HELP! 90 Camry Died on Interstate

[CeltGuardianwind]

Afternoon. I need to get this car off the interstate quickly. My girlfriend's Camry died under normal conditions at 65 mph, without any sputter or excess heat to speak of. She said the oil light and check engine light came on when it just "died". Upon visiting the vehicle I found the check engine light to be on when I tried turning it over. She has plenty of juice in the battery, but the starter whines and sounds as if it's not turning over at all.

I'm not familiar with Camrys at all, but I have done plenty of work on an 84 Honda Prelude. I need to find a solution fairly soon. If anyone has a resource (other than a chilton which I might go and pick up today) with a troubleshooting guide, or advice on what it might be (and how to diagnose) I'd be greatly appreciative.

My questions to the gurus:

I have read that timing belts need to be replaced at regular intervals. Would this problem occur if the timing belt jumped? Where is it located?

If the starter solenoid went would it cause the car to die on the road?

How many ignition coils do 90 4 cyl (non le) camrys have? Where are they located?

Thanks

[gelcol]

check the ff.1.idle speed incorrect.2.fuel filter clog or water and inpurities in the fuel systems,3. distributor component damp or damage.4. faulty emission sys. 5.faulty or incorrrect spark plugs ,or wires.7 vacuum leak in fuel injections intake manifold or vac.hoses 8 valve clearances. those are the few things to check. and finally it sounds like "starter" remove and replace. the timming belt change every 60k.miles.

[ycl1688]

sounds like timing belt, change every 60k miles,
should be above oil filter, in a casing.

ther are 4 ignition coils. you can see them on
top of engine block going to the driver side.
Should be easy to change.

[Brian R.]

Your timing belt broke. It is behind your fan belts under a cover. Bring it to a mechanic you trust. It will not start, it is dead until you replace the timing belt. Get it towed.

Timing belt did not jump, it broke.

Started solenoid would not cause your car to die.

[rob3]

timing belt. Just happened to me a while back. I got lucky, coasted right off highway into a garage. 141,000 miles before it broke.

[300+]

Easy to check also, pull back the upper cover to see the belt.
But if it spins like you say it is the belt.
Replace water pump at the same time.
I've never had a belt fail alone.
Either an idler seized or pump failed for me.
So if you have another $80 bucks after the water pump replace the 2 idler pulleys.
As to doing it yourself, I just did mine, but it takes patience. I removed the crankshaft bolt with an impact wrench other than that no special tools though. Even that is not necessary if you pry against a bolt screwed into pulley. Just much easier.

[typesix]

Igniter coil may have gone, it's supposed to be common for Japanese cars. It's located in distributor, which has to be removed to access the coil. Others have stated timing belt which could also be true, you did not state mileage of the car. Leadfoot drivers especially need to have timing belts changed.

[300+]

The description of whining and engine not turning is because there is no compression or vacuum.
On 86-91 igniter and coil are combined in distributor. Older they are in there separate, 92 5sfe and newer the coil is inside and igniter is outside. Coil can be removed with distributor in it is just a little more difficult, but no chance of screwing up distributor or timing. My igniter, 92, has never failed in 300k+, the coil has gone 2xs. Second about a week ago.
All this for those with years other than a 1990 who may be reading.