Really Hope someone can help me with this as i am stumped. I have an 87 Trans Am 350 TPI.

I currently have no spark coming from the remote Accel ignition coil.

It has a new distributor and i am getting 12V from the pink wire in the gray connector.

When i check the terminals on coil i am reading no voltage with key in the on position. When i take the wires off the coil i am reading 12V.

So it seems that there is power in the wire but when it is hooked to the coil i read 0V.

It is a digital voltmeter if that helps any.

Does anyone have an ideas?

Thanks

 

anybody?

 

Try testing power with a test light. Voltmemeters, because of their high input impedance, will show voltage even when there is high resistance in the circuit. If the test light doesn't light, check connections at the ignition switch and wiring between. You may have a bad coil. I don't put much faith in accel ignition products. Use your voltmeter to test primary coil resistance. It should be .5-1 ohm. Unplug the black connector from the coil and reconnect the gray connector. Use the test light to check for pulse on the white wire while cranking the engine. If you have a good pulse on this wire and no spark, replace the coil.

 

Coil tested ok. I used a test light and confirmed power with ignition turned to on. I do not however have a pulse at the white wire which is the one paired with the pink one.

What you are saying is that i should have power to pink and the white should pulse when cranking correct?

I have power to pink but no pulse on white when cranking.

What could cause this?

 

The distributor produces this pulse. The pole piece, timing core, pick up coil, and ignition module comprise the primary ignition circuit. You say the dist is new? What brand? BTW, I was tired and being creative when I said to disconnect the black connector from the coil and test for pulse this way. Ive never done it that way. Just thought it would be a neat method. The dist gets its power from the small pink wire that is in the black connector. So, you have to have both connectors installed on the coil to test for pulse. If you get no pulse this way, try disconnecting the tach circuit. The tach circuit is fed from the white wire of the gray connector. There will be an inline connector somewhere between the coil and the main engine harness. The tach can be shorted and pull down the referrence pulse to the coil.

If still no pulse, recheck all connections at the dist. If no problem found, replace the dist. There are a few brands of replacement distributors available. To my knowledge, AC Delco doesn't offer a complete unit. A1 Cardone is junk. Ill admit that Ive installed a few of their distrbutors in customers' cars and had more come back than what I consider acceptable. Two options are MSD or ACCEL. Both offer performance upgrades that are direct replacements for the OE unit. I have mixed feelings about ACCEL products. I installed the ACCEL 300+ ignition controller and Billettech distributor. The module left me after a few years. The distributor is still going strong with my new MSD Digital 6. MSD makes the Pro Billet replacement.

 

Should the primary ignition coil be giving off spark with only the grey connector in and the black connector that goes back to the dist disconnected?

 

No. There should be no spark with the black connector disconnected. What do you mean by primary ignition coil? There is the pick up coil in the distributor, and the ignition coil. We sometimes refer to the pick up coil as the primary ignition coil. The ignition module contains an amplifier which converts the sine wave produced by the pick up coil, as the pole piece and timing core pass each other, into a digital crank referrence signal for the ECM. It also, amplifies this signal to charge and discharge the ignition coil. The ignition module receives its power through the small pink wire that is in the black connector.

 

I meant the ignition coil not the pickup coil. Is it possible to test without the ECM to rule that out?

 

As I remember, you should be able to generate spark from the distributor with the 4 wire connector of the ignition module disconnected. this isolates the distributor from the ECM.

 

Well i checked power on the black connector coming back to the distributor and it shows the test light is showing power on both wires in that connector. Is this the way it should be? Do i have a bad connector?

Also when i ground the negative side that goes to the ignition coil it then only shows power on the pink wire in the black connector.

 

That's normal. With the key on engine off, your seeing ignition power feeding back through the coil primary. Do you have a service manual? the factory (HELMs Publishing) manual has a very thorough diagnostic flow chart for no spark. Did you try it without the 4 pin connector plugged in? Have you verified that the distributor shaft is turning with the crank?

Go back over the tests I've described and make sure you've done them all. Have you tested for spark on more than one wire? the coil primary can be shorted, causing no spark and pullin down the PIP(primary ignition pulse). Disconnect both connectors from the coil. Use a test lead to route power from the pink wire in the gray connector to the pink wire in the black connector. Be sure that the lead doesn't touch the white wire. With the distributor connected this way, test for PIP while cranking engine.

If no PIP, double check test. Check grounding of distributor and ign module. If all checks good, remove module and have tested. If module tests good, use an ohmmeter to check pick up coil. It should read between 800 and 1000 ohms, if not replace distributor. If you just bought the distributor new, skip the last 2 steps and return the distributor for exchange.

 

Success! Thank you for all your help. Looks like the connector going back to the dist was loose. Plugged it back in and now getting spark.

 

See? You made me do all that typing for nothing. You know how bad I suck at typin? My index fingers are getting raw. LOL. So glad it was something simple. Happy motoring!

 

You didn't type all that for nothing because I am having the same problem and this is just the info I needed. Heading out to the garage to give it a try.

Thanks

 

Found it. turns out a couple of pins got bent down on the ignition module in the distributor when I first hooked them up. Got fire, now just have to get the gas leak on the fuel rail and the VATS issue fixed again.

 

The small two prong grey plug that has key on power where does that go? I have been searching for two days and cant find where it plugs into Thanks Tyler

 

Same problem kinda. No spark. I have replaced ignition control module mass air flow checked fuses