the misfortune of suffering myself, it’s a no brainer to go for reliable new ignition coils that would give you upwards of four years of optimum and stress-free performance. Below is a short video showing the spark difference between a District ignition coil and a tokunbo. As a rule of thumb, the brighter-blue the spark, the better.