No Spark.

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perko

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Hello all. I was wondering if I could get some people's insight and advice. I recently bought a 73 318 duster. It had starting problems, and I thought i tracked it to the pickup coil. I replaced the distributor and got it starting and running again so i thought i had that licked. Anyway, its got other major problems and when i tried to get it in the garage to take the intake/valve covers off to get a look at the lifters/cam (I think i wiped a cam lobe.. there's a post about it) I couldn't get it started. There was moisture in the cap and what looked like coolant, most likely from the heater core leak that I had to bypass. I cleaned it out but there's still no spark. could coolant have done some damage in there? The ignition system has been pretty much completely replaced. Where do you think i should look next? I'm worried that I jostled some wires replacing the distributor and that's why it started working again, not because of the new distributor. I'm seriously considering cutting my losses and getting rid of the thing.
 
I assume this stock Mopar stuff?

Start by hooking a temporary clip lead from the coil + to a battery source, like the big stud on the start relay. Don' leave this connected any longer than needed to test. See if it runs or check for spark.

"Wiggle" all connectors, work them in and out, especially the distributor connector, inspect visually, and "feel" for tightness.

Check for spark with a grounded probe right at the coil, so you can eliminate a bad coil wire

Disconnect tach if you have one

Make sure ECU is GROUNDED. Scrape firewall/ ECU clean, mount tight with star lock washers

Post back this is "not all" LOL
 
coil is brand new, wires are new, ECU is fine and grounded. I did just notice that the wiring harness is saturated with coolant. Also the wires are wrapped in electrical tape and then in this plastic conduit **** from whoever had it before. I wonder how conductive coolant is? maybe that's my problem?
 
"New" does not mean "diddly squat."

Always assume it could be "anything."

I have no idea what you mean " ECU is fine"

the coolant could be affecting the distributor pickup circuit which is a very low power "self powered" part of the thing.
 
so i cut away the tape on the wiring harness and the thing is drenched from the distributor to the resistor. Do you think If i let it dry that could solve the problem? This all started after the heater core started leaking profusely.
 
Pay attention to 67Dart. Do exactly what he says. Dont try to get ahead of him. You will just cause frustration.

Coolant "on" wires wont penetrate nor damage them in the short term. However "in" a connection,different story.But it usually takes time for the damage to occur.
 
I'm just stressed because I just dealt with this problem a few weeks ago. It turned out to be the pickup coil, and when i put in a new distributor it ran like normal. the distributor and coil literally have ten miles on them. do you think I would need to clean out the distributor if there's coolant left in there any more than if it was normal water?

I'll go get a lead clip from the store. the starter relay is on the fender if i'm not mistaken?
I can't use a normal 12v light probe to check the coil can i? seems like it would be too much.
back soon.
 
Test lights are only good to check for power...

Multi meters are good to tell you how much power you have and can see if it's high or low or non-existant...

The right tool for the right job...

Listen to Del (67dart273), he knows what he's doing....
 
Yes, Clean out the distributor! Clean it real good & blow it dry carefully with compressed air. Both inside the distributor & cap & outside the cap in each secondary terminal(plug wires)
Check for Voltage at the coil +, get a test light(illuminated ice pick) or a volt meter(better), have someone crank the engine over normally & check the negative side for a trigger or blinking test light- voltage change down/up on the voltmeter. That'll tell you if the pickup & ECU(ign. module) are working. If good there bad coil- assuming you have checked for spark at the coil as suggested earlier. If no good on the tests above go over ALL the connections in the primary side of the ignition & check voltage in & out of the Ballast Resistor.
Report back to us with your results.
 
Alright,
Sent the jumper from the ignition coil stud to the positive side of the coil and no spark.
Connections seem to be legit.
12v test light shows power at both the positive and negative terminals of the ignition coil? Am i tripin or is that not right?
when i said the ECU is fine, i meant it appears to be grounded and is clean. some of the plugs to it also illuminate 12v, but looking at my wiring harness I can't tell exactly which is which.

how do I "check for spark with a grounded probe right at the coil" I have a 12v test light will that do the trick or will it die?
 
Also I am solo right now, which makes some of these tests tricky. I can ask the neighbors to "crank this while i look at this light" a few times but sooner or later I can tell they just want to go get a drink.
 
perko said:
Alright,
Sent the jumper from the ignition coil stud to the positive side of the coil and no spark.
Connections seem to be legit.
12v test light shows power at both the positive and negative terminals of the ignition coil? Am i tripin or is that not right?
when i said the ECU is fine, i meant it appears to be grounded and is clean. some of the plugs to it also illuminate 12v, but looking at my wiring harness I can't tell exactly which is which.

how do I "check for spark with a grounded probe right at the coil" I have a 12v test light will that do the trick or will it die?
Click to expand...

Go to the local parts store or sears & get yourself an "in-line spark tester" if you are unsure about the 12v test light. They don't cost too much.
 
I've got an inline spark tester, but it just has a spark-plug boot on one side and a spark-plug like male piece on the other.

http://www.jpcycles.com/product/605...mpaign+(Low)&gclid=CJSO65jAvcUCFUqTfgodIUYAdg

I'm not sure if I can use that to test the coil for spark? It seems like you should be able to, but I can't convince myself that it is making a real connection since it seems specifically designed to go between spark plug wires and the plug. I'll go see if they have a more appropriate one i guess.
 
You have to be inventive when alone. Read this carefully. Not sure you hooked your jumper up right

perko said:
Alright,
Sent the jumper from the ignition coil stud to the positive side of the coil and no spark.
Click to expand...

^^If you typed what you meant, you did this wrong. Look in the engine bay, locations change. You want to find the STARTER relay which looks like this:

starterrelay.jpg


The "big stud" on the relay is battery. Hook that with a clip lead from the big stud to the coil POSITIVE. What this does is to bypass all the factory 12V harness

perko said:
12v test light shows power at both the positive and negative terminals of the ignition coil? Am i tripin or is that not right?
Click to expand...

^^It should NOT show 12V on both coil terminals. With your clip lead hooked up to coil+ or the key turned to "run" you should have "some light" at coil POS. Coil NEG should be DIM or no light at all

DISMOUNT THE ECU AND SCRAPE it clean and remount it!!!! WIGGLE the ECU connector!!! There is a screw in the middle of the connector, turn that out. WHY!! are you doing this?? Because on a Mopar ECU, when everything is hooked up "normal" and working, the COIL should be drawing current "to ground" through the ECU. IF the NEG coil terminal shows much voltage at all, it is not doing so. Either the box is not grounded, or it is BAD


perko said:
how do I "check for spark with a grounded probe right at the coil" I have a 12v test light will that do the trick or will it die?
Click to expand...

You need to create a gap, either with something like a spark plug or your inline tester standby........

Using the inline tester "to ground" is easy. Just unhook the coil tower wire, and stuff the tester into the coil. Take the wire end of the coil and ground it. Something like your air filter stud should work well. You should be able to see it through the hood gap as you twist the key, or if using your clip lead on the coil (12V hotwire) you can also crank the engine by jumpering the starter relay

To do that, just use pliers or screwdriver and jumper across the two largest bare terminals..........the "big stud" and the "square" termainl
 
If you have a TACH disconnect it until you get this running. ALL you should have hooked to the coil is ONE WIRE to each coil terminal.
 
perko said:
I hooked the jumper thing up correctly. I'll check the ecu, but i know the expanding screw thing is broken.
Click to expand...

OK. You have to be careful what you type and what you say. We can't "imagine" you did this right as "we aren't there."

Distributor......Don't know. I'd be tempted to get something you can squirt it out with and then hose it down with some sort of WD-40 type product

Frankly, this never came up with me, as I'd yank that thing right out. Here's the thing.........the distributor has a screwdriver like drive. If you carefully mark where the rotor points and where the housing (vacuum advance) points, you can stuff it right back in again. You probably should check the timing, anyhow when you get it running.
 
(1) pull yellow wire off of starter relay to disable the starter (2) have helper hold ign key to "crank" (3) while you are holding the coil secondary wire (dist end) 1/4" from a ground (4) already seperate the zigzag connector at the dist pickup (5) drag the male terminal of the body half of the connector across the metal intake manifold to make/break contact (6) see if this makes the coil wire generate sparks. If so all is good (at least in the ign2 "crank" circuit) & the prob is in the dist (pickup continuity/gap/coolant as mentioned). We gotta pin this down a bit. If it does NOT spark then remove all wires from coil neg primary terminal and with a jumper with alligator clips on each end make/break contact to ground from that neg coil male terminal & see if coil wire sparks (with (1) (2) (3) still implemented
 
well battery is dead, took it to get charged. Also, no tach. If i had one it would be broke anyway. Thanks for the help everyone. This situation has been really bumming me out, I appreciate it. also i just realized this is in the wrong forum thanks for not ridiculing me :)

as for the distributor. I don't have a problem taking it out. I was mostly just curious if anyone knew if coolant specifically would cause problems in a distributor. eg. when it evaporates does it leave conductive stuff behind that could give me issues? I oiled it up, but i guess I should pull it out and really clean it. what do you think? electronics cleaner?
 
Your fine bro & sometimes a person needs to walk away from a monster for a bit. This IS the right place for your issue. Brake kleen would likely be cheaper than the electronic store spray (either is fine)
 
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