Been travelling (with work for about 8 weeks now) and looking forward to getting back to home and some R&R time (which for me means fiddling with something on the DB9).
I’ve had a lumpy misfire at idle since I purchased the car, but it used to be very, very minor. A few months back it started to become much more noticeable and it’s time to deal with it.
Avid readers of the blog may have figured out I was heading in this direction already by my posts about the OBDII reader and finding information about misfires, etc. What’s I’ve learned with my car is that I have 2 cylinders misfiring substantially. I have also been doing my research about previous service history (which you can see in the My Car section of the blog) and I learned that the DPO (damn previous owner) serviced just ONE of the coil packs prior to selling me the car, and the dealer had a footnote about other cylinders showing misfires, but they deemed it not worth the expense to fix it then. So now its my problem.
A lumpy idle / misfire is a common problem with early DB9’s and is an issue with weak coil packs. I think I’ve heard people say that if your car is over 10yrs old or 20K miles or more, the issue will appear. It’s even mentioned as typical issue by Grant Neal in his excellent book The Definitive Guide to the new Gaydon era Aston Martin – A Buyer’s Guide and Car Enthusiast’s Guide (check out my blog article on this book)
This July 4th long weekend I am all set to change all 12 coil packs and spark plugs. Parts ordered and arrived. Process researched and vague ideas in place. Special tools ordered and delivered. GoPro charged and ready!
Over the next several weeks I’ll be starting to publish the process in both written blog and video format. As usual I will be breaking it down into bite size chunks matching the sequence of tasks to get it done, usually 2-5 mins of video at a time.
Send along you tips and advice. Here we go…..
Aston 1936 
Great information, thanks!
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When I saw the title, I got really excited – maybe Steve has found somewhere you can get matching quality coils without paying the OTT standard dealer prices? Ah well, one can but dream!! Guess I’m lucky that I won’t be doing mine for another 30k miles… 😊
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Hey Steve, hello from Toronto. Just purchased an 05 DB9 – having a ball in it! One owner, full history, fairly well maintained – runs like a charm. Thank you so much for your DIY videos. I feel confident in doing my own work and with your guidance, I’m learning so much about this great car. I just installed new air filters behind the glove box – took ten minutes. Original owner must have forgotten to replace them – I removed two vegetable gardens, unbelievable! Thank you again. Look forward to your posts.
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Hi Steve, did you find cheaper ignition coils or did you have to pay the Aston Martin prices for the new coils? Plus like me you have a 2005 DB9 , were your coils 2 or 3 pin? Thanks. Carry on your great blog, your info here for me has been invaluable and really fantastic, thanks very much !!
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I ordered factory coil packs not knowing a better alterative. They were 2 pin. Thanks for the Kudos. New article posts on Friday AM – first of the coil pack series
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Steve,
Since you’re in the Sac area, do you recommend any local car clubs (other than AMOC) to join? I’m in Reno (w/ DB 9) and interested in meeting with fellow owners to learn more about the car and regional events for AM owners. Also, I’m coming down with the same misfires issue you’ve documented in your blog. Great job on the blog! Cheers, Ben
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I don’t have a lot of free time so the AMOC events and the local Euro Sunday events (once a month Sunday AM) are most of what I attend. There is a local movement of the few Aston guys to get a little group of our own getting together for our own cars and coffee from time to time. Maybe that might be fun to attend. Thanks for the comments.
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Steve,
I’m in Sac regularly. I’d be great to get together, if you have time. Cheers, Ben
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