1992 Dodge Caravan No spark solved!

[hflyboy]

I posted earlier regarding a 1992 Dodge Caravan 2.5 Liter that surged a couple of times and quit. Afterwards, it cranked normally but wouldn't start. No fuel was evident in the throttle body, and no spark at the plugs. My scan tool showed an intermittent rpm signal, which led me down the wrong diagnostic path. I replaced the Hall effect sensor in the distributor; no help. I determined that the SBEC wasn't grounding the auto shutdown relay but I didn't know why. After getting a complete wiring diagram for the vehicle, I painstakingly started at the battery ground terminal and checked every connection, splice and component, found a big ground terminal at the engine block loose. I traced the wiring through all the relays, splices, etc. all the way to the ignition switch to verify battery voltage and grounds where appropriate. Still no spark, but afterwards the rpm signal was consistent. I discovered that the coil only had battery voltage on the primary side when the engine was actually turning over. Having determined that the ASD relay was powering the fuel pump and the primary side of the ignition when the engine was cranking, the only thing left was the wiring in the secondary side of the ignition and voila! As soon as I pulled gently on the secondary coil lead at the center of the distributor cap the wire fell to pieces; burned, corroded, useless as a conductor. Replaced the coil wire and the thing started right up. I should have started my diagnostics there; it would have saved me 2 hours of my life that I can't spare (!). I hope this helps someone else with a similar problem.....