I have a problem with my car cranking and cranking with no attempt to start.

Last night I went out to my car thinking all was fine and dandy, car was working 100% fine until I turned the key. The motor could crank all day long but with no spark.

This morning I went outside to go give the car a second try; It cranked and fired right up. I let it sit there and idle and gave it a little gas here and there, then all of sudden it was an instant shutdown of the motor. I still had lots of battery, all gauges reading fine.

I tried cranking it over again and it had no spark.

My dad then opened the hood and checked for spark at the coil by jamming a screwdriver into the spark plug wire going to the coil and then getting me to crank the motor. He said that the first time I cranked the motor there was a very small orange spark, very weak, and then from that point on after multiple cranks there was nothing.

I checked the fuel pressure earlier and it was fine (in case the fuel pump was bad, although it was new as of last year)

I replaced th ignition module last summer with a new high output Accel one.

The car has a Crane Hi-6 ignition box.

Right now we are both thinkng it could be the coil or the pick-up. Right now I have limited funds so what does you guys think the problem is?

 

The problem is your coil with very little doubt.If he checked it at the coil and had faint spark your coil is shot.Quick just so youll know,if you have a powerful stereo system in your car as I do,you cannot run it pulling major power(like pushing 2 12"subwoofer)for really any length of time with the ignition key in the start position and the motor not running.With key in Accesory position jam on my friend but in start all that power is being pulled through the coil and the rest of your ignition system.But yes go buy a coil,I'd be willing to bet youll find your problem is there.

 

Power for your amp is being pulled through your ignition system? I don't think so Power for your stereo is drawn from the battery

 

Yoy can use the FREE "Smartfix" software at www.partsamerica.com for diagnose your problem (mine was the ignition module).


Regards,

 

What does this ignition module do?
What are the effects of a defective ignition module?
Is it usefull to teplace it with a performance module, like Accel?

 

Ign. module is a transistorized electronic"card" which give the order for ignite the coil (or coil pack) in the right time. Bad ign module = no spark. If your car has distributor, the ign. module could be into it, under the cap. If not, the ign mod will be under the coil pack. You can see ign. module pics at the same web page (partsamerica.com).

About replacement, if your car has distributor, you can search by "MSD Ignition", Accel and others.

If you car is distributorless, you needs only the stock AC Delco, for me is the best (with this, I can burn until a rock into my engine).


Regards,

Denis V.

 

Still no starts guys....I haven't replaced anything yet, I want to know exactly what part I need before I purchase it.

I ran another test today to see if the pick up was bad, my grandfather (former GM engineer) told me to run a wire from the positive post of the coil (with the positive cable still attached to the coil, just kinda jammed the wire in) to the battery (not touching at this point). Then I was supposed to jam a screwdriver into the sparkplug wire that connects to the coil. Once this has been done, I was to touch the other end of the wire to the positive post of the battery and see if I get any spark from the screwdriver if I place it near metal.

Well my father and I just performed this test and we got no spark.....well at least from the screwdriver......we did get some spark when I touched the postive battery post.

I have a small short somewhere in the car like if I leave my car parked for anyhting over a week and a half, the battery is drained. This could maybe the cause of the spark at the battery I don't know, but I'm still trying to figure out what is wrong exactly COIL or PICKUP coil?

The coil I found out is a aftermarket high-output Crane Cams coil. Because this is a replacement aftermarket coil from Crane, it makes me think that it is not likely my coil that is faulty but my pickup.

The coil is connected to a Crane HI-6 ignition box. The box may be a older model because it is anodized blue instead of the current black they are today. The ignition box has an indicator light on it which tells me whether it is functioning or not; The red light is on.

I am getting no codes thrown at me so it's not the ECM.

All other information is located at the top of this post.

 

Hawk,

A few questions:

2. Do you have a digital multimeter available?
3. Have you tried starting with the EST bypass connector disconnected?
4. Have you tried to bypass the Crane ignition and temporarily reconnect the stock configuration?
5. Where's Whitby?
6. Who's the pleasant young lady?

Stop poking around with jumpers and screwdrivers, and get a meter (even a cheap one). No one should just replace parts indiscriminately without diagnosing the problem first. If you don't have a lot of cash on hand, it can be an expensive process. If you do have a lot of cash, you won't for long with that kind of "repair".

 

Good call Vader... you beat me to it

I'd say pull out a plug, plug it into the wire, touch it to the block and crank it.. see if it makes a spark at the electrode.

 

Here are the answers to your questions:

1. ?

2. Digital no, Analog yes. I should get a digital multimeter one of these days.

3. No haven't tried that yet, where is it located? What does it look like?

4. The previous owners wired so you can't go back as far as I
know. *** I hope the ignition box isn't fried! No $$$ for that.

5. Whitby is a little north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

6. She is pretty hot isn't she....I dunno I just thought she looked hot

Today I replaced the pickup coil, put the distributor back in (a little off the mark, but close enought to start). It didn't fix the problem....still cranks all day with no sign of spark, just the smell of fuel.

I took the coil off and tested it over at my grandfathers, and it tested fine, a nice blue spark.

The module is new, but apparently it doesn't matter because the Crane Hi-6 ignition box bypasses it from I've heard.

Thanks guys for your help so far.

 

I thought I might get you on #1. No one can EVER answer #1....

An accurate analog is O.K. as long as the resolution is fairly low, calibration is correct, and input impedence is high (as in 10MO/V or higher). Most analogs don't meet all those criteria, except for a few of the higher-end pieces, VTVMs, and such.

the EST bypass connector can be found along the firewall, in a single tan/white wire:



If disconnecting that makes a difference, you may have an EST, knock sensor, or HEI wiring issue.

 

Thanks Vader your pics are a godsend. I'll try disconnecting the EST tommorow morning.

By the way, what do EST stand for 'Electronic Spark .........'?

 

timing...