I am having some trouble figuring what is wrong with my camaro. It is a 1992 3.1 v6. What happens when i turn the key the car will crank but wont start. Fuel is present on start, both the fuel pump and injectors are working. So i have no spark? I have already put in new spark plugs, spark plug wires, and ignition coil. I just removed my ICM and am going to have it tested, but i noticed that when i removed my dizzy cover that there is a decent amount of rust inside. Is this normal wear? or should i get a whole new dizzy put in?

THANKS FOR ANY HELP!

 

Isnt the ICM, but could it still be my distributor?

 

Have you checked for battery voltage at the coil and between the coil and the module? Should be 12V on both pink wires (the gray coil connector and the 2-wire at the module coming off of the coil).

If you need a dizzy, I have a relatively lightly used reman I bought and installed a couple months before I took my car off of the road that's currently packed to go to whomever needs it.

 

not sure if i really need a new dizzy but everything under the cap is rusted. could that be causing my no start? thanks for the info ill test them once i get myself a dvom.

 

Mine was rusted when I got rid of it... It's not the rust you need to worry about but the magnetic pole piece for the pickup coil. If that thing cracks, you need a new dizzy.

 

i figured the rust would cause resistance, and my dizzy has the ignition coil mounted separate from the cap. Where is this pole piece i should inspect?

 

If you have fuel being injected via the injectors, but no spark, there are only two possibilities.

The ICM. I have seen one case, where the ICM seent the DRP signal to the ECM, that enabled the injectors to function, but wouldn't drive the coil.

The wire harness that connects the ICM to the coil. If there is a broken wire in this two wire harness, then the coil will not fire. If you do have signal to the injectors the broken wire would have to be the white wire, since the pink wire, that is ignition is needed, to energize the ICM and allow the DRP signal to be sent to the ECM.

If you are not getting signal to the injectors, then it could still be the ICM, or signal from the reluctor wheel inside the dizzy to the ICM. I have not prersonally seen one of these fail though.

 

the ICM was tested and is fine. i checked the value near the fuel pressure regulator and there is fuel present. i can hear both the fuel pump and injectors work. ill check my connectors though in the morning. thanks

 

If you have a DVOM, you can test the coil for resistance. The primary should test between .5 and 1 ohm. The secondary side should test at 22K to 27K ohms. Both sides sould have no continuity to the coil frame. ICM is hard to test. The testers used by most auto parts stores are not very reliable. There is a test series detailed in the Factory Service Manual but passing a resistance test with no load is quite different from driving an ignition coil. Have you checked for spark at the coil wire to verify that the cap and rotor aren't the problem?

 

check coil wire for signs of quick connects for tach.

 

Exactly!

The only test that I rely on is, if I suspect a part is bad, even if it "tests" good, when I replace and the problem goes away, that's my real test.

 

i replaced it, but it still wont start. I DO HAVE SPARK! but the spark is orange? i was told it should blue. is this a issue?

I have fuel being injected, i have spark but orange, new icm, ignition coil, and ECT. I am so confused and stress out and really need to fix my car :/

any other suggestion? thanks for any help!!

 

Could my issue be my ECM? where is the cars ECM located? and whats the best way to test one?

 

There is no "test" for the ECM. We can however monitor sensor data at the ECM, thereby eliminating any wiring issues, and watch the ECM's responses to be sure they are as they should be. When an ECM does fail, it's generally in the power section of the unit which supplies power to the quad drivers and other controlled circuits. Or they have ground circuits fail. A failed ECM generally won't produce injector pulse. There is of course the PROM module. If it fails the ECM may not produce the necessary injector pulses for engine start. This can also be checked using a lab scope.

From the sound of your symptoms, I would start by going back over fuel pressure, injector pulse on both banks, check plugs for fuel fouling.

Don't stress over the color of your spark. The color is largely affected by ambient light. If you checked it in the dark, it would probably be blue. To test KV, use an adjustable KV tester. They are cheap to buy. Set it for 40K. The HEI should produce a bright spark that jumps the gap at 40K. This test will verify your ignition system's health.

 

what did the problem end up being?