car is an 88 2.8 V6 camaro and the car still has no spark at the plugs and ive replaced so far the fuel pump, pump relay, fuel filter, distributor cap, rotor, coil, ignition module, and ecm....got the pick-up coil to put on tonight. still no spark...any help would be great! thanks

be positive that the coil is grounded VERY good ,if not grounded no spark ,later jimmy

have you checked to make sure you're even getting power to the ignition coil?

thank guys i'll try anything at this point, got nearly $300 in this and still not running im getting pretty mad but i'll check all and update later...thanks again

ok umm, just went out and pulled the distributor cap...the top of the distributor looks pretty rusted, am i gonna have to replace that too? that another $130, but i dont know if i should get one from a JY cause i dont want it to be bad....what do you think?

i don't know what kind of dist/cap you have in your car, i think mine is different, but if you can determine if you have power and a spark at the COIL first, might save you the cost of a new dist. rust is one thing that can be painstakingly cleaned up, but i doubt you'll make it go away and stay away. is your coil separate from dist? if you don't have a spark tester, they're pretty cheap. hope this helps... cuz i don't know what the test procedures are for coil-in-cap, if that's what you have. i know you said you changed all that stuff, but... also, have you checked your plug wires and plugs themselves? they may not have any spark there cuz the coil ain't firing, but you might have bad plugs and wires, too. how long has this been going on?

Have someone crank the eng while you watch the rotor (dist cap removed).
Make sure it's turning when the eng is cranking.

ok, we took the dist cap off and cranked the motor and it is turning...good thing right. and we just replaced all the plugs and wires this weekend...its been going on for awhile now...just kinda doing it a piece at a time. thanks for the help...keep it coming

Kat

130 dollars for a distrbutor cap ?

no, no $130 for the distributor itself....lol

you mentioned having a new pick-up coil to put in - have you tried that yet?

no not yet just got the distributor out lastnight....you should see the old pick-up coil (can you say fried!) all the copper wires were showing! i bet that is the problem, at least i hope (really, really hope)

Let us know!

i had the same issue w/ my carbed 350 (i know, totally different engine... etc), i traced all of the wires that plugged into the dist at the bottom and found a short (coating on the wire cracked at that point and the copper was exposed. i took the dist apart and there were also two wires touching in the plug. here is a pic after i did that to mine...

ok....new problem, while puttting the dist back together somewhere along the line the two holes at the bottom (where the pin goes) well its stuck and we cant get the hole for the pin to line up!! GRRR

ok got that problem fix....didnt take long, but heres the thing. We just replaced the pick-up coil and the car is still not starting!!!!! what the crap! Im really about to pull my hair out over this car... Please Help!

K guys im at a complete loss now...still not starting....long story short..1988 camaro 2.8 V6 fuel injected has no spark and wont start. So far replaced the fuel pump, relay, fuel filter, plugs and wires, distributor cap, coil, rotor, pick-up coil, ignition module, and ecm.....think thats it...oh and changed the oil...what am i doing wrong, the car is still not starting, it turns over but no fire......any thoughts??? Thanks

camarogirl, try unhooking the pink/pinkwhite from coil and see if it will fire.later jimmy

Ok, just letting everyone know that i have tried all suggestions but not working yet so i dont know...lol going CRAZYKat

since youve tried everything else, get some starting fluid just to see if it will start off of that. If it dont start it deff a spark problem.


if it does start/run for a couple of seconds off of the starting fluid, then its deff a fuel problem.

If you can get someone to hlep you get them to spray the fluid into the intake while you are turning the engine over. That way you can get the engine to run for a few seconds longer

ummm ok but i know there is no spark...how is it sapose to start without spark...lol my dad told me to do the same thing but then he said it wouldnt do any good if there wasnt any spark....

Kat

This may be a stupid question, but have you checked the incoming batter power to the distributor. I had a similar problem with an 84 Camaro that was originally a 2.8L. I check and I check, and could not find the problem, then finally noticed that the battery power line going into the distributor had broken.

Figured I would ask this silly question, just in case.

no not a stupid queustion i dont think ive checked that actually..hmmm i will have to go look later, im going to work soon so ill check later..thanks

Kat

Thats the first thing you should do if you dont have spark.

Then check to see that the dristributor is spinning with the motor. You've replaced all the ignition parts that you can.

ok i'll check the wire...and when i crank the motor the distributor is turning, i was told that i should have just gotten a whole new distributor and thats probably the problem....what do you guys think, and any more ideas would be great....thanks again

Kat

well thats seems to be the onley part that could cause no spark that u havent replaced yet

Yep, for the cost of cap, module, pickup coil, coil, you could have gotten a whole new one. Oh well.

k then...stupid move on my part i guess.......thought if it was moving it was ok..

but... if you change the dist, and don't have power still, no joy is gonna be had.

thats my point, the distributor is moving so if i replace and it doesnt work....grr well when i come up with another $130 ill get a new dizzy

The only other thing is the magnetic pickup. This is what generates the electricity. They hardly ever go bad.

Magnetic pickup-pickup coil-module-coil-rotor-cap-wires-plugs. ignite.

A voltmeter will be your best friend. Check for power going to the dizzy with key on, check resistance (ohms) of the ground wire going to dizzy and the frame or battery.

ok, i'll do that thanks for the help....sorry im getting so huffy just getting a little impatient is all

that magnetic pick-up he's talking about is like the last resort, meaning that if the rotating pole piece won't stay magnetized, THEN your dizzy is bad.

Get a voltmeter. Unplug the 2 wire connector going to your ignition module. Is there 12 volts at both the pink and the white wire with the key on? Flop the wires around a little while keeping the voltmeter's test lead connected and the key on. Look for fluctuation.

ok guys thanks for the help, ill get out there and check all that....but i do have a question though. once you take off the dist. cap the magnet is on top of the dist inside the teeth. the magnet is scraping on the teeth when its rotating...thats not right is it? sorry.....LOST

Kat

The pickup is at the base. On the shaft, theres "teeth", and mounted to the cap base, is the magnet. They should NOT be touching!

If they rub, it won't create electricity very well, if all. The upper bearing in the dizzy could be shot, you need to yank that thing.

I wonder what the gear looks like.......

Before you pull it out, MAKE SURE TO MARK WHERE THE ROTOR IS POINTING!!
This will save you a big headache when you put the new one in.

I'd wait until someone else confirms this though, I could be misunderstanding something.

Does your engine turn over at all? I had a problem where my car would turn over and over and over but wouldn't fire. I finally took it to a shop and they said their is an ignition module inside the distributer (not the coil) that can go bad...unless he was lyin to me about them not being the same. In and out, $50.00 and it worked after that.

You didn't do very well on the READING part of your ASVAP did you?

HEHE It's one of the reasons that I'm not admin...

Lol, I was always jealous of those people....cake jobs.

ummm, what's the latest? get 'er fixed yet?

sorry i havent got back with you guys, she's still not running! working on it for two weeks straight and worked alot of extra hours this week so havent been ou there much this week, going back out this weekend to work on her though....thanks for asking how things are going though, ill prolly be on later tonight or tomorrow to update...thanks again

Kat

hi frank hear,im new ,try running a test light to your + side of your coil when your keys on,if it lights comes on means your getting power to your coil,that could mean some thing as simple as your new coil is bad ,it happens

Its HEI, so you have to pull the plug and test the plug.

hey guys, sry for keeping you waiting but there is still no news on the car...i work so much its hard to get out there....and i really need to buy a voltmeter lol so i promise ill try testing the wires asap thanks so much for all your replies and for the help....(its hard for me to check replies all the time so you can also PM me if ya need/want to, i always get those) thanks again

Kat

i think im having the same problem, i have power coming off the coil into the dist, but no spark at the end of the plug wire, changed the ignition modual and cap and rotor, and the rotor does spin when o carnk it, im lost too any updates?

If you have power coming out of the coil, you should have spark, unless you have a bad engine ground.

But, I experienced this same problem last week. I disconnected my battery to do some rewiring for a week, when I reconnected it and tried to start, I didnt have any spark. The battery wasnt in good shape, but I figured if it had the juice to turn it over, then it had the juice to power the ignition. So I charged it up, checked voltage everywhere and I had 200+ volts coming out of the coil. Weird I thought, so I turned it over again and it sputtered, then fired up. I don't know if the ignition system had to "juice up" or what. I'm running all MSD stuff though.

Weird.

Check your coil-dizzy wire to make sure its not arcing on something and make sure the inside of the dizzy is clean. You said you bought a new one though.
I guess make sure your battery is good and charged? There shouldnt be anything stopping you from getting spark, there's really nothing between the coil wire and plugs that would stop spark, except for a lack of juice to jump the plug gap.

i dont think, its the battery, its got almost 12 volts, also it deid when i was driving, i didnt replace the pick up coil yet just the external coil, i think i try replacing it tommarow aswell as check for some bad grounds, i think it has to be something with/in the dist, thank for your help man.

LOL yeah....NONERS!!! hahahahaha Actually, that's the job I want. 8-4, might work 6 hours on a Friday, every other Friday is a "Special Function"...when they close down at 1....oh the life!

stupid question,but how did your dad make sure it has spark. alex