Over the last couple of weeks I noticed a ticking noise from my '09 Fit with 58K that varied with engine speed. It's been diagnosed as a failed coil pack that then caused two spark plugs to overheat. There's no valve damage, so the repair is replacing the coil pack and all four spark plugs. The ticking was explained to me - I think - as the coil pack coming loose and being out of position.

Anyone want to take another stab at explaining to me how this could have happened and how it explains the ticking? I did a search through this forum and can't find other reports of this happening. TIA.

 

huh.. coilpacks are held down by bolts...were you missing them?

 

My spidey sense wonders if it was a loose spark plug...

 

I talked with the service advisor again and he said he couldn't say whether it was a loose spark plug or a loose coil pack that started everything. The coil pack was bolted in. I didn't notice any changes in the car's performance, either, just the ticking noise.

 

Did they fix it under warranty?

 

I am skeptical of this analysis. You have one coil pack per spark plug, so a problem coil pack will cause an issue with only the plug it is associated with. The coil pack is bolted and cannot come out of position without removing the bolt that holds it in place. If a spark plug was loose, it could damage the coil pack and if so, must be fixed immediately! If the plug shoots out of the head, you will be in for a lot of money to repair, because the threads in the head will be gone and a new plug will not stay in.

If this were my car, I would adjust valves and assess coils and plugs. Adjusting valves requires removing valve cover and plastic intake leaving easy access to plugs and coils. Your noise could be loose valve lifters. I did my valves at 87,000 miles and one plug was barely hand tight, so it is very possible you have a loose plug too. The slight hesitation my engine had at light throttle went away with valve adjustment.

You never said if you had an MIL (check engine light).

 

hspatz, the check engine light was not on. Dealer says valves were fine, and for what it's worth, I had the lost motion spring recall performed a while back. When I asked the service advisor again, he did say all they could tell was that there were two spark plugs that were overheated and it was hard to tell what caused what. Obviously I'll know pretty quickly when I get the car back if they fixed the problem.

Steve244, the car is out of warranty, even if this was definitely covered by the 5/60 powertrain warranty. I bought the car in April of 2009. I did ask the dealer to check if Honda would give me a break.

 

The valves can be fine meaning they are not bent, burn, or otherwise damaged. That does not mean that your car might not benefit from a valve lash adjustment. You will get ticking if they are loose and worse problems if they are tight. They did need to adjust the valves for the lost motion spring recall.

Overheated spark plugs indicate a lean mixture, loose plug, or improper cylinder cooling. If they do not find the cause, you will be back with the same problem. Mine still looked very good at 87,000 mi. when I replaced them.

 

I vote for valve adjustment and DB code check.
A bad coil pack not likely to fry plugs; if you have over 60,000 miles then new packs and plugs good regular maintence procedure.
The ticking could also be the injectors. or one.

 

I pick the car up tomorrow, but I spoke with the service manager and he says everything is fixed. They heard the ticking immediately when I pulled into the bay, so I'm sure they're right. I did find the thread in this forum about loose spark plugs. https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...-warranty.html

Given what I've read on the replies here (thanks all) and the other thread, I'm wondering if I simply had two loose spark plugs. Why spark plugs would come loose at 58K I don't know. They haven't told me that the threads were stripped, and I'm not finding many reports of loose spark plugs. Anyone with ideas? Just a fluke? Anything I should specifically ask when I pick the car up?

The service manager said that spark plugs are under the B2B warranty, so I'm way out of that coverage. I'm feeling fortunate that I didn't have more damage.