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No spark, not sure why.
Topic Started: Feb 12 2012, 01:20 PM (680 Views)
Rasuel
New Member
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I was driving down the highway last night, and my car just died in the middle of a 4-5 shift. As in running fine in fourth, clutch, out of gear, dead, lots of lights on the dash. I stuck it in fifth, let the clutch out to "push" start it, and while the engine spun, it didn't run under it's own power. I put it neutral and coasted off an exit and down to a parking lot. I tried to start it with the key, engine spins fine but won't fire. I pulled a plug and checked for spark, nothing. I took the main wire from the coil off the distributor and stuck that on the plug, no spark. I had to leave it as I was on my way to an appointment at the hospital. What I'm wondering is before I trek back across town in -20C temperatures, what are your suggestions, parts to bring, things to check. I've already called around, a new coil isn't going to be available for at least a couple days from anywhere. How would I check if it's the coil, or something preceding it?

Any info info is much appreciated. Thanks.
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poorman1


Timing belt
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Rasuel
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I'll take the timing belt under advisement, thanks. Is there any quick check for that? This is essentially a "side of the road" operation.
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Old Man


Rasuel
Feb 12 2012, 03:54 PM
I'll take the timing belt under advisement, thanks. Is there any quick check for that? This is essentially a "side of the road" operation.
open hood-remove oil cap-have someone hit the starter while you observe the cam through the oil cap hole. If the cam moves the timing belt is still working. If the cam is not moving then the timing belt is broken.
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Freaky_1
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uhuh
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Old Man
Feb 12 2012, 03:57 PM
Rasuel
Feb 12 2012, 03:54 PM
I'll take the timing belt under advisement, thanks. Is there any quick check for that? This is essentially a "side of the road" operation.
open hood-remove oil cap-have someone hit the starter while you observe the cam through the oil cap hole. If the cam moves the timing belt is still working. If the cam is not moving then the timing belt is broken.
:thumb

Excellent post!
On engines where the cam or rockers might not be visible, the same test with the distributor cap removed to see if the rotor turns.

In short, it's just too easy to check, so don't throw parts at it till ya do. :)

Frank
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Rasuel
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Thanks guys... Seems like parts are 1-2 days away, any time I need them, but I'll head out tomorrow after work before I order anything. There's a pretty good chance I'll be solo. Guess I'll take a look, give her a twist and see if things are lined up the same after.
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Bad Bent
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Facetious Educated Donkey

If you are alone then you might try using a wrench with a 17mm socket on the crank bolt. Position it so you can pull on the wrench - rotating the crankshaft clockwise - and look in the valve cover to see if the camshaft is turning. It's not a long stretch IMHO. Same would be true if you took the distributor off, note the rotor position, turned the crankshaft and checked to see if the rotor had moved.

"...before I trek back across town in -20C temperatures, what are your suggestions,..." - move south. :cold Our lows are no longer below -10C :lol
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Freaky_1
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uhuh
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With the hood up, you "should" be able to see the rotor with the distributor cap removed.

First try looking from the driver's seat with the hood up and see if you can see your distributor cap. If so, remove cap and spin it over to see if rotor is turning.
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Rasuel
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So, turns out it was the timing belt, which was destroyed by a bad water pump, got all that sorted out now. Thanks for the info.
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Freaky_1
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uhuh
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Congrats on the fix.
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