Is it unusual to have all eight ignition coils go bad at once. Is it complicated to replace them on your own. How do you test each coil to see if it is bad? Thank you

I don't know but if it does it would usually be either bracketed to the ignition coil or mounted close to the coil.

A ballasted ignition system was common pre-electronic ignition and continued to be used with some electronic ignition systems but was eventually discovered mostly wasn't necessary with high energy ignition systems so became increasingly rare.

A ballasted system might have resistance wire in the engine wiring harness instead of the pill or ceramic resistor but can be recognised by the presence of a second small terminal on the starter solenoid (connected) and when the negative side of the coil is grounded the voltage on the positive side would typically be between 4 and 7 volts and then rise to between 8 and 10 volts when the starter is engaged.

In those early days it was common to find "a bad starter" fitted with the wrong coil and even into the earlier days of electronic ignition the wrong coil wasn't unusual, resulting in a spark that could hardly crawl out of the end of the HT lead and sometimes a spark that was too powerful and slight dampness would light up the entire HT system like a Tesla coil.
One Ford Sierra I attended was a bad starter with the wrong coil and when testing the spark I was able to draw it out to nearly 4 inches...

P0351 loss of power ? That's not what this code is about . P0351 - Ignition Coil A Primary/Secondary Circuit ,you have a bad coil and possibly a bad coil driver inside the PCM . Do yourself a favor an take your vehicle to a qualified repair shop !
P0351 - Ignition Coil A Primary/Secondary Circuit Description: See the description for DTC P0350. Possible Causes: See the possible causes for DTC P0350. Diagnostic Aids: See the diagnostic aids for DTC P0350. Application Key On Engine Off Key On Engine Running Continuous Memory Coil-on-plug (COP) ignition testing - GO to Pinpoint Test JF . GO to Pinpoint Test JF . Coil pack ignition testing - GO to Pinpoint Test JE . GO to Pinpoint Test JE .
P0350 - Ignition Coil Primary/Secondary Circuit Description: Each ignition primary circuit is continuously monitored. The test fails when the powertrain control module (PCM) does not receive a valid ignition diagnostic monitor (IDM) pulse signal from the ignition module (integrated in the PCM). Possible Causes:

• Open or short in the ignition START/RUN circuit
• Open coil driver circuit
• Coil driver circuit short to ground
• Damaged coil
• Coil driver circuit short to VPWR

Diagnostic Aids: Use the 12-volt non-powered test lamp to verify START/RUN voltage at the ignition coil harness connector.
Check the coil driver circuit for open, short to VPWR, or short to ground. Application Key On Engine Off Key On Engine Running Continuous Memory All GO to Pinpoint Test JE .

Step one: buy new ignition coil
Step two: find bad ignition coil
Step three: replace the coil.

Seriously it is this easy, once you buy the new part you know what to look for in your engine bay. disconnect the old one and reconnect the new one in the same way.

Ignition module. What type of vehicle????

3 possibilities:

Bad wire/connection
Bad ignition coil
Bad spark plug.

Replace each until satisfactory performance is restored. Sadly, the most expensive and most common problem will be the coil, as it is the most complicated and therefore the most prone to breakdown. If possible, replace all wires, coils and plugs. This way, you know you have good ignition devices and your vehicle is at its peak efficiency.

several things cause no spark with a logic probe 2 led version (red & green) with ignition on test both sides of the ignition coil they should be red if positive side green power problem to ignition + side red and - side green internal open in coil both red then place on - side and crank engine flashes red green then coil is bad does not flash then remove distributor cap and test magnetic pick-up coil if flashes replace module does not replace pick up coil.

1988 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight 3.8 liter V-6 VIN "3"
Identifying Ignition Types I and II

On Type I coil packs, three twin tower ignition coils are combined into a single coil pack unit.



On Type II coil packs, the coils can be replaced separately and the ignition wires are all on the same side of the coil pack.

With Type I Ignition




With Type II Ignition



Hope helps.

Find coil pack I think it is on the front passenger side. Disconnect negative battery cable. Remove electrical connector from module. Remove the four or six bolts that fasten the coil pack/module to the motor. Mark location of coil packs before removing from module. Replace in reverse order.

could be pickup coil in distributor

when was the last time u had the timming belt replaced?.....