My son was drivig to work...said the car kinda hesitated then quit...and wont restart. there is a weak spark at the coil....and No spark at the plug end of the plug wire. I thought it might be coil or ignition module....but the towtruck guy said its timinng. If it is timing, why would it just up and quit with no warning? (could the timing chain have broken?) Any advice on how to narrow the possabilities down......without the expense of hit or miss parts replacing?
Thanks for any help

PS. LOVE THIS SITE.....BEEN EXTREMELY HELPFUL SINCE WE BOUGHT THIS CAR

 

Check the pick-up coil and module in the distributor. The same thing happened to me recently.

 

how volts on the batt, and is the alt is good working condition?

 

How long will it take before KED85 comes in hollering "CHANGE COIL CHANGE COIL"

Really, it's probably the coil or distributor, since the plugs are not getting a spark.

 

AH SPRING TIME IN THE UPPER NEW YORK STATE!
How lovely the regrowth of folliage.
And the disaster on the road
Yeah I say
COIL
COIL
BOIL IN TROUBLE.
Go get a new coil and slip clip it in to TEST to see if car restarts. One need not "secure" the coil to see that it is the correct part to make this no start problem dissappear.
How lovely is the spring time, a fresh beginning!
COIL
COIL
COIL
Ya got spark your ICM is fine.
Yeah the rain clouds have parted and the Sun is shining thru, happiness is back due to a running car!
Yeah to the April month a new beginning of engine work!
But now one less problem to deal with!
COIL
COIL
COIL
Enjoy your day!

PS Chevy Vegas would not run due to timing belt breaking. Many other overhead cam car engines exhibit the exact same problem & solution (timing belt broke). But not this 60* V6 problem (no start) and solution (replace coil, $30-ish to start car).
It's an easy cheap experiment to see IF....

I also remote mount it to keep away from engine exhaust heat. At same time, it's an easy fix due to not drilling out rivets to hold in the same lousy choice GM spot!
Mine is on passenger side firewall, the yellow Accel item.

 

If the timing chain had catasrauphically failed, there would be no spark whatsoever. Distributor wouldn't be spinning. My money's on the coil specifically, though I can't rule out the module.

 

Got out of work on this not so nice WNY afternoon, picked up a coil...installed it, still wont start. But the way my kid was jumping around after I had him hold the plug wire....we have good spark now!!! what about the module? The distributor was replaced end of last summer. And i still cant help but wonder why the towtruck guy told my kid it was timing...any thoughts on that?
thanks again for all the help!

 

this is the same thing that happend to me
a week after i got my 91 rs v6

so i changed the pick up coil
changed the full Distributor as it was kinda ratty looking
new ignition modual
new cap
new rotor
new spark plugs
new wires
and what happend after that
nota same thing
just some times it would start but idle like crap
sounded like it had a cam and would stall if you let off the gas at all
but then a day later nothing nota

turns out the timeing chain had slipped
the mechanic said it must have slipped once
then slipped again to cause me to not be able to start again
so yes timeing being off can be what is wrong

i put a heat shield on my coil and it dosnt even get hot now

but i would recommend all the new parts as man as soon as the chain got replaced my car ran so perfect
better then it ever did

 

IF ICM is bad or not good
Your kid wouldn't be hip hopping!
ICM is good if spark is passed, whether weak or strong.
One way to test chain is to get a 17mm socket onto the crank, use a breaker bar to rotate engine.
Before you rotate engine, remove the cap.
See how much movement it takes on crank to move rotor.
Could chain have moved?
You tell us.
I can say that original timing gears on the V8 rides use plastic teeth on the gears.
I do know my original V6 chain, I had about an inch of balancer movement before I moved the rotor in distributor.
Sorry my prose wasn't helpful.
Back to the Acme drawing board awaiting another shipment before I eat that pesky Road Runner!
You're my first new coil no start! Bummer for me!
Outta curiosity, what is the pressure of the fuel pump? One needs borrow a pressure gauge for that reading.

I though about this later on.
COULD it be the pick up coil on the base of distributor shaft? I am most sure it may be original & not sure if that pick up coils fails that engine may not run. The wires do get rather fragile after all those years.
Number one plug is passenger side front cylinder.
If there are gear teeth missing from the timing chain, they very well will be located in the oil screen pick up. That's where they were when I dropped my oil pan on my Chevy V8.

 

Hey guys....thanks for all the thoughts. Today due to this nice dusting of snow, going to have a little garage time (i know, snow in April!) I'm going to try moving the crank, see if the rotor turns, if it does .... Autozone said they can test the module.

Also, my son told me towtruck guy said its timing because when he looked in the oil hole in valve cover, rockers werent moving......but when I looked.....they seemed to be .

I will be back later with this continuing saga.
Oh and Ken, sorry to mess up your record....I would have prefered not to!!!

 

If you suspect timing chain at all, be careful about turning the motor. If the timing chain does happen to be broken, you run the risk of damaging the valves. But if you have any spark at all, you have timing, so it shouldn't be an issue.

This may sound really dumb, but what are the condition of your ignition wires? I have had weak spark in the past, and it was due to faulty wires. My car seems to chew them up, at an alarming pace. (even the good wires. I keep them loomed and well away from my exhaust. Next time im going to try thermal sleeves and see what happens.)

 

the 3.1 v6 found in the fbodys is non interferance
i work at a chevy dealer and all the mechanics agree on this

 

ITS RUNNING!! After installing the new coil....we had spark, but still didnt start. Went out next day to check timing, rotor moved when crank was turned, but found we didnt have spark again...took the ICM to Autozone for test....no good! Replaced it....it fired right up.

Thanks again to all who gave much appriciated advice. I still can't get over how people are so eager to lend a hand
thanks
Steve Cutter & son

 

That'll be a nickle, please!
Right again about coil!
But sounds like ya fried somehow the ICM inbetween.
Once no spark, it's ICM
Weak spark, coil.
Great to read the results from ya!
I'll bet the car runs like a champ now, too!