Ok, so I went away for the summer and my friend lost my keys, so they did not run it. It sat for about 9 weeks. I come home and the car does not start, does not even crank. I replaced the starter, it was shorted and the car now cranks. I also replaced the battery because it needed one.

It would not get any spark, I had a mechanic friend of mine come over, he plugged in his laptop, no codes. He used his through wire probe and checked a bunch of signals, checked power at the coil and other places. He told me that the cam sensor was bad, and that I would have to replace the distributor (I had already tried replacing the coil, rotor and cap, as well as the spark plugs).

After installing the new distributor, the car cranked and there was a very short ignition, but the engine did not turn over. I tried this many times, even while being jumped (to allow for more tries). Sometimes if I keep cranking the engine, there is another short ignition. I have not tested the sparks since installing the new distributor. The CEL turns off after turning the key. The fuel pump primes and there is fuel, I just replaced the fuel filter.

I am no expert on cars, but I know a decent amount about electricity and motors. To me, this sounds like only one spark plug is igniting.

Does anyone know what could be causing this or what to test? I am going to do a spark plug test on each wire tomorrow morning, but I wanted to see what you guys thought. I am really stumped.

Thanks in advance, Shanon

 

Have you checked spark at all 4 spark plugs since installing the new distributor?

Does the fuel pump prime?

When you turn the key to ON(II), does the CEL remain on steady or does it turn off after 2 seconds?

 

I have not tested the wires, it was raining all day today and I was hurried when I installed the distributor a couple days ago. The fuel pump primes and I know there is gas (I also replaced the fuel filter). When the key is turned, the CEL light goes on and then off after the 2 seconds you mentioned.

 

Check spark at all 4 plugs - see link in my signature. Spark should be bright white.

Also check whether dash fuse 9 is blown.

 

I did the thing in your sig, I have all orange sparks. This is a brand new distributor. Could this be caused by bad wires? What is the chance of all 4 being bad?

Also all my fuses are fine, that mechanic friend tested them when he came last week.

 

Measure voltage to body ground at the Blk/Yel wire that attaches to both the coil and ICM.