95 Cirrus No Spark

[STANDY]

I have a 95 cirrus with a no spark issue. First, I found low fuel pressure, replaced the pump. With proper fuel pressure, I discovered that the car had low peak voltage (under 10000v peak), but spark was still visible with a spare plug grounded. Replaced the distrubutor- no visible spark now.....EXCEPT when I turn the key on and crank it for the first time. If I keep cranking, no spark....if I remove the key, wait a minute, and try again, I will get one spark, and that's it. Any ideas? Alot of people have pointed to the crank sensor, but I'm tired of replacing parts for no reason on this piece of garbage.

[notny41]

Mine died one day on the road. No spark. Was in a different town so I had them fix it. It was the crank sensor.

[jdl]

It's my understanding, that the computor has to see the crank and cam signal, both, while cranking or the vehicle won't start. I'm not saying replace those sensors, but you could check for a signal, while cranking.

Were there any trouble codes?

While cranking, do you have constant primary voltage to the coil? Do you have constant voltage to the injectors, while cranking?

[Cirrusly Now]

I just read several posts for 95-96-97 Cirrus "no spark" problems on this site. The most interesting one was from a master technician with 38 years of experience.

He said he had replaced everything - crank sensor, distributor, spark plugs and wires, etc - and the car still wouldn't turn on and he kept getting the same readouts (no crank/cam, no spark). Turns out it was, to quote him, "broken ground, on front head rear". He said it had "checked OK until power was applied to the circuit". He recommended for everyone to "check grounds".

I also had someone else tell me that a bad ground wire is the #1 problem misdiagnosed as a bad PCM, which is what one shop blamed for my problem. My '97 Cirrus just up and quit starting overnight. It is giving the "no cam/crank/spark" readout at the dealership shop. I have been told about a dozen reasons that might be causing this, was quoted almost $2,000 in repairs, and have been advised to just get rid of the car because it isn't worth it.

I think the ground wire(s) approach will be my last ditch effort before throwing in the towel. Let me know what ends up fixing your situation.. it would be good to know.