3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
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1996 Camry 2.2L with 311K miles not getting any spark. Have gone through all the troubleshooting to no avail. Here's what I've got.
Power going into the coil (12.46 volts)
No power coming out of the coil to the distributor.
Here's the kicker.......it's not the coil. I did the ohm test's to check it and they all passed. Figured it could be a fluke so I replaced the coil. Still nothing.
Any advice???? Frustrated and about to call the junk yard to see what they'll give me for it
The plugs fire (coil secondary) when the 12.46 volts is grounded and goes to zero. If the ECM is not getting a signal from the signal rotor or the igniter is bad then you may not have the switching necessary to fire the plugs. Can you attach your volt meter (analog best) to the coil + and turn the engine over, you should see it go from zero to 12.46 and back to zero etc. if the ECM is switching the igniter on/off.
I've never done this but in theory it should work if the volt meter can react fast enough, that's why an analog works best. There are tests for the pickup coil as well. Maybe someone else can comment on this test.
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1995 Camry Wagon LE. 2.2 4cyl, 5S-FE, Auto, 187K
The plugs fire (coil secondary) when the 12.46 volts is grounded and goes to zero. If the ECM is not getting a signal from the signal rotor or the igniter is bad then you may not have the switching necessary to fire the plugs. Can you attach your volt meter (analog best) to the coil + and turn the engine over, you should see it go from zero to 12.46 and back to zero etc. if the ECM is switching the igniter on/off.
I've never done this but in theory it should work if the volt meter can react fast enough, that's why an analog works best. There are tests for the pickup coil as well. Maybe someone else can comment on this test.
I tried this just a few minutes ago. Pulled the plug off the coil, stuck the voltage meter on it and the voltage does fluctuate, but the analog meter cannot act quite fast enough to make it back down to zero, but it does go down. If I am understanding you correctly that means the ignitor and ecm are doing their job. If that's the case, thank you because I was not sure how to troubleshoot the igniter and/or ecm. Any other ideas or suggestions on tests?
Have you pulled a plug and grounded it while cranking to see if there is spark at the plug? You may have a bad cap or rotor or plug wires that are grounding the spark before it gets to the plug.
It does appear you're getting the primary switching. Another suggestion would be the center electrode in the distributor cap, if that is damaged/worn etc. then no secondary voltage will go to the plugs.
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1995 Camry Wagon LE. 2.2 4cyl, 5S-FE, Auto, 187K
We started with the plug and worked backwards. No spark at the plugs. Checked the resistance on the wires. It already has a new cap and rotor, but went ahead and checked those as well. Checked the resistance of the wire from the distributor cap to the coil. Checked the coil. All of this has no power up to this point.
The last place we have power is voltage at the plug going into the coil. It's been several weeks of troubleshooting and one dead end after another.
I'm really trying to hang in there just because 311k is a long journey and I'd hate to see it end here. Bought the car brand new and don't wanna give up on her yet.
Any and all help is greatly appreciated! Thank you
At this point I'd still suspect the coil. I've seen these OHM out OK before and still be bad and I've seen bad new ones. The only way you might be able to confirm coil outside of engine electrics is to remove it and somehow hook up 12V to + primary side and spark wire and plug to other secondary side then to common ground. When you remove the 12V + the plug should fire once with bright blue spark. Or maybe get known good coil from another vehicle and use that or maybe have Advance just replace it. I'd also clean as many engine grounds as you can find and check all your connections in the dist.
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1995 Camry Wagon LE. 2.2 4cyl, 5S-FE, Auto, 187K
Last edited by Stillrunning; 12-04-2011 at 04:00 PM.
At this point I'd still suspect the coil. I've seen these OHM out OK before and still be bad and I've seen bad new ones. The only way you might be able to confirm coil outside of engine electrics is to remove it and somehow hook up 12V to + primary side and spark wire and plug to other secondary side then to common ground. When you remove the 12V + the plug should fire once with bright blue spark. Or maybe get known good coil from another vehicle and use that or maybe have Advance just replace it. I'd also clean as many engine grounds as you can find and check all your connections in the dist.
I went and swapped out the coil yesterday and still nothing. I will start searching for engine grounds this evening.
Whatever is it, I know it went bad slowly. It started randomly not cranking and then finally died. Does that help with any diagnosis?
Now I'm confused. "Not cranking" as in starter did not spin the engine?
My apologies. Bad choice of words. It has always turned over and the starter has always spun the engine. It will crank, just will not start is what I should have said.
Neutral safety switch? Will it start in neutral?... try flipping the tranny from N to P a bunch while trying to start it. Here's a thread showing how to check/fix it.
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1992 Camry LE, V6 (3VZ-FE), ABS brakes, 330k miles, dark emerald pearl, owned since new.
1996 Avalon XLS, ABS brakes, moonroof, white, acquired w/ 139k miles, now at 261k.
2001 Yamaha FZ1, Ivan's jet kit, resprung all around, Ohlins in the rear, Race Tech cartridge emulators in the forks, 45k miles.
Neutral safety switch? Will it start in neutral?... try flipping the tranny from N to P a bunch while trying to start it. Here's a thread showing how to check/fix it.
It was my understand that it would not turn over if it was the neutral safety switch. Is that correct?
It will not start in either P or N. It will turn over, but not start.
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