'93 Camry--no spark, any ideas?

'93 Camry LE, 189k (new engine w/80K), 2200 4 cyl. engine. Car has been running fine--no problems. Here's the whole story, just in case I'm missing something:

I just had back surgery, so had a friend helping me with car. I just bought the car used 2 months ago, then injured back. Now driving again, so wanted to check fluids. Tranny fluid seemed way high on stick, so we drained some out. Fluid looked like used motor oil! Doesn't smell burned, but definitely brown! Called local tranny shop, they said dark brown tranny fluid normal on Camrys. Decided to drain fluid and replace with new--did that, used car ramps to elevate car.

A/C working, but not blowing very cold, decided to recharge system. I started car (still on ramps) and turned on A/C with fan on high (as per directions) while my friend got refrigerant and gauges. Just as we were getting ready to add refrigerant, car stalls (had been idling with A/C on and fan on high for about 3-4 minutes). Try to restart, engine cranks fine but will not fire. 1/3 tank of gas. Pulled spark plug wire, no spark. Checked ignition fuses under dash, they seem fine. Checked fuses in engine compartment, all of the ones with a "window" to tell if they are blown or not look just fine.

Any suggestions?? Could the A/C load have blown an ignition fuse? What fuses/relays, etc control spark? I've not yet taken off distributer cap to see if rotor turns, but if the timing belt had broken, wouldn't the engine be very noisy while cranking? ICU seems like a likely suspect, are there ways to test this? What about coil? I don't want to sound too pathetic, but with medical bills and time off work due to back injury I really can't afford to have the car towed to a dealer and pay their prices--so if anyone has experienced this and/or has any suggestions, I sure would appreciate it!!!!!!!

Thanks,

NP

I read the thread you suggested, but my distributor does not have a coil wire--I believe the coil is internal to the distributor?

Someone else in that thread mentioned the 30amp main engine fuse located n the engine compartment. I've tried to remove it, but can't seem to get it out--is there a trick to getting those out? If I can get it out, how do you test them? I'm leaning towards the fuse option because the car just died while idling with A/C on and fan on high--seems more like a fuse issue than a coil/distributor issue?? I don't know.

I'll check to see that I'm getting power to the coil and ignitor, and then post back.

Thanks again!!

NP

They pull out. The round relays twist and pull.

but if the timing belt had broken, wouldn't the engine be very noisy while cranking?
No. Being non interferrance if anything, it would be quieter.

ICU seems like a likely suspect
What is an ICU? You mean the EFI computer right? If you bridge E1 and TE1 in either Diagnostics port it'll flash the CEL and O/D lights.



Unlike other cars, the failure rate on these Denso ignition parts is very, very low. Being expencive... They get placed on the lowest of my troubleshooting list.







I think you're on the right track for taking the distributor cap off. If anything, you more than likely need to replace the cap and rotor anyways. Take emory, or a fine sandpaper and gently knock the oxidation & corrosion off the cap pick-up's and the rotor. Even if it looks good. You're not filing it down... Just enough to scrach it new looking. You can also leave the cap off and hit the starter to see if it spins.

I took off the distributor cap. Rotor turns when cranking, so timing belt is good. Checked for power at the + and - leads for the coil on the distributor--nothing. Well, actually it would bump up to .8 volts or so--shouldn't there be 12 volts there?

I have checked on price/availability for the 30Amp relay. Even the dealer needed to order one, and they're $50. I checked my '91 Corolla--it has the same relay, so I swapped them. I put the Camry relay in the Corolla and it started and ran just fine, so it would appear the relay is good.

What's next? I'm not sure if the Corolla has an ignitor or not--I'll check the Corolla forum. If it does, I guess I could swap them and see what happens. If anybody has any other ideas, that would be great!

Thanks,

NP

Try to buy an ignitor for the Corolla - then you'll see if they exist. Just don't give them your credit card number :)

Followed Brian and Toyrme's posts on no start diagnosis.

Here's what I've done/checked:

1. Replaced dist. cap and rotor
2. bridged E1 and TE1, I do get the flashing check engine light, so ECM seems to be ok.
3. Checked 7.5amp and 15amp ignition fuses, they didn't look blown, but I removed them and reinstalled them in my '91 Corolla which then started just fine, so I think the fuses/relays are ok.

Bottom line: still no spark!

I guess now I need to test dist, coil(s) and ignitor--how do I do that???

Thanks for all your help!!!


NP

forgot to mention that as per Brian's post, I checked for voltage at the coil with the ignition key on (but not cranking). I put tester on postive and negative lead to coil, and get no voltage--what does this mean?? In Brian's post, he said check for voltage at the "+" lead for coil, but I'm assuming I need to check both the "+" and "-" at the same time, right???

Thanks again,


NP

Either hook to both clips of the terminal, or ground the negative of the tester and check the terminals one at a time.

Measure the resistance between the positive & negative terminals _ 0.3-0.55ohm
Secondary resistance, postive terminal, and the high tension terminal _ 9.0-15.4K-ohms

To check the various pick-ups in the Distributor. (G- is ground)
Ne to G- _ 155-250ohms
G1 to G- _ 125-200ohms
G2 to G- _ 125-200ohms

Thanks to everyone who offered their help! It turned out to be the coil--bot a new one for $40 and now the Camry's doing just fine. One other thing I wanted to mention, in searching the threads here for help, I noticed many people had said that if the distibutor on later model Camry's/Corollas went bad, that you HAD to buy a new one from the dealer as there were no aftermarket one's available. Well, I checked with my local import parts shop, and they have them completely rebuilt (including new cap & rotor) for $265, as opposed to $500 or so for a new one from the dealer.

Thanks again for all the help!!!

NP

forgot to mention that as per Brian's post, I checked for voltage at the coil with the ignition key on (but not cranking). I put tester on postive and negative lead to coil, and get no voltage--what does this mean?? In Brian's post, he said check for voltage at the "+" lead for coil, but I'm assuming I need to check both the "+" and "-" at the same time, right???

Thanks again,


NP
Actually, I meant check the voltage at the + terminal vs chassis ground. That would tell you if the problem was in the circuit before the coil or in/after the coil. Without current flowing, the voltage difference between the + and - coil terminals will always be 0.