Dead camary

I have a 94 camery 4 cyl, I fired up the car with no problems to turn it around and back in the driveway, then shut it off, loaded the trunk, then it would not start again, it cranks over but wont start or even try to fire.

I emmediatly checked for spark, had spark but thought it was weak, the plugs were wet and smelled like the motor was flooded, checked compression...185lbs. Gave up and loaded my truck and left for christmas with the folks.

The next day I pulled and checked all the fuses, they all checked ok, but now I realise I probably erased any diagnostic codes I may have had....decided to elieminate any fuel problem and verifyed the fuel pump was working. Pulled all the plugs again, plugs were wet, and checked for spark, no spark at all this time.... great!

Pulled the distributor cap, checked resistance in the coil primary and secondary, both were within spec. Checked resistance in Signal Generator G, G- & Ne+, Ne- were both within spec per manual.

Rotor is turning, and as stated 185 lbs commpression. also checked cap for cracks, moisture, and there is continuity for the caps internal coil wire, plug wires were within spec as well. I also took a coil wire and grounded it to the strut tower and held it up to the coil secondary lead and turned the motor over, no spark at all.

Next I tryed to pull some trouble codes, checked battery voltage first, its 12+, placed a jumper from TE1 to E1 and shifted to nuteral, then turned key to ON, no engine check light, no flashes of any sort, no codes and no contionious 1/2 second flashes to indicate no codes.

HELP! Whats my next step? I'll be checking static timing tommrow as well as verifying the air gap for the roter/signal generator.

The Mechanic I talked to at the dealer said he felt my timing belt may have jumped a tooth or two and that if so the secondary spark would stop, My thinking is that if I have 185lbs compression wouldn't that rule out a timing belt?

Any more advice before I give in and take it to a shop???
Mike.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=217128

Could you verify that if the timing belt had slipped or jumped a tooth as the dealer wrench stated the system could stop sparking? would this affect commpression as I beleve it would?? I'm still trying to decide if i should check its alignment ....after I check the crank sensor.

Also your link stated to check the IGT signall from the ECM, could you explane how? my manual did not state a procedure.
Thanks.

My 95 died like that a few weeks ago. I had spark (weak though) and after a week of trying to find out what happened we finally found it to be the Distibutor. Did you have oil inside of the dist.? These are known to leak internally after a while. A reman. one was $150.00. I wish I could remember what the mechanic did to test the thing out...........

My 95 died like that a few weeks ago. I had spark (weak though) and after a week of trying to find out what happened we finally found it to be the Distibutor. Did you have oil inside of the dist.? These are known to leak internally after a while. A reman. one was $150.00. I wish I could remember what the mechanic did to test the thing out...........
Thanks for the reply! I didn't notice any oil inside on the bottom of the coil with my fingers, but didn't pull the coil to check behind it, I'll look a little closer and mabey run some Qtips around the inside too, there is oil all over the outside but its black like engine oil.

A new oem coil is $100, the signal generator module is around $225, where did you buy the remanufactured distributor at? did it include both the signal generator and coil??

Could you verify that if the timing belt had slipped or jumped a tooth as the dealer wrench stated the system could stop sparking? would this affect commpression as I beleve it would?? I'm still trying to decide if i should check its alignment ....after I check the crank sensor.

Also your link stated to check the IGT signall from the ECM, could you explane how? my manual did not state a procedure.
Thanks.

If the timing belt slipped, the compression will be low because of the bad valve timing. You may still get spark.

You test for IGT using an oscilloscope and testing for a square wave pattern from 0 to 4 volts with frequency of 1/40 msec at idle, using terminals IGT and E1 of ECM. Failing this means testing the ECM and possibly replacing it.

Also, disconnect the igniter connector at the igniter, then, behind the glove box on the ECM, measure the voltage between terminal IGT of the ECM connector (without disconnecting the connector) and body ground when the engine is cranked. The voltage should be between 0.1V and 4.5 V. If this is bad, replace igniter.

If the timing belt slipped, the compression will be low because of the bad valve timing. You may still get spark.

You test for IGT using an oscilloscope and testing for a square wave pattern from 0 to 4 volts with frequency of 1/40 msec at idle, using terminals IGT and E1 of ECM. Failing this means testing the ECM and possibly replacing it.

Also, disconnect the igniter connector at the igniter, then, behind the glove box on the ECM, measure the voltage between terminal IGT of the ECM connector (without disconnecting the connector) and body ground when the engine is cranked. The voltage should be between 0.1V and 4.5 V. If this is bad, replace igniter.

Thank you! this thread has been saved to the computer!