spoulsen

This is my first post to the forums; I hope I can get this thing to start. I have read many posts about this kind of problem, but they are not exactly the same as my issue, and the solutions did not solve the problem.

The engine turns over properly. The cam shaft turns when the engine is cranking and the distributor rotor turns at something like 1 revolution per second (very rough estimate). Is this slow? Maybe it just looks visually slow. The turn over sounds normal, however.

There is a faint smell of gasoline and using a spark tester, I see there is no spark or voltage coming out of the spark plug wires. This led me down the electrical path. (Can a fuel problem result in no spark as well; I.E. some sensor turns off the spark?)

I have replaced the distributor cap and rotor; they looked worn. No help. I am certain the rotor is on correctly. I can measure 12V on the input of the coil, and nothing on the other wire, except when connected. The output of the coil measures a voltage when the ignition switch is on. The coil measures 1.4 ohms when disconnected, but I got a new one just to be sure. It measures the same and is of no help.

I replaced the igniter module. I measure the four connection on it. Two of them measured 12V. The other two, nothing; which I think is to be expected. I tried starting it with the blue wire disconnected, since I read this somewhere on this site.

The ignition fuse is good and measures 12V on both sides.

In short, I have replaced the cap, rotor, igniter, and coil to no avail. What's left? Thoughts?

NOTE: There are no error codes, just the single red blink one time only. The check engine comes on for two seconds as I hear a pump running, then it goes out. The starting sounds good, but there is absolutely no attempt at any firing. The issue started suddenly after parking it and then trying to start it a few hours later.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

KINGVEM^^ED6

iTrader: (1)

Check all your grounds and main relay

poberly

X2 ^^ It's probably a ground

spoulsen

Thanks for the quick responses. I'll try these things tomorrow. Regarding the grounds, where would I start? I'm only seeing the igniter getting grounded through it's mounting and the spark plugs as well.

Any other guidance or tips are welcomed!

10psiLsEf2

main relays are notorious on the ef chassis

da9blk1

iTrader: (43)

Check transmission ground.
And you can here the main relay click when key is on the II position. Also the fuel pump will prime

spoulsen

Quick check of the relay. I'm getting three clicks. One when I turn the key on, one two seconds after that, then one when I turn the ignition. I can take it to my work to bench test the relay further, in case something else is wrong inside it (output leads vs input).

spoulsen

Relay tested good. Hooked it up to 12V and tested continuity, three different ways, per a guide on this site.

Still no starting. I don't see any ground issue, so I think it's time to take it in.

Thanks to all!

Former User

The ECU via the white wire to the igniter unit tells the distributor when to produce spark. If the white wire has an open or short, there will be no spark. Check that wire.

If the white wire tests fine, then swap in a known good ECU.

Brw53

spoulsen, did you get you no start issue resolved? If so can you update what you found? I am having the same issue on my 1991 Si. It was idling as I checked tire pressures, then as I started to pull away, it died and has not fired since.

spoulsen

So here is a recap and what the solution was.

Changed the distributor cap, rotor, and coil, igniter module. No improvement.

Here is where I was mislead. I bought a spark plug tester ( it goes inline with the spark plug and has and adjustable gap. The "No improvement" above was because I was using this tester and never saw a spark. I think this was misleading me. I would connect the clamp to the car body and replace one of the plugs with this device and no spark was seen.

I finally took it in to my local repair man and he said the spark plugs were all fouled out. He replaced the plugs and all was well. He believes we fouled them by starting it over and over and whichever of the four fixed the problem, could not be seen.

My assessment and lesson learned:

1) Make sure you have a good way to test for spark.
2) It was probably the ignition module in my case. The other pieces looked decent enough or measured properly.

Former User

One of the best ways to check for spark is described in the Check Spark link in my signature.