Bad Ignition coil or distributor - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

allened · 04-05-2011, 03:29 PM

OKay driving down then road and the car shuts off. I went to crank it, it turns over but no go.

So I pull the park plug have it connected to the wire I crank the engine I see no spark.

That means three things Ignition coil, ignition module, distributor

I did a resitiance test on the coil.
The primary coil I read .01 its suppos to read .36 - .55
Secondary I get 11.4 which is suppose to be 9.0 - 15.4 so good there.

Just verifying looks like a bad coil to me what you guys think. Its about 85 bucks so its really not that big of a deal just to buy one anyway.

Pineapple · 04-05-2011, 05:31 PM

Did you ground the outside of the plug when you crank the engine?
I'll say ignition coil. They do fail after so many years.

allened · 04-05-2011, 08:27 PM

No i did not ground the outside of the plug, I had no idea you needed to. I have done the test best just having the spark plug on the cable and cranking the engine and seeing spark. I had a 94 where the distributor went out and thats how I determined it was bad I installed the new one and I could see the spark on the plug again.

Whats the purpose of grounding the outside of the plug?

RobMilkshakes · 04-05-2011, 09:06 PM

To complete the circuit. I think you may just just gotten lucky before. The spark plug wire transmits the current down to the plug terminal, through the center electrode, jumps the gap (spark) and the current then runs though the side electrode which is threaded into the block. The entire block and chassis act as the ground and is connected to the negative terminal on the battery. If its not grounded no spark will occur as no voltage will be present and no current will flow

allened · 04-06-2011, 12:19 PM

Well I went and got another ignition coil and I am still getting no spark. Even when I am using the wire straight from the coil, and even with the new ignition coil. So anyone have any ideas what would cause their to me no spark even with a new ignition coil?

RobMilkshakes · 04-06-2011, 02:02 PM

Is the rotor spinning inside the distributor when you crank the engine? If the distributor isn't turning then the pickup coil/igniter won't pickup the rotation of the distributor and cause the coil to produce a spark.

So it may be a bad igniter if the distributor is turning when you crank the engine or if it does not spin your timing belt may have snapped.

allened · 04-06-2011, 02:18 PM

I verified it was the ignition coil. I put the one from the car that isnt running into the one that is. When I did that, no go. So it was the igniter. So i took the good one from the good car and put it in the bad one and now its bad. It shorted I think that there is a short to the ecm or something and thats just not good.

allened · 04-07-2011, 12:37 AM

Tore open the Ignition control module and found that its was burned so I am getting High Voltage. Great I know, what I do not know is the first step to fix this.

Where would you start when looking for high voltage to the ICM or a bad ground?

allened · 04-07-2011, 11:37 AM

Would anyone happen to know what the Black wire with a red stripe that goes to the igniter is for. Is that a ground or a 12v?

shawneeboy57 · 08-11-2011, 10:15 PM

if the wiring is similar to my 92 pickup its a 12 volt source. the wire originates in the fuse box as AM2. then it goes to the ignition switch, then to the fuel injectors and ends at the ignition control module. ive read that its known for shorting out near the fuel injectors. for me tho it was shorting out under the dash. best of luck to you