92 3.1 Lumina NO SPARK problem

[Lt.carguy]

Hi y-all
I recentley had a no spark prob on a 3.1 lumina 1992
after reading a thread by luminatic
wich was ansewred by richtazz and tblake I began my quest.
I removed the crank sensoor and noticed it had been replaced,
so I decided to check the twisted yellow and purple wire harness that
conects the sensor to the ICM, it had 2 bare areas on it after fixing the wire
and reassembling the removed parts I found the problem was solved.
Thank you guys, your ansewrs really helped.
I also found that if your hands are large (like mine) you can
easily access the crank sensor by removing the belt from the alt
and taking the rear suport bolt and the 3 fasteners from the alt plate
off and removing the alt.
One more thing,
the wire is twisted for a reason(it prevents the signal from canceling out)
so be sure the wire is twisted back to it's original way befor reinstalling.
once again THANKS!

[tblake]

yeah, exactly, abs sensors are also twisted. glad we could be of help.

[richtazz]

It was our pleasure to help you out. Glad it was a relaitively simple and inexpensive fix. THanks for the feedback too, we like happy endings.

[luminati]

Hey Lt.!
Where abouts did you find those bare spots in the wires? Closer to the ICM or the CPS? Any details would be a great help. You really got my hopes up because all along this problem has acted like a short. I'm gonna check it out the minute I get hope tonight.
Thank you!

[Lt.carguy]

They were where the wire was against the oil pan.
But!, bad news, I parked the car in the drive at the front of the house and the next morning, BLAM!!, no spark again, I'm currently looking in the junk yard for a replacement wire loom for the CPS to ICM. I tried to locate the
part though a dealer, I'll give the ol'boy credit, he spent about an hour trying
to find one with no luck, all parts still check out.
I'll keep ya posted, OH!, do not try to make this harrness, if you seperate the ends from the loom and reconect them to similar wire then you create
resistance in the loom and the signal is lost.
Talk to ya soon.

[luminati]

Well thank you anyway but I took that wire off of mine and could find no problems. The cover was worn/melted thru in one spot but the wires weren't. It checked out fine on the continuity tester. Put everything back together and still no spark at all. I'm at my wit's end. Anyone have any ideas as to what else it could be?

[Lt.carguy]

My day started with the sun shinning and birds singing and went to crap shortly after.
I went to the junkyard and was lucky enought to find a 3.1 out of the car with the much sought after loom in perfect condition, it cost me a whole 5 dollars. I put it on and nothing, same @#!!&% problem as befor.
WELL, Iwas contempating just setting it on fire when I spoke to my father
who was an aricraft electrician in the Navy, He spoke of GREMLINS in the wires on some aircraft and suggested I check the ICM on the car, don't take it in to be checked, just check it on the car, soooooo, I did.
I finagled my autozone guy to come to me with the tester( I do ALOT of bussiness with autozone) so he showed up and low and behold, the ICM
FAILED over and over again, so I hauled my but to autozone and bought the
80 dollar part, while there I went ahead and got a new crank sensor and
plugwires as well as 2 coil packs(they only had 2 on the shelf)
I put the new stuff on and noticed the wire loom from the junkyard had a 2
pin connector on one end and a 3 pin on the other, HMMMM, I found out that the middle pin on the ICM side of the loom is a type of ground, you don't have to have it, but it makes the signal from the crank sensor
cleaner (less interferance from outside stuff).
I also noticed that the new crank sensor tip, the metal tip at the end,
was sticking out farther than the old one wich would decrease the air gap
between the crank and crank sensor.
I put all the stuff on and hit the key. YEE HAW!! she runs great! total cost was about 180.00 when done, but, IT'S DONE!!!!!
Now I'm grabbing a beer and heading out to the back yard and getting in the pool

PS
The Haynes manual cost me 17.00
and if you remove the coilpacks first, the coilpack plate is much easier to get at, no feeling for that bottom bolt
Later guys, surfs up

[luminati]

Well Lt. I am glad your problem is solved. I really appreciate your input. And thank you tblake and richtazz too. I just don't think I'm gonna make the investment in the new parts tho. I have no way of being sure they will fix the problem and if they don't, I'm out $200. This old girl has 237,000 miles and I think it just might be her time. Too bad tho. The engine (when it used to start) was still strong and it burned no oil. I wonder what I can get for it.

[tblake]

richtaz, do these early 3.1;s have a cam sensor as well as a crank sensor, or is it just the 3.8's? a cam sensor may also cause your condition. I wouldn't be ready to part with it yet. I'll see if i can get you a wiring diagram of what wires should be hot in what circumstances at the ignition module. It should help you narrow it down. Dont give up hope yet...... I'll try to have that for you later on this evening.

[luminati]

Thank you tblake! I was also wondering something else: Do you think the problem could be in the wiring up in the steering column? A friend of mine says i should hotwire in to eliminate that as a possible cause. I have no idea how to do that. Do you think it would be worth the time to tear the column apart?

[richtazz]

94 and later have cam sensors, some 93's do, none of the 92-backs have a cam sensor. The 94-ups also have two crank sensors. One is behind the harmonic balancer, the other is in the back of the block like the earlier models.

[tblake]

Originally Posted by luminati

Thank you tblake! I was also wondering something else: Do you think the problem could be in the wiring up in the steering column? A friend of mine says i should hotwire in to eliminate that as a possible cause. I have no idea how to do that. Do you think it would be worth the time to tear the column apart?

well, i'll try and find the wiring diagram, you can do some tests with your multimeter, (see if "hot in run" is actually "hot in run") and we'll go from there.

Thanks for clarifying richtazz, I just didnt know if the early 3.1 had them.

[luminati]

Thank you tblake. It sounds like that is just what i need. And I got a long weekend coming to work on it!

[richtazz]

You're welcome tblake, we make a good team. And good luck to you Luminati, let us know how it works out.

[luminati]

I promise I will. I hate to see it when someone gets all sorts of help on here and then never even reports the ultimate outcome. No matter what happens, I really appreciate you guys' suggestions.