Mike Walker 0 Posted February 20, 2007 Hi guys, I've got an ongoing problem with my car not starting. I've made a few posts on here about it and had some good advice, i've also spent a lot of time searching and trying to work out what it says in the Haynes manual but i'm still not making a lot of progress. I've tried a few different things but think I need to start from the beginning rather than trying bits and pieces here and there. The Haynes manaul says the first thing you need to do is find out if there's a spark when you crank the engine. From a search on here it seems the best way of doing that is to test it from the king lead to the dizzy. Do you unplug the dizzy king lead at the distributor end and wedge a spark plug in there and crank the engine over to see if there's a spark? I think from reading threads on here that if there isn't a spark you should test the coil and ignition module. How do you go about testing the ignition module? I think I know how to test the coil, I think one of the ones I have is gone as it reads the same on both primary and secondary windings but am unsure on the other one as you get the correct reading on the primary winding but no reading from the secondary winding? The tachmetric relay is definately gone as i've bypassed it and the fuel pump now primes. The distributor looks kind of ok on the inside apart from the central connection bit which looks a little corroded/damaged could that be the problem? If that could be the problem is there any way of testing it? There is also a plastic or rubber circular thing which just sits inside the distributor that looks a bit damaged but I havn't a clue what it is or what it does so kind of dismissed it. There is also something bolted to the slam panel with two fuses in it (one of which was blown) and a lead going to the +ve terminal of the battery, I can't find what this is so i'm not sure if its part of the ignition system and if so how that can be tested. At some point one of the wires to the coil came off and for all I know could have been off for ages i'm just wondering if this could have caused the tachymetric relay, the fuse and the coil to all go (along with some other things that i'm yet to discover!) which is whats happened. One of the things I havn't tried is cleaning up/checking all the earths as i've only just found out you should do that from a search tonight and due to my absolute and complete lack of ability in electronics didn't think to do it in the first place This really is the sort of thing that I should take my car to a garage to fix because i'm totally out of my depth but I just don't have the cash at the moment (whinge moan) so any help is much appreciated! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pug_ham 244 3 Cars Posted February 21, 2007 The Haynes manaul says the first thing you need to do is find out if there's a spark when you crank the engine. From a search on here it seems the best way of doing that is to test it from the king lead to the dizzy. Do you unplug the dizzy king lead at the distributor end and wedge a spark plug in there and crank the engine over to see if there's a spark?Yes, there should be a rapid almost constant spark during cranking. http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/ign-04.htm How do you go about testing the ignition module? I think I know how to test the coil, I think one of the ones I have is gone as it reads the same on both primary and secondary windings but am unsure on the other one as you get the correct reading on the primary winding but no reading from the secondary winding?Not exactly sure how to test the ignition module apart from replace it with a know working one. I've always failed to get the correct results even with a coil I know works fine so can't help out there. The figures might be wrong but the test method is in the link below; http://www.international-auto.com/index.cfm?fa=ad&aid=21 There is also something bolted to the slam panel with two fuses in it (one of which was blown) and a lead going to the +ve terminal of the battery, I can't find what this is so i'm not sure if its part of the ignition system and if so how that can be tested.That black box is the battery distribution block, the wire go to it from the battery positive connection, not the other way round. The cooling fans, ecu & fuse box feeds are all plugged into it but iirc nothing that connects directly to the ignition system. Graham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pugnut 9 1 Cars Posted February 21, 2007 The distributor looks kind of ok on the inside apart from the central connection bit which looks a little corroded/damaged could that be the problem? If that could be the problem is there any way of testing it? this lead is responsibly for generating the pulse to trigger the ignition amplifier which in turn will go to the tach relay. so its very important and you're tach relay may not be faulty. find another lead , or another dizzy if you're in any doubt . or find someone local that you can swap bits out with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob_the_Sparky 9 Posted February 21, 2007 FYI There is equipment to test ignition amplifiers but it lies! It was used to test an ignition amp off a car I had that was not starting and test said it was in good health (test carried out by the AA with me watching). Many months later after a LOT of wasted time I found that it was buggered after all. Therefore I'd recommend not using such test kit... Rob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sonofsam 5 Posted February 21, 2007 I posted a DIY ign. amp. test in this topic http://forum.205gtidrivers.com/index.php?s...hl=ignition+amp Dont know if anyone has had success with it though.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Walker 0 Posted February 21, 2007 From Pugtorque's post it looks like I was testing the coils in an arse about tit way so i'll give that another go! I'll have another look at the dizzy, can't remember exactly how bad it looked really but I guess its worth trying to find another one just to eliminate the possibility. The lead going into a plug on the outside of the dizzy looks a little frayed not really to such an extent that i'd usually be concerned but i'm starting to clutch at straws now!! I wanted to try and test the ignition module on the car with ignition on to see if there was something going in and out of it. its a new one from ECP specified for my car but i'm a little suspicious that it's not the right one again clutching at straws. Cheers for the advise so far people, i'll keep the thread updated with my findings Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Couttsy Posted February 21, 2007 Hi Mike, Please don't take this the wrong way but is the dizzy cap the right way round?? I had this problem once, tried everything then noticed the the cap was 180 degrees out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Walker 0 Posted February 27, 2007 Hi Mike, Please don't take this the wrong way but is the dizzy cap the right way round?? I had this problem once, tried everything then noticed the the cap was 180 degrees out. lol, wouldn't all the leads be pointing the wrong way then as well!!? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
