My car will crank but won't start. I have a tank full of fuel, car has been parked all winter season.

I did a spark check and I'm getting spark on two plugs and the other two does not spark.

Is this a problem with the plugs, distributor or both?

I can't find a used distributor in my area and I want to go OEM which is $250(dealership) So it's an expensive replacement if I'm wrong.

I just want to make sure I check and recheck everything else before replacing 2-3 things before finding out it was all an ecu problem.

Thank you,

 

How did you check the spark? If it was checked properly, with either a brand new plug or a spark tester, the condition of your old plugs wouldn't affect the test results. With 2/4 sparks firing, the problem is going to be either the distributor cap or the wires. You should test the spark again, but with the 2 working wires switched with the two not-sparking wires. If the same cylinders aren't firing after the switch, the problem is the cap, if the problem moves with the wires, then they are the problem. Do not connect the wires to the motor's spark plugs while they are switched.

 

Chances are it's the distributor.

What's the model and year of your car? stock engine? I found a new distributor for 150 on ebay not long ago for a jdm b16a.

 

Remove the distributor cap and inspect the contact points inside and on the rotor.

Resistance test the plug wires.

Replace the spark plugs if they are old or worn.

 

Update: So last night my friend and I basically checked and re-checked everything.
Friend brought over his spare working distributor and he installed it. Installed new spark plugs then cranked the car and still doesn't start.

We then started checking fuses, all looked good. Plugs were good and now sparkplugs are good too. Plug wires are pretty much brand new. Everything looked ok.. we have air, fuel and spark.

It wasn't until we looked at the fuel pump relay... So to get to that we opened the glove box and it was to the right attached to the sidewall. My friend started hitting it lightly while I tried to start the car. The rpms started to jump while he was hitting the fuse. Eventually the rpms jumped and I gave it some gas and the car started. We took out his distributor and installed it with mine. Works again!

We don't know if there was a loose connection there or not but everything works fine now. Just an update for anyone else having issues. It was probably a good thing I didn't go out and buy a distributor. As this was mostly a diagnosis.

An issue I'm having now is my RPM guage is not smooth? When I rev it into 6000-7000k the rpms needle will act funny when coming back down. Like it will flutter and then after coming back down from 4k it's smooth again. Anyone know what might cause this?

 

not sure if this is the proper name.
but the igniter is to blame for that one, usually.

 

It wasn't until we looked at the fuel pump relay... So to get to that we opened the glove box and it was to the right attached to the sidewall. My friend started hitting it lightly while I tried to start the car. The rpms started to jump while he was hitting the fuse. Eventually the rpms jumped and I gave it some gas and the car started. We took out his distributor and installed it with mine. Works again!


did you replace the relay or fuse... you were banging? my relay once gave me problems.

 

Nope, I did not replace the relay or fuse. My friend was in the passenger hitting the relay while I was cranking the car. Before doing this the rpms wouldn't even move slightly. Everything works like new now.

 

I'll look into that for sure. Thanks