I need to know the firing order for a 1996 olds aurora with dual coil packs

I will read the SM service manual to you now.
firing order 1,3,4,2
most cars with old coil packs 4 cylinders is just one pack
not coils but yes 2 coils in 1 pack run 4 cylinders, using wasted spark tech.
oops this old dog run 8 spark plugs now that is different.
and here it is from the book
we do know 1 and 4 fire as one and 3 and 2 first as one pair too.
I sure hope the 2 coils fire, the same way.
no lag. coil 1 spark 1, to coil 2 spark 1. hummmmm
yes tricky see these sage words. from the SM

Dual Plug Inhibit (DPI) is a function of the powertrain control module that is used when the vehicle is being started. During engine cranking, the powertrain control module will only fire the spark plugs on the right-hand side of the engine.Whenthe engine has started, the powertrain control module will start normal twin-plug operation.

Not sure if you have a 1996 Cadillac Seville or a 1998 Olds Aurora but I would check the Ignition Coil Packs. One or more of them may need to be replaced. Also if you were working on the car and got the wires plugged onto the wrong coils then the firing order sequence would not be correct and this can cause a misfire or backfire conditon.

Ignition wires cannot rest near the primary wire harness of the ignition module, which can cause electrical interference and a no start condition or a misfire condition

On my friends 1997 Cadillac Seville it was easy to replace all 4 coil packs took less than 30 minutes and made the car run much better. Just make sure to get the firing order right. If necessary find a diagram of the correct firing order for you vehicle.

A good place for mail order auto parts is rockauto.com

I have pasted a picture below of what an ignition coil pack looks like

1996 Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0L DOHC V8:

Firing Order:
1 - 2 - 7 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 8

Cylinders:
............(back)...........
|...1.....3.....5.....7...|
................................
|...2.....4.....6.....8...|
...........(front)

Coil Connections:
...................(back)
..|.6..7.|..|..4..1.|..|.8..3.|..|.2..5.|
....................(front)

For the 1996 Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0L DOHC V8:

Firing Order:
1 - 2 - 7 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 8

Cylinders:
............(back)...........
|...1.....3.....5.....7...|
................................
|...2.....4.....6.....8...|
...........(front)

Coil Connections:
...................(back)
..|.6..7.|..|..4..1.|..|.8..3.|..|.2..5.|
....................(front)

On the 1996 Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0L DOHC V8:
Firing Order:
1-2-7-3-4-5-6-8

Cylinders:
............(back)...........
|...1.....3.....5.....7...|
................................
|...2.....4.....6.....8...|
...........(front)

Coil Connections:
...................(back)
..|.6..7.|..|..4..1.|..|.8..3.|..|.2..5.|
....................(front)

You might find the firing order is cast into the manifold a lot of the oldsmobiles had this!

Coil packs are labeled or aren't labeled? Firing order is 1-6-5-4-3-2

FIRING ORDER PER 4 CYL.

http://anubiscycle.com/fixya/order98caravan.png

Your order is 1-2-3-4-5-6
Coil packs:
5/2 3/6 4/1
Cylinders:
1 3 5
2 4 6

Hope this helps,
matt

the firing order in on each coil....each coil pack should be numbered