Alright, so my car died one day and wouldn't start. It cranks like it's going to start, but it doesn't. I can hear the fuel pump turn on. But I am getting no spark at the end of my plugs.

So far I've switched out my coil & ignitor. I swapped out the ignitor twice, but unfortunately all the parts I switched out were used. However, the ignitor and coil combo came from a very reputable seller and it has under 30k miles on it. After swapping these out, I still do NOT have any spark. My cap/rotor/ plugs have about 20k on them.

Is there anything else that could keep my car from starting? I've checked my PGM-FI relay and all my fuses.

*Note, I have noticed recently that I'm leaking a bit of oil where the distributor mounts onto the head. Could this have destroyed my distributor?

 

HELP ME!

 

I doubt a little oil could really ruin anything there, or prevent it from starting.

Maybe just take a chance and replace the cap and rotor anyway. Did you make sure the ignitor was grounded? I made that mistake a few times. There's a little stupid screw that looks like has nothing to do with anything, but it needs to be in there. The ignitor slides in and the screws go in on the side.

Stupid question....did you make sure the wires are plugged into your distributer and valve cover in the correct order? Second, what method are you using to determine you aren't getting a spark?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shamoo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Stupid question....did you make sure the wires are plugged into your distributer and valve cover in the correct order? Second, what method are you using to determine you aren't getting a spark?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I tightened the screwes that hold the ICM (ignitor) on pretty tight. And when I first took it off, I didn't pull the wires off, so I know they are in the correct order.

2nd, I have this thing that plugs in between the plug and the wire. It lights up if there is spark. I have tried it on all 4, and I'm not getting any spark, which is why I believe the problem lies in the distributor. I've read that people are replacing the ICM and ignitor to fix these problems majority of the time... but it's not working for me... so I was wondering what else in the distributor could keep my car from getting any spark.

Would a bad ECU cause no spark?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Takumi Fujiwara &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Would a bad ECU cause no spark?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Hmm, interesting.

A few times, in my experience, a bad ECU didn't even let the starter run. The car didn't do anything. Just made a "click" sound near the ECU area.

But then again, a bad ECU could mean many things. Maybe not all the parts of the ECU are screwed up. Swap it out with something else and see.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shamoo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Hmm, interesting.

A few times, in my experience, a bad ECU didn't even let the starter run. The car didn't do anything. Just made a "click" sound near the ECU area.

But then again, a bad ECU could mean many things. Maybe not all the parts of the ECU are screwed up. Swap it out with something else and see.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Where I live, it's not easy to find an OBDI ECU to swap out... likewise for another complete distributor...

I haven't read about anything else in the distributor besides the coil and ignitor causing no spark... have you? I figure since I'm not getting any spark, the problem lies in the dizzy.

 

Should I be smelling gas when it's cranking? Because I don't.

 

Another popular problem is a bad ground at the thermostat housing... Make sure that's OK.

Does your tach jump around while you crank the starter? If your ECU isn't getting an ignition signal from the distributor, it won't fire the fuel injectors. It also won't keep the fuel pump running more than the initial 2 seconds. So the lack of fuel is probably caused by the lack of spark. When it happens this way, your tachometer stays completely dead while cranking. This also means your problem might be 'upstream' of the coil or ignitor. Like maybe your CYP or TDC sensors inside the distributor. Make sure there's no loose connections at the wiring plugs for the distributor.

Your oil leak sounds like it's alongisde the base of the distributor, on the head. That's no problem at all. If it was leaking oil to the INSIDE of the distributor, then maybe it could cause trouble.

Any stored check-engine-light codes??

 

try checking your ecu fuse, make sure it didnt blow on your... replace your cap and rotor and make sure you have the plug wires in the right order... check for fuel...to do that just loosen up the banjo(sp?) bolt on the fuel filter and turn the key to on and gas should come out... another way to test the spark is to take a screw driver, stick it in the end of the plug wire and lay athe srewdriver next to a valvecover nut... try starting the car and you should see an arc between the screwdriver and the nut

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JimBlake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Another popular problem is a bad ground at the thermostat housing... Make sure that's OK.

Does your tach jump around while you crank the starter? If your ECU isn't getting an ignition signal from the distributor, it won't fire the fuel injectors. It also won't keep the fuel pump running more than the initial 2 seconds. So the lack of fuel is probably caused by the lack of spark. When it happens this way, your tachometer stays completely dead while cranking. This also means your problem might be 'upstream' of the coil or ignitor. Like maybe your CYP or TDC sensors inside the distributor. Make sure there's no loose connections at the wiring plugs for the distributor.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I concur with the check grounds, that's what i'm throwing my money on right now.

But i definately disagree with the fact that if the tach is jumping, the injectors won't fire. When i first bought my b16, the tach lead was completely loose, and the tach would just jump all over the goddamn place. Drove it like that for a week

Sounds like a bad ground somewhere...in my experience, 95% of engines not starting up was ignition, i've had problems with fuel delivery ONCE, and that was cuz the tank was empty and we didn't realize it

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Devlins 91LS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">But i definately disagree with the fact that if the tach is jumping, the injectors won't fire. When i first bought my b16, the tach lead was completely loose, and the tach would just jump all over the goddamn place. Drove it like that for a week </TD></TR></TABLE>Good point. But if you were still driving the car, your CYP & TDC sensors must have been working. They must have been giving their signals to the ECM, otherwise your engine wouldn't run. So I'm guessing your broken connection was just over to the tach. It sounds like Takumi's problem is way 'upstream' of that.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Takumi Fujiwara &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Should I be smelling gas when it's cranking? Because I don't.</TD></TR></TABLE>
it wouldnt matter if you smell gas or not because you dont have spark.
Sounds like you need a new dissy probably.

 

I had to change my disributor assembly at about 155K. I work at midas and i've seen about 3 or 4 integras that had the same problem. I also had to change my cap because the new disributor was a different size. Good Luck

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JimBlake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
...Like maybe your CYP or TDC sensors inside the distributor. Make sure there's no loose connections at the wiring plugs for the distributor.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Is there a way to test to see if these sensors are working? All my connections are tight... I've checked this many many times now. I've heard it can be a 'crank sensor(?)... Is there a way to pinpoint exactly where the problem lies? I've already replaced the coil & ignitor with no result...

 

bump

 

ask Bunta

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by blackdude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ask Bunta</TD></TR></TABLE>

Bunta takes his car to a mechanic...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Takumi Fujiwara &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is there a way to test to see if these sensors are working? All my connections are tight... I've checked this many many times now. I've heard it can be a 'crank sensor(?)... Is there a way to pinpoint exactly where the problem lies? I've already replaced the coil & ignitor with no result...</TD></TR></TABLE>You said OBD-1? They don't have a crank sensor, that started in '96. Besides, the CKF sensor only detects misfiring by the crank slowing down. It doesn't use it for anything else.

I bet you can look at those signals (CKP & TDC) with an oscilloscope, but I'm not really sure what they're supposed to look like.

 

Thanks for all the comments and advice on this post. I replaced the dizzy and it's running better than before. My RPMs are climbing alot smoother and I'm not getting that slight hesitation it used to have. I ordered one from the Distributor King through one of his ebay auctions and used the HT 10% discount and had it shipped overnight to my house for under $190. This low price and it's 3 year warranty makes me very happy.

 

i guess i have this exact same problem