1991 Celica, Cranks but wont fire! - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Jspafford · 09-11-2005, 05:39 PM

I need some help guys and gals. I have never owned a toyota. I am a ford man myself, but my girlfriend has a 1991 Celica ST which she got for her 16th birthday. She is now 21 and still never drives it. She starts it about once every 3 months. It was driven from time to time also. Over the winter the battery went dead and she did not get a new one until spring. The car started fine with the new battery. This last time she went to start it it will not fire. It will crank over and over until the battery is dead but does not try to fire.

I have just about eliminated the fuel delivery as the problem because I sprayed ether into the intake and still wont even try to fire.

I replaced the distributor cap, wires, rotor button, plugs, and the efi relay. I replaced the EFI relay because the small efi fuse in the same panel was blown? How would that get blown? What would cause that?

The only other thing I can think to replace is the coil, but I don't want to keep throwing money into this car.

Any suggestions?

***Tercel GTS*** · 09-11-2005, 05:58 PM

Inside the distributor is a small capacitor that goes through meltdowns and blows that fuse. The capacitor is under $10 at dealer. Replace it and get back on the road.

vsixcamry · 09-11-2005, 06:02 PM

^^werd. boy nailed that one. i had the same problem, easy to fix.. and supposedly happens often

Jspafford · 09-11-2005, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tercel GTS

Inside the distributor is a small capacitor that goes through meltdowns and blows that fuse. The capacitor is under $10 at dealer. Replace it and get back on the road.

Hey Bud,
Thanks for the quick response. I had the distributor cap off when I replaced the rotor button. What does this part look like and will I have to take something else apart once the cap is off to find it?

More specifically what is this part called so I know what to ask for when I order it.

Thanks a million.

You will make g/f happy and she will intern do the same for me..

***Tercel GTS*** · 09-11-2005, 10:07 PM

Should be easy to spot inside the distributor. It's about the size of a .45 auto bullet with a wire and eyelet. Tell gf she has to post a pic of herself for the help.

Jspafford · 09-12-2005, 09:07 AM

I called toyota and they told me the only part they can find is a main fuse thing that is like $30 bucks! Of course, I wont see the car until wednesday so I have no idea if they are quoting me the right part. Is there a specific name of a part I need?

Jspafford · 09-13-2005, 08:49 PM

Once again with talking to the parts jockeys at local Yota Dealers the are telling me to look under the fuse panel next to the battery for a big bolt in fuse they say is probably blown. I mentioned about a bullet shaped thing in the distributor and they acted like I was a moron.. lol

Any advice?

Jspafford · 09-14-2005, 07:10 PM

Well I am back and working on it again. I need help! I took the coil loose off the distributor and I see nothing in there that looks like a bullet. I cannot find the main fuse that is supposed to be under the fuse box, I tested the primary resistance of the coil and got a 1.7 on the OHMS meter which is withing spec. When I tested the primary resistance I got absolutly nothing.

Now in the book it says that the secondary resistance should be in K ohms.. what the hell is a KOHM? Is that why my meter didn't read anything when I tested the secondary?

So would this bullet like thing in the distributor cause the coil to have primary, but not secondary resistance.

Help!

Thanks

repo94 · 09-14-2005, 08:15 PM

kohm's would be thousands. you just need to set your ohm meter the the thousandths setting. if you have a digital one it would read for example .000 when not testing anything. just watch where your decimal is on the meter

***Tercel GTS*** · 09-14-2005, 08:30 PM

This alternator picture has a gold colored capacitor near the bottom. You should find one inside your distributor that looks just about like this one.

Jspafford · 09-14-2005, 09:04 PM

Tercel, I actually saw something like that right beside the distributor and even thought to myself, "Wonder if that is it" Would it normally be on the outside of the dist?

Jspafford · 09-15-2005, 09:32 AM

Does the thing I need have a wire harness coming off of it? I got a breakdown from toyota and the part I see has like a harness with a plug on one end and them two wires coming off the other, one with a look connector and one with a pade looking thing. WOuld this be the capictor I need?

dansgts · 09-15-2005, 10:48 AM

check the fuses inside the drivers side kick pannel, theres one that controols the ignition coil. you should check the ignition coil before even messin with the distributor, most times its not the distributor

oh, if you dont know how to check, take the main spark plug wire that comes fron the ignition coil off of the distribuitor cap, hold it near a grounding point on the engine, and have your gf turn the key. if theres no spark between the wire and the grounding point (they cannot touch) the probs the ignition coil, which would most likely be the fuses on these cars.

flex-appeal · 09-16-2005, 07:26 AM

that capacitor is also called a condenser, so maybe the guys at the parts shop only know it by that name

alltracman78 · 09-16-2005, 11:21 AM

On that engine the coil is internal to the dist.
So it doesn't have a wire from the coil to dist.
The cap acts as the transfer medium.