With the key turned to the on position, the coil should be showing 12v at the (+) and (-) terminals, right?

 

generaly it will show 12v at the positive terminal and the neg, it shows positive polarity because of electron flow through the coil, the negative will show a pulsed ground when cranking, the easiest way to check for the secondary pulse is to hook your test light clamp to the positve side of the battery then have some one turn the car over while you check the negative side of the coil, be carefull checking the coil without the cap on, i've seen a couple of coils burt up because of the lack of secondary resistance

 

My car won't start and the coil is getting no voltage with the key turned to on. What would cause this symptom?
Bad ECU possibly?

 

Check the distributor connector.

Look for a blown fuse under the hood.

Check the ignition switch.

 

 

I think the switch is OK, the engine turns over and the dash lights up in the "on" position.

All the under-hood fuses looked OK but I replaced the ECU fuse with another just to be sure, still no-go. There's only 1 fuse box under the hood, right?

The 2 connections to the distributor do not appear to be broken in any way or corroded.


What else might be the problem?




Modified by ParistsCP at 5:55 PM 10/22/2008

 

Do you hear the fuel pump prime when the ignition key is turned to ON (II)?

Does the CEL stay ON when the ignition key is turned to ON (II)?