[rescue] Fun With Statistics

[Kurt Huhn]

> So then I was thinking.. Do 6 coils  make the care MORE reliable? And he
> said, NO. More Coils, More Chance of One Failing. It would be better to
> have one shit coil than six.
> 
> Is he right?

In the case of multiple ignition coils on cars, each coil services one
(or a set of) cylinder[s].  Each coil is specifically tasked to that
cylinder (or set) and can't service any other cylinders.  So if a coil
fails, that cylinder goes down and is unable to ignite the fuel/air
mixture going into it.  Normally, if this happens, the PCM will alert
the driver and refuse to start the car - normally.

I personally do fine with one coil.  However, multiple coils have
advantages such as being able to fine tune spark for any given cylinder
- but if you ask me, they're extraneous.  Normally you se3e the most
benefit from multiple coils on very high performance engines, or engines
designed to run at high RPM.

My brain is blasted right now, and that's the best I could come up
with.  Alex, might be able to provide a better description, or one from
a different POV.

-- 
Kurt
kurt at k-huhn.com