Just replaced intake gaskets on my l98 because the china walls were leaking. Now I don't have spark coming from my distrib. Spark at the coil though. Double checked my 2 distrib connectors. The distrib is in correctly

 

http://easyautodiagnostics.com/gm_ic...n_module_1.php

 

So apparently it's either my cap or rotor. Rotor was replaced earlier this year. Cap contacts were cleaned up. Just don't understand why it would have been ok before I took the intake off and now it doesn't work

 

You may have broken the button at the center of the cap that runs on the rotor. If not careful when setting the cap in place, it's easy to catch the rotor's spring steel tang on the side of the carbon button snap it off. You rotor may also have arced through to the dist shaft. How are your wires? If they are on the older side(60,000 miles or 3years), they may have higher than optimal resistance. This puts added stress on the cap and rotor. Also, if you're running a high output coil, this will go through cap and rotor faster than normal.

 

New cap and rotor. Still no start

But I now have spark at my wires. Wires aren't very old. New ICM. new cap and rotor and plugs aren't that old either

No fuel pressure gauge but I push the schrader valve and fuel sprays out. Squirt starting fluid in the throttle and not even a fire.

Is it possible my distrib is 180* off? I took pics of the location of the rotor before I removed the distrib and also made a mark from the distrib base to intake. Also I never turned the engine over

 

180* off will still provide spark just at the wrong time, and if you followed your markings it would be impossible to put in 180 off and not notice. Are your wires in the right spots? How are you testing for spark? Maybe a faulty tester throwing you off on the wrong trail?

 

I'm just using an old spark plug and wire. I have spark now but still doesn't ignite. Testing every terminal at the distrib with my test plug/wire and then putting the plug in all 8 wires that I have installed

 

Well now the issue changed. It seems to be I'm not getting fuel.

Yesterday the car didn't seem to fire even if I sprayed starting fluid in the intake. Today it does fire but won't stay running so that leaves a fuel issue. I can hear the fuel pump prime, I know I hooked up my fuel lines properly because I marked them, and fuel will spray outta the schrader valve if I press it down.

I suppose I gotta check injectors now

EDIT: did further testing and it seems that my injectors are not getting a signal.

 

Be sure that both connectors are seated and no pins are bent on both dist connectors. Double check grounds at the rear of the heads.

 

the other thing also that could be wrong is also is the CAM or lack of new spark plugs maybe

 

That's a good pint. If the plugs are fouled, they may not fire well enough for the engine to start on its own. Starting fluid(ether) will make an engine fire even when it may not burn fuel very well.

 

Plugs are under a year old as well as wires. Also haven't driven over 5k miles with the new ignition components.

 

I've seen brand new plugs fouled from a combination of fuel and oil from an intake R&R. I'm not saying this is your problem, just something to look at.

 

Ok I'll have to check those.

I was thinking more so a pickup coil issue. My fuel injectors aren't getting a pulse so that could potentially cause that issue too right? ICM was replaced a few weeks ago because of a stalling issue

 

The pick up coil, and ICM are both part of the ignition system. If either one fails, you will have no spark. The ECM also receives the crank reference pulse, which it uses to time the injector pulses, from the ICM and pickup coil. The ICM and/or pick up coil are suspect only in cases where there is no spark and no injector pulse. Have you checked for power at the injectors? A 12 volt test light should light at one side of the unplugged injector connector. If not, check the injector fuses(INJ1 and INJ2) in the under dash fuse panel. Check all the fuses. Try wiggle testing the underhood wiring and look carefully for any signs of broken insulation that may be causing a short circuit. Look under the dash for any sign of poor wiring repair.

Your car is a VATS car too. Now that you have spark and no injector pulse, This is exactly what happens when the Passkey module fails to produce the fuel enable pulse. Look behind the driver's kick panel to see if the start relay has been bypassed. This would explain why the engine cranks. You may need to look for an issue with the key not making good contact with the contacts in the ignition cylinder.

 

I've already checked those fuses and they are good.

Wouldn't my security light be on if VATS were the reason? I just find it odd that it won't start after I made a repair, and yet everything around the area I worked seems to be in the correct place.

When I was checking for injector pulse and had a injector wire unplugged, my car did fire once as I was cranking

 

I should also add that I applied 12v to the purple wire from the 4 terminal connector to the distrib. The fuel pump primed but didn't see injector pulse

 

Do be careful applying voltage to the crank ref circuit. It is a 5v circuit and while a quick jab with a test light connected to batt+ won't hurt it, very much time connected directly to batt+ can damage the ECM. The fact that the fuel pump activated tells us that the ECM is getting the signal. There is something missing from the injector circuit, or the VATS is preventing injector pulse. Did you verify 12v at the injectors with the key on? Also, use the test light or a noid light to check for pulse on both banks, incase just one bank is out. VATS odes not prevent the fuel pump running, only injector pulse. So, this could still be VATS. Verify 12v to the injectors, veify spark one more time, and verify the fuel pump running. If all these things are okay and you have no injector pulse, you're going to have to start looking at the VATS circuit for a failure.

 

Ok so checked for spark, still have that. Car runs on starting fluid.

Checked for power at the injectors and I have 12v at all connectors.
Pulse wasn't seen when I had a buddy helping as he watched the test light while I cranked.

I've been searching and it seems there have been cases similar to mine and it had either turned out to be the ICM or pickup coil or even ECM. Now I just replaced my ICM a few weeks ago due to a dying issue. I tested ohms on my pu coil and they were .735 or something around that.

Are there any tests I can do to check those out? I'm just not too familiar with VATS so I wouldn't know how to repair it if that were the case.

I should mention I had to replace my battery after my intake gasket repair. It seems the cells may have fused together causing weird electrical issues with my car. And at one point the security light started flashing when I had the key on. After the battery was replaced the light wasn't there and everything went back to normal, aside from it not starting.

 

So what's the best way to test if it is VATS?

 

Sorry for the slow response. Been busy at work. Here at the shop, I would use my lab scope to check for the fuel enable signal from the VATS Passkey module to the ECM. The signal circuit is a single dark blue wire. It runs from connector A, pin 2 of the VATS module to connector C1, pin B6 of the ECM. The VATS module is mounted behind the passenger side of the dash. You should be able to reach it with the under dash panel off, with your hand. It may be easier though to test for the signal at the ECM.

Since you probably don't have a lab scope, you can test for the signal with a DVOM. It's a 5 volt digital signal and will look like 2.5 volts on a volt meter. If you see 0 volts or 5 volts, the signal is not being sent. Check the start enable relay, under the driver's kick panel for being jumpered. This is a common fix for a failed start enable relay. I have had a few cases too where the VATS module worked fine, except for no fuel enable signal.

If the problem ends up being the VATS module, you can purchase a bypass module on ebay for $20. The module produces the fuel enable signal so that the VATS module isn't needed to run the engine. You would need to be sure that the start relay is jumpered though.

 

Thank you for your response.

However I now got it to start again. Scary thing is that I'm not sure what I fixed. Only explanation is that it was a loose connection between something. All I did was go over the wiring harness to look for breaks, triple check the grounds, ohm out the injectors again, check for power and ground at the connectors, and when I went to check for pulse again it fired up.

Now it runs fine other than a fuel leak that is most likely an o ring

 

Crazy. I hate when cars fix themselves. Try wiggle testing with the engine running to see if you can get it to stumble. You will find a loose connection this way. It's not uncommon for the injector o-rings to leak if they are reused. When you replace them, be sure to lube them with vasoline when reconnecting the injectors to the rails and intake.