Hey guys. I'm at the end of my knowledge. I've got a d15b7 that won't spark. iv changed the battery and the distributor and it still won't spark. The engine light was on for the Crank Position Shaft sensor but I read it was in the distributor. If there is anything else I should try let me know.

 

Check that the CEL comes on then goes out when you turn key on but don't crank.

Make sure the camshaft and distributor rotate when you crank.

Take the cap off and try to jump sparks directly from the coil output to a grounded test wire. Always have the cap and wires on or a test wire; don't let the coil fire into an open circuit.

 

The CEL stays on, what does this mean?

 

If the test jumper is not in place (normal operation), that means that the ECU is not booting up. In this condition there will be no fuel or spark and of course it will crank but not start.

The most common cause is the main relay. Remove it and resolder. Instructions for that are all over the web since it is a well-known lemon part.

Once you are sure the main relay is good, if it still does it, check the ECU ground wires on the thermostat housing. It could also be the ECU itself. If you can leave the key on for several minutes and the CEL eventually goes out and the car can be started, that is what a bad ECU often does.

 

Where can i find the test jumper?

 

It's the two-wire plug you use to check codes, located inside the car above the ECU. For normal operation there should be nothing plugged in.

If the plug is jumpered to check codes, and there are no codes, the CEL will stay on steady with the key on.

 

I've got a 94 del sol si w/ a similar prob: cranks no start. I don't have spark at the plugs, but can get fire when I test/ground the coil. I've replaced the distributor cap and rotor, but no spark comes out. This didn't make any sense to me, but I then began to think about what else might be making it not work. I replaced the main relay, knowing these go bad easily but still no starting. My cel goes off quickly. I've yet to check the ground on the thermostat housing, it isn't loose, but looks like it could stand to be cleaned and reseated (raining out now, will have to do this later.) When I turn the key, I can hear the fuel injectors priming, and the fuel pump hums for a few seconds then shuts down. I've reseated the computer connectors w/ no benefit either.
Should I consider buying a (new?$ or used) computer or do more electrical investigation? If the latter what is the process, which wires to chase, etc?

 

When testing at the coil you should have blue sparks that can jump more than 1/2 inch. If you only have weak yellow sparks that jump about 1/8 inch, they are not going to make it out of the cap and rotor or fire the plugs.

The cause of such weak sparks is almost always the coil itself.

 

Ecu could be bad. Check to make sure the green chassis plug is plugged into the engine harness.

 

do you have a location for green plug?

 

it is right where the engine harness plugs into the ecu

 

So first off a confession. I don't have a d15, I have a d16z. Not that it makes a lot of difference.
To recap, I had a crank no start condition, no spark at the plugs. Initially I had spark coming out of the coil tower, but this didn't last, perhaps due to cranking a few times w/out grounding the coil tower as has been said to kill the coil. I don't think it did, but subsequent testing showed no spark at the coil. I then tested the + terminal of the coil and was getting 12 v power meaning juice was coming into the distributor and to the igniter and coil. I decided to go on a ground cleaning and reseating campaign but that didn't make any difference. I replaced the fuel/main relay (I'd had this problem once before and that turned out to be the culprit...) but this didn't work. Finally I bought an LED trouble light at Harbor Freight, and demonstrated a signal coming from the computer into the distributor. This pointed to the igniter being bad. I happened to have one from an old distro, plugged it in, and TA DA! Got it going.
Thanks for all the input.