92 4cyl turns over but won't fire

[sbeausol]

Over the past 48 hours my 92 4cyl manual camry w/217K miles won't start. On sunday, it ran a bit rough every now and then (low RPM in wrong gear for example), and when starting wouldn't start as quickly as normally (normally starts within 2secs on sun it would take around 4-5sec). By monday it would turn but not fire. I checked the spark plugs and they were spent so i changed them but that didn't help. I checked the spark by pulling a plug and a wire and touching them to block while starting, and i did get a spark, although it wasn't a big blue spark as i've heard described before, more like a faint orange one? Anyway, from researching other threads it sounds like i should do the following:

1) pull the distributor cap and check if the rotor spins, this will indicate whether or not my timing belt is out of whack (BTW timing belt is 6mos old)

2) Check resistance on spark plug wires

3) Check resistance on ignition coil

I get a very strong scent of gas after trying to start so i assume it isn't a fuel problem. Can anyone offer some insight on the problem? Should i buy a new cap, rotor and ignition coil and just replace them and pray?

thanks for any input

[SlickRolla]

If it smells like fuel, you probably flooded it. When did you last replace your battery?

[sbeausol]

the battery is prob 4-5 years old but seems to have plenty of kick. i would say it is flooded, but how long does it need to sit to cure being flooded? I've let it sit 2-3hours a couple of times and it still wouldn't start...

[bigdaddymak20]

What about the cap and rotor????? I would check the cap and rotor and replace if the contacts look worn of have a lot of corrosion. Then make sure your plugs are all dry and put you foot on the floor when starting it up this will tell the computer to go into flood mode. You might have to squit a little oil in each cylinder if the oil got washed off the cylinder walls. And check your oil and if it smells like gas change it cause its ruined.

[Mike Gerber]

Did you check the coil as you first described? You will need a DVM and the specs from any manual. They are a known trouble area and with 217,000 miles it can go at any time. They have a tendancy to develope hairline cracks and can short themselves to any metal inside the distributor. Also, look for oil inside the distsributor, which would indicate a worn seal and oil leaking in to the distributor housing. You are correct that you should see a bright blue spark, which is why I suggested checking the coil.

Mike

[sbeausol]

well i went to pep boys and picked up a new distrubutor, rotor, wires and coil for about $125 total.

started out by following the manual recommendations and checked the resistance on my plug wires. Came out around 15K. checked my new wires and they came out at 1K, so i decided i would change the wires. Still wouldn't start.

Next decided i'd check the distributor. It wasn't in great shape, with lots of corrosion.


the rotor wasn't in the greatest of shape either


so i replaced them both.

I checked the resistance of the coil and the primary was 0.9 and should be around 0.5. I was thinking of replacing it, but i check the resistance on the replacement part and it was pretty much the same, so decided i would only change the distributor, the rotor and the wires, a total of $70 in parts. Put it back together and voila! it started and runs great once again!

thanks for all the input

[Camryamnesty]

valve cover gasket soon?

[sbeausol]

that extra oil is for anti-corrosion purposes!

[bigdaddymak20]

That's a distributor o-ring leaking and that rotor is in bad shape. New cap and rotor will probably do the trick. Just make sure there is no gas in the oil.