How To Test a Honda Odyssey Ignition Coil

Issues with your Honda Odyssey Ignition Coil can lead to ignition misfire and lack of power. When your spark plugs aren’t getting the signals or the power required, it can cause your Honda van to run rich. This will lead to lack of acceleration and poor fuel economy, and if it’s not corrected can also lead to premature catalytic converter failure.

If you suspect that your Honda Odyssey is having spark plug issues, this How To DIY guide will help you test the ignition coil in a J series engine. Today I’ll be showing you how to test your Odyssey Ignition Coil in a 2001 Honda with the J35 or 3.5 liter V6 engine.

Symptoms of a bad Odyssey Ignition Coil

• Poor engine performance
• loss of power
• Poor fuel economy
• Ignition misfire
• Failed catalytic converter
• Rough idle

You will be using a multimeter to test the operation of your ignition coil. As always if you aren’t certain how to use a multimeter, check out our guide here. Before you begin our guide, you will need to remove the 3.5 liter engine cover to access the ignition coils.

If you have a OBDII misfire code or check engine light for misfire in your Honda Odyssey, it’s a good idea to use a scan tool to determine which cylinder is having the issue. Begin by removing the 10mm bolts that hold the engine cover in place.

Remove the 10mm bolts one at a time, and once you have the bolts removed the top of the engine cover should be loose.

Now that the top of your J35 engine cover has been removed, you must remove the plastic spark plug covers.

To do this use a standard screwdriver and back out the plastic pins.

These plastic pins just need to be unspun to free the plastic cover. Once you have the cover removed you can start to remove the spark plug cover.

Now start to remove the front spark plug plastic cover by simply lifting up and out. Once you have these plastic covers removed you can begin working on testing your Odyssey Ignition Coil.

If you have a specific misfire code, it will tell you which cylinder you need to test first. If you have a generic misfire OBDII code, you can begin testing by unplugging your ignition coils one at a time.

How To Locate the faulty Odyssey Ignition Coil

Begin by starting your Honda Odyssey and allow it to warm up and idle. If you don’t know what Odyssey Ignition Coil to test, you can find the bad coil easily. Start by unplugging the Odyssey Ignition Coil one at a time until you find a cylinder that doesn’t change or alter the idle.

Once you find the bad Odyssey Ignition Coil, you can use a razor blade to cut open the plastic shielding carefully. This will allow you to test the wires coming out of the ignition coil plug.

You will now begin our How To guide by testing your Odyssey Ignition Coil for power, ground and the signal.

Testing your Odyssey Ignition Coil for Power

Begin our test procedure by putting the black lead of your multimeter to the negative terminal of your battery. With your key inserted and turned to the “ON” position, you will be probing PIN A shown below.

This wire is BLACK with a YELLOW stripe and should return a power signal. There should be between 11-12 volts of DC power at this wire. If you don’t have power at this wire, make sure your ignition is at the II position otherwise known as “ON”

If you still don’t have power here, you will need to inspect the wiring of your ignition coil to make sure there is no break or short in the wire. The next wire you will be checking is PIN B for a low reference ground circuit.

Testing your Odyssey Ignition Coil for Signal

The last part of our How To DIY article is testing your Honda Odyssey ignition coil for the signal switching wire. This signal is what tells your coil to fire the spark plug, and is vital to the operation of your 3.5 liter V6 engine.

To test the signal from your ignition coil, you will need to put your multimeter into the Hz mode. Now put the red probe on the positive terminal of your battery, and using the black probe pierce WIRE C.

Now start your engine and keep your hands, wires and clothing clear of your engine and drive pulleys. Make sure to steer clear of your fan assembly as well. Inspect the wire voltage here after your engine has started. This signal should switch between 30 and 60 Hertz as your 3.5 liter engine is running.

If these signals from your engine check out and the cylinder in question is still struggling. Replace your coil on plug ignition coil and use a scan tool to clear your misfire codes. You now know how to test your Odyssey Ignition Coil. Have any questions about our guide? Leave us a message below and let us know!