87 caprice starting problem

[joedoer]

hey all..i have a 87 caprice with a 4.3 L tbi
problem im havingis no spark /no start...get this...i have replaced the plugs,wires,coil,the module,cap,rotor.cranks,no start,no spark.
if i hold the coil wire away from the coil it will start and run,once reconnected it won't start....w t f gives with that????
any ideas????

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by joedoer

hey all..i have a 87 caprice with a 4.3 L tbi
problem im havingis no spark /no start...get this...i have replaced the plugs,wires,coil,the module,cap,rotor.cranks,no start,no spark.
if i hold the coil wire away from the coil it will start and run,once reconnected it won't start....w t f gives with that????
any ideas????

was the engine running before you replaced these parts ? also did you replace one part at a time ? in other words are you SURE that your new parts are good!

[joedoer]

yes it was running prior to not starting..
yes replaced parts one at a time..
cap and rotor first.
spark plug wires.2 different sets...
then coil
then module
all parts are new and i presume ok..
now what?

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by joedoer

yes it was running prior to not starting..
yes replaced parts one at a time..
cap and rotor first.
spark plug wires.2 different sets...
then coil
then module
all parts are new and i presume ok..
now what?

if it was running prior to your part changing, reinstall 1 replaced part at a time, and check for engine to start. now you will know which new part is incorrect or defective..........common errors here are put wires on wrong rotor backwards cap not installed correctly common defective parts wires incorrect or just open [no resistance ] i would install old module first and check for error in cap/rotor and wires then try to start........

[joedoer]

i mis spoke i think...

the car was running fine,one day it wouldn't start...no spark,when checking for spark,coil wire held a little way away from cap tower,it starts and runs ok.if wire is reconnected then it won't start,no spark at plugs ...replaced all those parts ,one at a time,still hasn't changed...any ideas would be appreciated.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by joedoer

i mis spoke i think...

the car was running fine,one day it wouldn't start...no spark,when checking for spark,coil wire held a little way away from cap tower,it starts and runs ok.if wire is reconnected then it won't start,no spark at plugs ...replaced all those parts ,one at a time,still hasn't changed...any ideas would be appreciated.

so by holding the coil wire above the distributor cap connection to see if spark coming out of coil engine starts. when connected no spark no start new wire new distributor cap and rotor. so it is basicly doing the same thing despite changing these parts. how did the coil car wiring connections look. it is possible you may have a bad crimp on wire to coil check that it is solid.

[j cAT]

if all above checks out ok, then the ignition module wiring , if all that is ok , get another ignition module. if you experienced at highway speeds intermittent misfiring prior to the no start no spark problem .this is how my module died . i was lucky as i expected this failure and had one ready to pop in and in 15min i was running again. this was when vehicle had about 300,000mi. on it......