1991 Lumina APV only starts with ether

[Dan Kosek]

Okay , tonight I went out there just to see if anything has changed. I plugged another spark plug on the middle front wire and held it up to the exh. manifold and the car started right up on 5 cylinders. The spark did have a lot of orange color to it. Then I put the plug wire back on and it wouldnt start , no spark at all. Could this be a ground problem? I did plug on a spare ign. coil I had laying around but still no spark. Does that square frame around the ign. coil have to be grounded because I just layed it next to the old coil? Also could that Ign. pickup coil be tested?

[Dan Kosek]

Well , I put in a new pickup coil and it still wont start . I have good spark coming out of the coil wire into the center of the dist. cap. I also have good spark at the spark plugs and its pumping fuel. I'm about ready to tow this thing to the charity yard

[LMP]

Obviously, if it starts on five, then it should start on 6. Something happens out of control between one try and the next....
I would certainly test on contact C9 of the ECM
www.avigex.ca/xport/ignition31.jpg
www.avigex.ca/xport/chargingsystem.jpg
www.avigex.ca/xport/fusiblelinkh.jpg
or on the ECM side of fusible link B
(If necessary, I use a needle to connect to the wire through the insulation..then cover the tiny hole with silicon afterwards to prevent corrosion)
This contact comes from the starter solenoid. SHould read 12V when starting. That is not a big hint, but at least this is a thing that can be checked .

[Dan Kosek]

I can finally close the books on this one. after I changed the pickup coil I must have put the distributer in 180 degrees out. It's running fine again. Thanks for all the help.