I've been running platinum plugs on ALL of my cars for years...every thing
from Vanagons, Jettas, Passats without a single problem.
Karl Batzler
84 Vanagon
87 Audi 5000 S (now using platinum plugs)
-----Original Message-----
From: YauMan Chan <YAUMAN@CCHEM.BERKELEY.EDU>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Friday, January 08, 1999 8:17 PM
Subject: Coils and Platinum Plugs!

>>> EMZ <vw4x4@FYI.NET> 01/08 10:50 AM >>>
   My bet is that you have platimun plug in the engine. They
killed coil after coil in My 1980 Van until I put 2 and 2 together.
>>

Oh No.. tell me it ain't so!

I have been using platimum plugs ever since they first appeared on the
market 20 years ago and cost $24.95 each and have never experiened this
phenomenum!  There must be some co-incidence.  All the platium plug gets you
is longer life and better conduction of electric current even when it is
coated with oil and carbon.  How can that destroy a coil?  You can dead
short the High Tension output side of the coil and it should survive.  The
high tension side while in the 40 Kilovolt range has only micro-amps of
currrent..regardless of the type of plug you put in.  When I was teaching
physics, I use to buy the cheapest coils I can get from Kmart to let the
students experiment with .. neat stuff you can do and they are all bullet
proof.. short of actually dropping them and cracking the insulation, you
cannot kill them by loading it badly.

It must be a co-incidence.. something changed after you change to platimum
plugs.. Anybody else on this list seen this problem with platinum plugs?

Yau-Man Chan
87 GL