LiveIt!

Hi guys! I'm new to the forums and third gens in general, so please forgive my inexperience :P

I bought this 1988 Sport Coupe as a project knowing it didn't run, the guy told me it needed a fuel pump so I started there. One new fuel pump later, still nothing. So turns out I'm not getting power to it. Replaced relay, nothing. Replaced relay socket because it looked crispy, nothing. Directly wired orange to tan/beige to kick on fuel pump, nothing. To add onto the fun, I found out I'm not getting spark either. Replaced the ignition coil and then the ICM, still nothing.

This project is starting to become more of a headache xD

What are some things that could be wrong/things I could check?
Something I think I should note is a lot of other things are missing electrical power too, only the interior lights, gauge lights, exterior lights and 1 high beam work: the blinkers, radio, horn and power windows are dead, tho the blinkers worked once last night out of nowhere. The previous owner had a custom radio installed (and this stupid blacked-out tint I took off! ) and a bit of genius under the hood for running the fan off the battery. I'm worried this car is going to be a wiring mess :c

Just to sum up-
Replaced ICM, Fuel Pump, Ignition Coil, Fuel Pump Relay, Checked fuse by battery, no spark, no fuel, no vroom vroom :c

Any help is appreciated, thanks guys!

W.E.G.

Aftermarket alarm system in the way perhaps?

bigal55

iTrader: (1)

I guess the first question to ask would be, do you have voltage at the "orange" wire when you jump the fuel pump? With there being many different electrical systems out, you may have a bad fusible link or two. With the ignition switch "on" or "start", you should have battery voltage on the orange wire. Do you?

LiveIt!

I checked at the orange wire on the relay and at the fuel pump fuse too, no power to either whether the switch is on, off or in the start position.

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

The ops gets power directly from the battery and is fused next to the battery. Iirc this power is also a stay alive memory for the ecm. You never stated if you have power to the ign coil/icm while cranking.

LiveIt!

I just checked today and I'm getting a good 10-11 volts at the positive terminal on the coil, how can I test the ICM?

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

Some auto parts stores can test the icm. Usually the pickup fails from setting for a long period of time.
Not sure if you have a v6 or v8 this may apply to a v6 idk.
http://easyautodiagnostics.com/gm/4....ed-icm-tests-1

zed-028

spark issues are by far the most annoying to figure out. pull the centre lead from the distributor and put a spark plug in the end. ground it and turn the motor - these are some likely situations

spark there but no spark at plugs? rotor or rotor button
no spark - ignition coil, pickup coil, ignition control module - if these 3 arent all working, youre not going to get anything good enough to burn fuel.

tbh i chased a pickup coil for months and i should have just pulled the dist and replaced it, wouldve taken me 15 mins.

hope this helps a bit

zed-028

****obviously the centre plug doesnt apply to big CAP HEI dizzys

LiveIt!

Thanks guys, She's a V6 and I replaced the ICM with a brand new one hoping that would solve the spark issue. I thought wrong! The ICM and the Ignition Coil are both brand new, so if I'm not getting spark from the center plug tomorrow I guess my next thing to check is the pickup coil. Thanks a lot guys!

LiveIt!

Welp, no spark! I had the center lead hooked up to a spark plug on a test light, neither gave any sign of life, which seems weird since I tested the same spot yesterday with a multimeter and it was showing 10v. Maybe my plug was a dud? Or a bad ground? I grounded it to the metal area right above the wheels...Thoughts?

zed-028

just touch it to a bare metal part of the block for a ground.

so a genuine no spark condition. This is where it gets annoying

you can have any multitude of situations
Coil=OK ICM=OK Pickup=DEAD Genuine no spark situation
Coil=DEAD ICM=OK Pickup=OK Genuine no spark condition
Coil=OK ICM=DEAD Pickup=OK Genuine no spark condition

If you're satisfied that the wiring is all ok, get the coil tested, get the icm tested, if both are ok replace the pickup coil... or buy a new dist

LiveIt!

Hey Zed thanks for the response, I thought I had it figured out when I found a small bit of white corrosion on the contacts in the distributor cap but cleaning that up didn't solve anything. I hooked the cable off the coil onto a multi-meter and it's showing a good 11.5 volts when I turn the key to run, then about 9.5 when cranking, so I know it's good. The ICM is new, but I didn't put the dielectric compound I've read about in the forums (it didn't come with any in the box.) I can always go back and put it on, but this wouldn't cause a no-spark would it? I guess my next move is pickup coil! Fun fun fun

On the bright side, I found out most of my power accessories work! Blinkers blinked, Power windows limped their way up and down, even the wipers wiped and the blower blew a ton of junk out of the vents. It's so great having good news for once :P

LiveIt!

Project Moneypit got nowhere fast today! Spent Christmas eve tearing back into the distributor for the 145th time to clean up the rusted screws and apply that thermal dielectric grease stuff. Replaced one screw with a new one, cleaned up the second, put a generous helping of grease on, threw it all back together just to get the same old story. Is there anything else I should check before going for the pickup coil? Cap is clean, ignition coil is giving voltage, rotor is spinning. Maybe the ICM isn't getting power? How could I check that? Could anyone give tips for checking if the pickup is faulty?

Thanks in advance guys, I should've asked for a mechanic for Christmas :P

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

The icm gets power on the pink wire double plug of the icm. Did you follow post #7
?
http://easyautodiagnostics.com/gm/4....ed-icm-tests-6

LiveIt!

Thanks TP, I followed the guide and determined something with the Ignition Coil is fishy. I tested this with 2 different coils, the old one and new one, and got the same result. I'm getting 12V on the side that sends spark to the distributor, but nothing on the opposite side . I checked for the pickup coil and ICM signal, that looked like it checked out (that's a relief!).

What could be causing this? Wish the guide would've been more detailed than "you must find out why you're missing this voltage"! :P

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

Not sure what you mean bye 12v on the spark to distributor side. The coil is charged and when the field collapses spark comes out the secondary windings out the coil plug lead.
Here's another way to test coil windings.

W.E.G.

Chase every GROUND lead.

This sounds more and more like a failed ground circuit.

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

If a high current draw like the starter works . I wouldn't suspect a poor ground.
I didn't hear your results on testing the pu coil. Resistance will be between 800- 1.3k.
Checking voltage output while cranking will be .2-.7 acv. If it's not the perminant magnet maybe cracked or weak or faulty pu coil.

LiveIt!

I'll run those tests in the morning TP, thanks for that!
By 12V on the dist. side, I meant the post that you connect the cable that runs to the distributor to. The guide said on page 8 to test that pink wire for 12V, which didn't measure anything. I followed Test #6 and that lead me to believe the ICM and Pickup are good, but I can run a test on just the pickup tomorrow. Not like this Camaro is going anywhere :P




I'm suspicious of a ground too, I noticed today there was a flat braided metal ground cable bolted to the firewall just dangling by the distributor area. What it came off and when is the question

redneckjoe

that braided ground strap bolts to one of the bellhousing bolts or the back of a cylinder head.

LiveIt!

This car is going to be the death of me, out of nowhere today the ignition module acts completely dead, no voltage on the post. Swap it out for the new one, same story. I looked for a spot to bolt that ground strap to but didn't see where it could've came off of, the bolts look untouched. I tried just grounding the cable to the Ignition Module after reading in another thread it needed a ground cable to body, but that just showed no voltage at the post. Took it off, no voltage. Tried a different module, no voltage. What could've gone wrong?

Going back out to test the pickup, At least I'm persistent! :P

LiveIt!

Good news, Pickup is testing dead as a door-nail. Only showing 0.1 volts when cranking, not fluctuating what so ever. Ohms is stating it's open. Wonder what could've caused it to fail? It's such a good feeling knowing which part is faulty

Going to replace it and see where I get, wish me luck

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

I like to replace pu coils and icms together. Heat/age or a car sitting along time will cause the pu to fail.

LiveIt!

The car has been sitting a few years I think. ICM should still be good since it's new. Thanks everyone for the help, I'll help you guys posted!

LiveIt!

I'm about ready to call a mechanic, you'd think after saving it from being turned into soda cans and giving it every part it could need this Camaro would be more appreciative! :P

I got a good pickup coil and threw everything back together, still no spark. What else could there be to check???

Could I be overlooking something simple? a safety switch or something maybe? The car will crank in park, but gives me the "FASTEN SEATBELTS" (which I'm sure is normal) and the "BRAKE" light. Maybe something to do with the emergency brake? it's showing this even tho the brake is not lifted...

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

The last step if the pu is not generating voltage while cranking the magnet trigger may be bad.

LiveIt!

IDIOT mistake...The PU wasn't generating voltage because the distributor wasn't even spinning! I either didn't put the distributor all the way back in or didn't bolt it down good enough, because I was checking under the hood and pushed the distributor down!

I thought it was just the cap at first.....nope
I can't believe I did this I'm sure I screwed up the timing, so guess that's my next path on the road to getting this thing on the road!