No Spark

[Nate Killam]

So here is what happened.This morning i was driving to work and i stopped at a light.I went to go and my car stalls.So im like shit,go to start it and it wont start.

Double shit.

I get it towed home,and i check to see if there is spark.No go.I know it isn't the wires or plugs,cause they're new,and cause i know that unless the big man upstairs has it out for me there's no way that ALL the plugs and wires shit out at exactly the same time.

I did a quick search on vfaq and couldn't really come up with anything,so i figure before i go and just buy a new coil pack or something that maybe i would ask you guys if you have anything else i could check first.

I thought it was weird because it has no spark just out of the blue,so somebody please shed some light on my situation.Anybody.Thanks guys.

[Robin Toor]

Might be the CAS (Cam Angle Sensor).

[Andrew Steele]

could be resistor pack, could be ecu, could be CAS (this is where I'd look first), could be your battery, could be your alternator, could be your boost fluid

[Rob Armstrong]

Try your ignitor plug mine comes loose all the time, it's the plug right above your fuel rail about 3in X 1/2in

[Nate Killam]

I just checked the plug and it's on there good.When i logged my car it said the alternator was still good(a couple weeks ago),i had the caps reaplaced not long ago,how do i check the resistor pack and the CAS?

[John Hartman]

Rob, on a 1g its not in the same place. Its below the drivers side end of the fuel rail, back a bit and down, kinda in there tight.

I'd check ECU, ignitor and CAS.

If you can find another 91 the same as yours (turbo and same tranny) that is close by and the owner is a helpful dude, you can swap those 3 one at a time and find out.

If it turns out to be an ignitor, you CAN get them at jobber parts stores.  It took me a long time with a very nice parts guy to find one but we did and once we got it, we could cross reference one from 3 different sources. it was less than a $hun, so DON'T buy one from the dealer.

Mine did this, randomly and intermittantly at first, then just flat out dead.  CAS was good, but I opened it and cleaned it up and resealed it anyways.

Ignitor tested good.

turned out to be the ECU.

Got a chipped Eprom  

[Nate Killam]

Hey john anyway you can tell me how to test the CAS?Or point me in the right direction to test it?Im sorta screwed cause i need this fixed pronto cause it's my daily driver and im sorta screwed without it.The caps in the ecu were just replaced so would that make it fine?Oh yeah how do i check the ignitor plug then?Thanks

[John Hartman]

with out a manual its hard to test. Also you need a multimeter.  The ingitor test is actually really wierd with a AA battery and a multimeter.

Simple CAS test, take your CAS out(and remember which way the little slotted part goes, it can go 180deg out and still fit.)  when its out, leave it plugged in, turn the ignition key to run and then go turn it.  If you hear the injectors firing, periodically, its working.

ECU can still be bad if it had its caps done, as the damage might have already been done.  Mine had new caps too.

[Nate Killam]

When you say take the CAS out,do you mean take the 2 bolts out and pul itright off?Or do you take the top piece off?

I have a multimeter,do you know a link to how to test the igniter or which manual i would need?

For anybody reading this do you happen to have an ECU i can test on my car that works?When i had the caps done(by artem) there wasn't much damage to the board,and anything that was there was cleaned up.Even if it's cleaned can it still be damaged?Have you ever heard of a car just dying after running just fine(with these symptoms)?I mean,there was nothing leading up to this.It just died all of a sudden.

[Matt Park]

he means taking thed whole unit off, as in undoing the 2 bolts and unplugging the harness. Like John said, your best bet is to find someone with a similar year and exchange parts. Theres gotta be someone with a 91 willing to help out...

[Nate Killam]

yeah,that would probably be the best thing.Only problem is my car is not mobile.Anybody out there think they can help me out?

But does anybody have a link on how to test the ignitor?Also,how do i test my coil?If anybody has anything please let me know.Thanks.

[John Hartman]

yes take it out, but leave it plugged in    not gonna send a signal with it unplugged.

the shop manual is what you need.  If I still had a scanner, I'd scan that page for ya, but my scanner got crankwalk and had the timing belt break.  all at 7200rpm.

[Nate Killam]

Yeah i have a haynes and i have been checking the CAS and coil with it,but i dont know what code its throwing,my logger has taken a dive into the deep end,so i need to borrow one from somebody.I checked the coil and the checks i've done so far have come up fine,but there's one more im gonna do.So you dont have the info anymore on how to check the ignitor?

[Nate Killam]

Okay so i changed the CAS.No start.I changed the coil.No start.I changed the ECU.No start.What else can i change over or check?Where can i find out how to do these checks?Im getting pretty desperate here so anything will help.Also,does anybody have a logger i could borrow?Thanks for the help.

[John Hartman]

almost has to be the transistor/ignitor.  Of course it could be a connection, or damaged wire inbetween any of these units.  Or a bad ground.

But I'd test out the transistor/ignitor box.

Its a little flat electronic "box" below the coil pack, near the timing cover.  Large plugin like a 2g maf plug.