BobBorakovitz

I have an 89 Camaro V6 2.8. I was riding home friday night when my car just stalled on me. I got it pulled to the side of the road and tried to restart it. It cranked no problem and even turned over, but wouldn't "bite" to go ahead and start the engine. I got it towed home today and started trying to figure out what happened.

First thing I thought it was - was the fuel pump, but everything seems fine there, the fuel pump primes the engine with the same sound when you turn the key on. So, next thing I checked was firing some gas into the intake to see if that would bite...nothing there either.

So, at this point I'm pretty sure that it's not getting spark. So, we unplugged one of the spark plug wires and checked if it was firing with a tester, but that wasn't giving anything. Checked a little further back. We went over to the ignition coil and tested it as per the Chiltons & Haynes manuals, the tests failed so I bought a new one. Installed that tonight and the car still won't start. So, I tested the new one and the tests failed on the new one too. I'm confused royally at this point...

I get 12 volts at the pink wire to the ignition coil with the key on, but no sparks coming off of the small spark plug wire going from the coil to the distributor. I can crank the car all day long but it'll never start.

I had my dad help me today, but even he's at a loss. I'm sure someone here has had this problem before, can someone help shine some light on this situation for me, please? Thanks!

jstrdn90rs

Have you tried an ignition control module(ICM)?..its underneath the dist.cap...notice when you remove it how much electrical grease is between the module and dist.base.If there isnt any or hardly any its possible its overheated and its dead.The grease needs to be there to keep the module cool and to dispate heat.A new one usually comes with a tube that you need to spread on it,before installation.Theres two types of grease the thick white stuff and the clear stuff..dont use the clear stuff on the module.Every year or so, I usually clean off the old stuff and reinstall a good layer of grease.

Project: 85 2.8 bird

the icm can be tested, so its best to verify before spending $$$ on another one

BobBorakovitz

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm going out now to see if I can find it. If/when I find it, I'll see if I can get it tested somewhere... I'm guessing Advance Auto could do the testing?

Thanks for the help, I'll respond soon.

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ok - I've found the ICM without much help from either the chiltons or the haynes manuals, unfortunately. It seems to be the part on my distributor which the 2 wiring harnesses attach to.

I called around all the auto part stores around and no-one seems to do ICM testing locally, at least. Is there any way to test this at home? I'm going to do a forum search right now and see if I come up with anything.

thanks again

jstrdn90rs

I can agree and disagree with testing it..reason being is I bought a new module and on my way to work the car died and left me stranded until it cooled down and started back up again....until a few miles again it died.I took it back and they said it was okay..but put the old one back on and it never died.So if you have it tested I hope these people test it cold and warm cause anybody who knows electrical boards..constant cooling/heating can contract and expand the board which can make or break a circuit.

BobBorakovitz

I found out that Autozone tests them, I'm headed there now with the part.

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conclusion: ICM was faulty, the test failed immediately when attempted. He tried a few times just to make sure, but he just tested the same module the day before for another person. So, I swapped the part and all seems good, she started up pretty bad, but I think I damaged one of my spark plug wires during the troubleshooting. Tomorrow I'm going back out and going to try to get mine replaced free. It worked the last time. Then I need to figure out why my wires keep getting damaged after a few months.

Thanks a lot for everyone's help, this had me stumped. I love this site

Just a little heads up to anyone who needs it tested, autozone can test them for you, although the idiots on the phone don't ever really want to help you. I asked to speak to a manager at the 4th location I called and he was helpful as could be.