Is it normal for the ignition coil to get hot. This is on a 394 out of a 61 olds.

 

No, you may have some faulty wiring or a bad ignition switch/solenoid. It may be that you have voltage constantly on that coil even when you turn off the ignition. If you have a way to check it do so, If not dis-connect the battery now until you get someone that can help you. That coil could get so hot the oil inside will leak out or even explode. I saw it happen once.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldsguy

No, you may have some faulty wiring or a bad ignition switch/solenoid. It may be that you have voltage constantly on that coil even when you turn off the ignition. If you have a way to check it do so, If not dis-connect the battery now until you get someone that can help you. That coil could get so hot the oil inside will leak out or even explode. I saw it happen once.

Well it only gets hot like that when it is running, while ignition off, coile is nice and cool.

 

It is possible to overwork a coil while it is running, but I forget what can cause it. I think it can be something to do with having bad plugs/wires and maybe the distributor also.

 

I think it should still be running a resistor that drops the voltage to the coil. I would check that. It makes sense that if it were by-passed with a full 12 volts going to the coil, that it would overheat. Just my guess.