2003 Jazz Auto - Electrical cough/cutting out

**jjmb** · 06-02-2013 10:46 AM

About 2yrs ago the car started to cutout when powering up (from lights/roundabouts etc). The event was a complete shut down of the electrical system for a fraction of a second; the ignition light did not and does not illuminate. It is not a misfire i.e spark plug/coil pack etc. The event can occur 5 times in a klm, or once a day. It rarely happens when cruising. Recently the car cutout & stopped 4 times in as many klms, but started immediately with the ignition key. However the last occurrence when it stopped completely it initially wouldn't start on the 1st application of the ignition key. Any thoughts on the problem would be appreciated. The dealer cannot find the problem.

**Rage King** · 26-02-2013 10:29 AM

Sounds like a faulty coilpack(s).

My mates GD3 used to do this, intermittently as well. it feels like the car is powering down or cutting off in any gear or speed - gets worse when in load at first take off or uphills.

We brought the car to a reputable honda specialists and plugged in the OBD tool to scan for any errors/CEL codes - there was none. but the problem was still there.

Called up a few honda genuine dealers/mechanics to obtain a price for a coilpack as we were certain it was a dodgy coilpacks. and im suprised to say that there was plenty of the OEM genuine part instock - and the parts guy told me that their service department are the main factors or users of these coilpacks. So it appears to be a common problem.

with being the oem $120+gst per coilpack, we opt for a mekong spares HITACHI (japan) equivalent replacements for under $400 a set of 4. No point just replacing just 1 as the others will eventually fail.

We fitted the coilpacks lastnight and BANG! the issue has been RESOLVED.

the funny thing is that the OBD scanner tool could not detect the fault/CEL code, but from the looks of it, it sounds like its your coilpacks. Get them tested 1 by 1 with a known working coilpack and see how u go.

**jjmb** · 26-02-2013 05:16 PM

Thanks mate, that exactly what is was, appreciate your input

**bossxr** · 26-02-2013 11:38 PM

How many kms are on your Jazz ? I ask as one of the reasons the coilpacks fail is because the valve clearances have not been reset properly at the 80,000 kms service interval. It must be done with a stone cold engine. Many dealers skip this important servicing step so they don't have to keep the customer's car in overnight. If the car sounds OK they'll often skip it - mine sounded OK but I had it done and my exhaust valves were way out.
If you have done over 80,000 kms and can't remember leaving your car in overnight for that service then I'd highly recommend you get it done or you will do more coilpacks.

BTW the OBD scanner tool won't pickup the error codes but the dealer scanner *sometimes* picks up the codes. Bottom line - use old school troubleshooting techniques.

Hope that helps.

**Rage King** · 27-02-2013 08:08 AM

Originally Posted by bossxr

BTW the OBD scanner tool won't pickup the error codes but the dealer scanner *sometimes* picks up the codes. Bottom line - use old school troubleshooting techniques.

Hope that helps.

My bad, both OBD and the Honda Dealer scanning tools were used and NO CEL codes were identified.

and yes old school and logical thinking were used to troubleshoot... also from having previous similar experience about coilpacks, ignitors, dizzy etc also played a big part in resolving our issues.

**08ESE** · 02-05-2013 09:41 PM

my gd manual done that a few times and the key logo on the dash started flashing. car would not start for a few minutes.. turned out i needed a new battery and weak power was making the ignition fail to talk to the module inside the key. put a fully charged NEW battery in it and see if it solves it.