[Insane435]

I recently installed 3 Delphi ignition coils. I bought 3 because when I changed my plugs i noticed that half of my coils were bosch and the other half were what appeared to be Delphi. These Delphi coils were dealer installed through the life of the car. I also had a cylinder 6 misfire and that happened to be one of the bosch coils.



I ended up buying these from FCP Euro: BMW Direct Ignition Coil - Delphi 12138616153. Delphi Part # DEL-GN1057112B1

When I went to install these, I noticed that the 3 dealer installed coils had some slight differences. One was that the top of the coils were different colors (see below) and that the ones installed already did not have delphi stamped on them anywhere.



1) Did I buy the correct Delphi coils/ are the GN1057112B1's correct for N52
2) Are the dealer installed delphi's actually Delphi's?

[Phil325i]

According to RealOEM you bought the correct coils. The main difference with the Delphi design (which superseded the Bosch) is the external metal sleeve (presumably to reduce heat getting to the coil.

I'd have replaced all six, but that's just me...

[Insane435]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

According to RealOEM you bought the correct coils. The main difference with the Delphi design (which superseded the Bosch) is the external metal sleeve (presumably to reduce heat getting to the coil.

I'd have replaced all six, but that's just me...

I only replaced 3 because there appeared to be 3 Delphi coils in there already (see first picture above). I was questioning if those coils were truly Delphi's...

[hassmaschine]

if it's running fine I wouldn't worry about it.

[tlow98]

I’ve got mixed coils on 2 different N52s. No issues thus far.

[Insane435]

Originally Posted by tlow98

I’ve got mixed coils on 2 different N52s. No issues thus far.

Gotcha. The only reason im worried is because i have a bad idle. The car never stalls but you can feel the engine alot and the rpms will dip occasionally. Also my ride seems to have some type of vibration to it. Cannot tell if its engine related though. Ive gone WOT many times and its very smooth which adds to the confusion.

Probably need to check that eccentric sensor and inspect my wheels/ suspension.

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by tlow98

I’ve got mixed coils on 2 different N52s. No issues thus far.

yeah, people here tend to believe in myth and superstition when it comes to things like coils. They're all built to the same spec - voltage, dwell, etc. It's not going to make any difference.

I saw one poster say something like going 200,000 miles on the stock coils was a big risk. A big risk of what exactly? That you might have to replace one of them eventually?

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by Insane435

Gotcha. The only reason im worried is because i have a bad idle. The car never stalls but you can feel the engine alot and the rpms will dip occasionally. Also my ride seems to have some type of vibration to it. Cannot tell if its engine related though. Ive gone WOT many times and its very smooth which adds to the confusion.

Probably need to check that eccentric sensor and inspect my wheels/ suspension.

What rpm does your engine idle at?

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

yeah, people here tend to believe in myth and superstition when it comes to things like coils. They're all built to the same spec - voltage, dwell, etc. It's not going to make any difference.

I saw one poster say something like going 200,000 miles on the stock coils was a big risk. A big risk of what exactly? That you might have to replace one of them eventually?

So risky! That’s ignition roulette right there!

...if you’re that worried just keep one in your trunk along with a water pump, a thermostat and an extra battery. Yeah, then you’d be safe.

Also, OP, I'm not throwing this in your direction. I totally understand why you're asking the question.

[rjahl]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

yeah, people here tend to believe in myth and superstition when it comes to things like coils. They're all built to the same spec - voltage, dwell, etc. It's not going to make any difference.

I saw one poster say something like going 200,000 miles on the stock coils was a big risk. A big risk of what exactly? That you might have to replace one of them eventually?

When traded in, I had 205,000 miles on the original OEM coils in my Z4 3.0i.

Don't really understand this fascination with coil replacement either.

I'm starting to read the same "coil" issues in the N54 as well, Don't understand that either.

[Insane435]

Originally Posted by tlow98

What rpm does your engine idle at?

Settles out right above 600. When i come to a red light it will dip under 6 and you can feel the car shake. Also sometimes you can feel the seat or floor shaking at idle even when its at 600+

[yupetc]

Focus more on intake leaks, clogs, and vanos or eccentric sensors for those low rpm rough idles. I've read plenty people throughout this forum that mixing up the coils of same spec and different make doesn't really generate the idling issues.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by Insane435

Settles out right above 600. When i come to a red light it will dip under 6 and you can feel the car shake. Also sometimes you can feel the seat or floor shaking at idle even when its at 600+

But you drive a 435i, correct? I don't know much about that platform...

Have you had the dealer techs take a look or test driven another car? I'm guessing the 435 is still under warranty?

[Insane435]

Originally Posted by tlow98

But you drive a 435i, correct? I don't know much about that platform...

Have you had the dealer techs take a look or test driven another car? I'm guessing the 435 is still under warranty?

I have a 2011 328 as well.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by Insane435

I have a 2011 328 as well.

AH, ok. I wouldn't describe my car as silky smooth at idle, either. Certainly, there is some vibration at idle, especially when the idle has dropped to operating levels (650) but the motor is not completely warmed up.

It gets better when fully warm but never goes completely away. I have a slight suspicion the motor mounts aren't perfect - 80k miles.

The other N51 in our family is slightly smoother at idle, but not by much.

Info for reference.

[Insane435]

I definitely need to check that eccentric shaft sensor. When I shift in to reverse, the car RPMs dip below 500 and the car almost stalls out. I cleaned both VANOS solenoids and that didn't seem to do a thing.

[Insane435]

Pulled the eccentric sensor, is all of the residue on the outside oil? The inside of the plug and connector was covered with a little oil as well. I cleaned it with electric cleaner and it didnt do a thing. Guess I need to replace it? I just hope this fixes my problem.

[hassmaschine]

yeah, oil is dielectric, so it interferes with the signal. could be just the gasket, but if you're pulling it apart it's probably best to replace the sensor too.

is this more common on the plastic VC cars? I've had 3 motors with the metal cover and none of them have had leaks at the eccentric shaft sensor.

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

yeah, people here tend to believe in myth and superstition when it comes to things like coils. They're all built to the same spec - voltage, dwell, etc. It's not going to make any difference.

I saw one poster say something like going 200,000 miles on the stock coils was a big risk. A big risk of what exactly? That you might have to replace one of them eventually?

I will say if you keep having one coil fail after another and they are Bosch, go online order the delphi coils for 35 a piece and CHANGE ALL OF THEM.

On my brothers 2011 328i, at just 40k miles 3 Bosch coils had failed before I just replaced them all with the delphi design. One even failed at 30k miles.

[hassmaschine]

Meh. That's a pretty big "if". 5 of 6 of my coils are original at 134k. I don't even remember what the replacement was (may have been another Bosch). That was 2-3 years ago that I replaced it - and I'm not even sure it was bad, when I went to pull it out, it was pretty loose so I think it had just popped off the plug. But I had the replacement already and had it all apart, so I just put the new one in and kept the old one as a spare.

I swear, modern BMW owners are mechanical hypochondriacs.

I guess not everyone is as mechanically inclined, and my brother lived 200 miles away,

I read the dealer does the same thing if there is more then one failure and they are Bosch coils.

Same thing happened on my e90 330i, one failed after the other shortly after 90k miles, I got to 4 before I just replaced them all with delphi.

[Phyrexia]

Are the Delphi units known to be better than the Bosch, is that what I'm reading between the lines here? I had what was presumably an OE coil go bad at 65k, on the third day of ownership (like all good German cars, it began to break immediately), and I replaced all six with the Bosches. Thought they were better. Never had problems with them in my other cars.