Forgot to say that with a test light the coil is lighting up but nothing to the distributor. And yes the car does crank over like its suppose to and getting gas.
OK. You need to figure if it's
compression
ignition
or fuel
Regardless, the above three is what all gasoline engines come down to.
COMPRESSION. Don't discount. The cam drive (chain) can slip unexpectedly if worn, causing a massive shift in timing. Does it sound like it's cranking "normally?"
IGNITION: Big question, is "do you?" have spark? To test, you need some tools, or two people
You need to understand that you set up DIFFERENT conditions if you A.......crank by twisting the key, or B........crank by bypassing the starter relay.
If you are by yourself, either "rig" a spark gap you can see, from the coil tower to ground, and reach in and twist the key, or
Take a jumper lead, hook to the coil POS terminal and jumper the start relay. use a grounded wire, etc, to hold near the coil tower to look for a spark.
If no............
Get to work
Remove ECU. Scrape around mounting and remount tight, prefer with star lock washers
Wiggle / work all connectors, at the ECU, at the ballast, and the distributor pickup in / out. Inspect them for corrosion, and "feel" for tightness.
Turn the key to "run." Remove the distributor connector. Take the harness end of that connector and tap the bare end to ground. One "snap" spark should be produced each time.
If not, make some voltage checks. Measure coil+ voltage and coil NEG voltage with key "on." Post them here. Coil + should be much less than battery, perhaps 5-8V. Coil NEG should be quite low, perhaps 2V. If coil NEG is high, close to battery the ECU is not conducting, and is either bad or NOT GROUNDED or not powered
Test the ballast. Remove all connectors, and check continuity "the long ways" there should be two readings, one above 1 ohm, perhaps 1 1/2 ohm, the other BELOW an ohm. "Wiggle" the resistor terminals.
Inspect the insides of the distributor. Look for damage / wear in the cap / rotor, and for rust, debri, and damage to the reluctor and pickup.
Hook your multimeter to the two distributor terminals in the connector. Crank the engine, with your meter set on low AC volts. The distributor should generate about 1Volt AC. That's AC, and not DC.
Check resistance across the distributor connector, you should get somewhere between 150-400 ohms. Check continuity from either terminal to distributor ground. Should be infinity.
