93' Camry 4 cylinder, Cranks but won't start up - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

LiveFromHeaven · 09-15-2007, 03:52 AM

Hello everybody, I'm helping my brother troubleshoot his Camry that just took a dump on him. He drove it to work, said it ran perfectly, came back out 7 hours later and the engine wouldn't start. The starter is getting power and the engine cranks but doesn't get going. We looked around the car and didn't see any fluids leaking. The Plugs, Wires, Cap and rotor are fairly new... bout a year old. I'm more of a boat mechanic so somebody set me straight if I'm incorrect, but it sounds to me like the problem is either no fuel or no spark getting to his cylinders. My question is where should I start in troubleshooting the problem? Could a fuel pump suddenly go out while the car is sitting in park? I've only heard of fuel pumps dying slowly or leaving you stranded on the highway. Could it be the ignition coil? Any help would be really appreciated.

Stillrunning · 09-15-2007, 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiveFromHeaven

but it sounds to me like the problem is either no fuel or no spark getting to his cylinders.

Well that about covers it.

Quote:

My question is where should I start in troubleshooting the problem?

Pull a spark plug, ground it on the engine, turn the engine over, look for strong, blue spark. If spark, check fuel, if no spark, trace no spark.

dc_98_cam · 09-15-2007, 12:15 PM

When was the timing belt last replaced?

Kep · 09-15-2007, 03:11 PM

Pull off the distributor cap. Have someone turn the engine over. If the rotor doesn't turn then your timing belt is broken.

Kep

Thenethiel · 09-15-2007, 03:11 PM

What Stillrunning said, check for a spark, with a plug you should also be able to smell gas in the open cylinder, if you do, you know it's getting fuel. If there's no spark, I would check the ignition coil first. However I will note one thing, my coil died recently, and when I removed it and checked the resistance according to my Haynes manual, it did check faulty, however when I got the new coil, it metered exactly the same as the dead one, but it worked perfectly.

Stillrunning · 09-15-2007, 03:49 PM

kep and dc_98_cam are correct in that you should check to make sure the TB is not broken - which will also give you no spark. kep gives easy way to tell.

LiveFromHeaven · 09-25-2007, 07:51 PM

For the sake of trying to decide if I should persue this or a shop, do I have to re-time the distributor after pulling that? And as I understand it, the only way to test the coil is pull off the distributor, correct?

LiveFromHeaven · 09-25-2007, 08:57 PM

Sorry, I probably should have also said that I grounded a spark plug and found no spark while cranking. I'll take of the distributor if I can easily put it back on afterwards, but if I have to mess with timing I may just have it towed to the dealer.

xtremeskier97 · 09-25-2007, 09:13 PM

DONT take off the distributor....just the distributor CAP. If the rotor doesnt turn, then the timing belt is broken.

And no...after you pull it off to check..all you have to do is put it back on...nothing to set.

marc780 · 09-26-2007, 01:28 PM

Maybe you say no spark but even so try to get it to run off a can of starting fluid. If it runs, the problem is fuel.

And now you have to start looking for juice, some possible culprits,
-really old plugs
-worn out rotor and cap
-broken distributor shaft (if the engine has one of course. Grab the rotor and try to spin it - if you can do it, the distributor shaft is broken)
-timing belt jumped time because its worn
-bad ground wire somewhere
-worn out ignition switch
-blown fusible link
-ballast resistor? (If its got one)

ShawnM · 09-26-2007, 02:44 PM

Sounds like a bad coil to me. The most common problems on those are coils and timing belts. A broken timing belt will create a distinctly different sound when cranking the engine.

LiveFromHeaven · 09-26-2007, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShawnM

Sounds like a bad coil to me. The most common problems on those are coils and timing belts. A broken timing belt will create a distinctly different sound when cranking the engine.

Yea, that's what I was thinking. It sounds pretty normal while cranking, just won't fire up. To get to the coil do I have to take the distributor off?

LiveFromHeaven · 09-26-2007, 06:49 PM

Or, is there a fuse that could be blown somewhere that operates the coil circuit? The radio, windows, blower, etc. all work fine.

LiveFromHeaven · 09-26-2007, 07:45 PM

I've just learned that within the last year, my brothers had the water pump, timing belt, cap, rotor, wires, and plugs redone. If there's no fuse that could be causing this, I'm really starting to lean towards the coil as my top suspect. How hard is it to test the coil, and possibly replace it?

Kep · 09-27-2007, 10:16 AM

Static tests on the coil are pretty easy. Since you are showing as being in Minneapolis, I will assume that you don't have the California system. In which case go to the Manual (second sticky on this forum) and navigate to the Ignition System section. Once there, go to page IG-30 http://www.**********s.com/camry/ig.pdf and it describes the two ohmmeter tests that you can run. From what I understand, if the coil "passes" these tests while the engine is not running then the coil is probably not your problem.

Yes, you will need to remove the air filter & resonator as well as the distributor cap and other parts. It is not particularly difficult (nut drivers are wonderful for this). If you find that you do need to replace the coil you will need to remove the distributor body. Again, not difficult but do a search to learn more. Basically, you need to ensure that you put it back in the exact same position as you removed it.

Luck,
Kep