Undergapped plugs a mystery

[spanky853]

I just bought a 1989 Cabriolet with a 1.8L CIS, 5sp manual. It's a mess. I am thinking of it as a foster child, who has been in a lot of bad homes, and been mistreated. Now I have it, and I want to make it right, but it's really resisting my efforts. Today's trial is: I changed the plugs. Simple enough. The ones that came out of it were NGK Platinums, gapped @ .025. That seemed a little small, so I checked, and sure enough they are supposed to be @ .032. I gapped the new ones at .032. Now the car won't start. It started rough before, with the old plugs @ .025, now it doesn't start at all. Sure, I could regap the new plugs, but what does this mean? If I have to shorten the gap to get it to run, what is the real problem being covered up here?

Cameron

[boschmann]

The .032 gap is for regular copper electrode plugs the car came with, you shouldn't change the gap of the platinum plugs.

[spanky853]

Originally Posted by boschmann

The .032 gap is for regular copper electrode plugs the car came with, you shouldn't change the gap of the platinum plugs.

I installed regular copper plugs. Actually, I never even looked at the old plugs before doing the tune up. it's just a habit - buy a used car, do a tune up right away.
Is it possible I have a weak coil that cannot generate the spark to jump a .032 gap?

[veedubmechanic]

I would replace the cap and rotor first than the ingition coil.

[spanky853]

Originally Posted by veedubmechanic

I would replace the cap and rotor first than the ingition coil.

I replaced them when I installed the new plugs. And yes, I triple checked the plug wires for correct position.

[boschmann]

Does it seem to be flooding (wet plugs) or no fuel (will start with spray of ether)?

[spanky853]

Originally Posted by boschmann

Does it seem to be flooding (wet plugs) or no fuel (will start with spray of ether)?

I haven't investigated either of those yet. This weekend will be the big teardown. I'll run the usual battery of tests - first for spark @ the plug. If no spark, I'll shorten the gap and check again. I hope to find a weak coil. Then I'll check fuel pressure, etc.
For what it's worth, I did remove and clean the venturi under the CIS unit, and the throttle valve (before the no start condition). I reassembled them easily, so I am not figuring on a problem there.
At the moment, the engine doesn't even sputter when I turn the key. It just rolls and rolls like there's no spark at all.

[spanky853]

Originally Posted by spanky853

I haven't investigated either of those yet. This weekend will be the big teardown. I'll run the usual battery of tests - first for spark @ the plug. If no spark, I'll shorten the gap and check again. I hope to find a weak coil. Then I'll check fuel pressure, etc.
For what it's worth, I did remove and clean the venturi under the CIS unit, and the throttle valve (before the no start condition). I reassembled them easily, so I am not figuring on a problem there.
At the moment, the engine doesn't even sputter when I turn the key. It just rolls and rolls like there's no spark at all.

The problem has been found. Somewhere during all my tugging and pulling on wire harnesses while I was doing the tune up, the main distributor connector came unplugged inside the cowl. It was just sitting there, looking connected, but not making contact. The wire retainer has long since been lost, I assume. In any case, I reconnected, and fired her right up. Chalk this one up to a fluke.
Thanks everybody for your suggestions.