1991 Camry Won't Start

[Ledlaptop]

I got into my 91 Camry today and it won't start.It turns over,but no ignition.I don't think I am getting spark.I checked the fuses under the hood and on the pos. post of the battery,all look fine.Is there an igniter module or something on this car? I have a donor 1991 that runs fine,maybe I could swap something? It seemed to bog down on me last week.I started it,but wouldn't rev up.

[Mike Gerber]

The coil inside the distributor is a known trouble area for the first three generations of Camrys. If you feel you are not getting spark (very easy to test first) I would check the coil. You will need a digital volt/ohmeter and the specs from any manual to test it.

Mike

[Ledlaptop]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

The coil inside the distributor is a known trouble area for the first three generations of Camrys. If you feel you are not getting spark (very easy to test first) I would check the coil. You will need a digital volt/ohmeter and the specs from any manual to test it.

Mike

I don't have a digital volt/ohmeter,but I do have another running 91 Camry.I think I'll swap them out to see if that solves the problem.

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by Ledlaptop

I don't have a digital volt/ohmeter,but I do have another running 91 Camry.I think I'll swap them out to see if that solves the problem.

That's a good idea. You might also want to visually inspect the one you remove from the non-running Camry for hairline cracks. That's also a sign the coil was shorting itself out to any metal inside the distributor.

Mike

[Ledlaptop]

It turns out that some oil had gotten into the distibutor and was preventing it from starting.I cleaned it out and it started right up.

[Mike Gerber]

The oil wil return. There is a seal inside the distributor that is allowing oil to get inside of it. Do a search for "oil" and "distributor" on this forum and read up about it. I can also suggest you go over to AutomotiveForums.com and download the complete generation 2 Camry manual. The factory service manuals are available at the top of the Camry forum home page and are available for free downloading. Look at the exploded view of the distributor.

Mike

[Ledlaptop]

It turned out the O-Ring and Ignition coil needed to be replaced.When I removed the distributor to do the O-Ring,I removed the coil to check for any cracking and sure enough it was cracked on both edges.She starts and runs fine now.Thanks for your help Mike,I really appreciate it

[Mike Gerber]

You're welcome. Glad your problem has been resolved.

Mike