no check engine light, no spark, I'm stumped

[gstt500]

I've got a 88 camry wagon, 3sfe that sat for 6 months ran fine when parked but now will not run. No spark, check engine light does not come on when key is turned on. I have done some diagnostics and have ruled out problems with light circuit and bulb. Fuses all fine, all connectors seem fine no obvious breaks in wiring. I checked for voltage at ecu and get voltage at batt terminal but if I'm reading the 1990 camry wiring diagram correctly there appears to be no voltage at b+ terminal at ecu also no voltage at diagnostic connector. I've also tried another ecu with same results. Any idea's or help would be greatly appreciated. I'm about ready to give up and sell the car for parts.

[davemac2]

maybe the ignition switch, or a fuseable link? You'll have to trace it back. Do you have an alarm installed?

dave mc

[gstt500]

checked all fusible links, no alarm or remote start good thing,
switched out efi relay too. trying to trace wiring with 1990 wiring diagram hope its the same. Could ign. switch cause this kind of problem?

[jdmccright]

Need a little more info...does the engine turn over? Can you hear the starter engage? Do the lights dim alot when you try to start? Need to make sure power is getting to the ignition coil and igniter...check the AM2 fuse also. Hope this helps!

[gstt500]

Engine turns over alright. I've made a little progress, got a component pin diagram for the ECU thru Alldata for an 88 Camry and the 1990 wire locations are completely different. I verified there is no power getting to +B1 and +B terminals of the ECU which are main power supply for it, so I ran a jumper wire from the fuse panel to those terminals and engine light came on and have spark when I crank it now. Theres power at both ECU fuses in the left kick panel so it would appear the ignition switch is good and all the fuses in the engine compartment are good. It seems like at this point that the must be a bad wire or connector between the 7.5 amp ign. fuse and the EFI relay or between the relay and the ECU. So just have to do more wire traceing I think. I thought this would be a quick fix but sure has turned to be a time consumer. Have'nt seen a AM2 fuse anywhere where would I find that one?

[gstt500]

Found the bad wire in the harness above left wheel inside fender. I fixed that problem, have spark now but won't start. loosened banjo bolt at cold start injector have fuel, tried starting fluid just cranks away, won't fire at all, distributor is turning so timing belt is'nt broken. I give up.
1988 Camry wagon for sale for parts.

[Mike Gerber]

Did you get a nice blue spark or only an orange colored spark? If only orange colored spark, I'm thinking it might be a bad coil inside the distributor. Did you run the tests on the coil? They were a common trouble spot on the first 3 generations of Camrys as they rack up a lot of miles/years.

Mike

[gstt500]

I get a nice fat blue spark, the first thing I did was to replace the coil before I realized the ECU was'nt getting power. The only other possible reasons for the no start that I can think of are a jumped timing belt but the motor sounds pretty normal when I crank it or something I have'nt done any investigating on yet is another bad wire in the same part of the harness as the problem ECU wire that has something to do with the fuel injection system. But I would think the starting fluid would had at least made it fire. It looks like a body repair had been done in that area long ago and someone had probed a few of the wires with a tester and the bad wire had corroded completely away where it was poked. A good lesson to seal the wire with silicone if its exposed at all, especially here where we get a lot of salt on the roads in winter

[jdmccright]

I would look at the igniter next. Should be mounted on the inside fender next to the distributor. It may even say IGNITER on it...mine does. These do fail sometimes but not as regular as the coils. Good luck!

[gstt500]

Well, It's running now. turns out the new coil I bought was defective. I checked the resistance and it was just a little above specs, then I checked the old coil which I should have done before I bought a new one and it was within specs so I put that one back in and it fired right up. Another new lesson is not to assume a new part works which is a bit frustrating, I even sprung for the "better" coil because the cheaper one was out of stock. Anyways now I have another problem. the battery was'nt charging so first thing I did was check fuses and found the 7.5 amp charge fuse was blown, replaced it and now the charge light is on. checked voltage at battery engine not running 12.8 running 14.6 which would seem to indicate that the battery is charging now. I have'nt had a chance to drive it and see if the battery is discharging but I'm wondering if I have more corrosion/bad wire problems, maybe in the indicator light circuit. Would anyone know if the voltage test I did would rule out a bad alternator?

[Mike Gerber]

What you did was check voltage output, kind of a cursory check of the charging system. Those voltage numbers look fine, however, I would call around to auto parts stores in your area and ask if they do free charging system checks while the alternator is still on the car. Many auto parts stores offer this free service, so find one that does and drive the car over to them (now that it runs) and have it checked out. They will also be able to check amp output.

Just as a side note, I'm just curious as to what brand of coil was defective right out of the box and from which auto parts store was it purchased?

Mike

[gstt500]

Sorry, don't recall the brand, probably should have noted it but it was from O'Reilly auto parts. They did a refund no problem at least. It's funny but I was getting what looked like a decent spark at first but no start and then nothing thats when I tested the coil. As soon as this nasty blizzard we're having and the 50 mph winds off lake Superior let up I think I'll take your suggestion and get out and have the system tested somewhere.