timing belt job, no spark

[Kershaw]

so this was a really convoluted process. i bought the car with a snapped belt. changed the head, new belt. etc. i didnt put the intake manifold on correctly and had some serious vacuum leaks. it ran though, just terribly.

so i pulled the manifold back off and installed it correctly. even with a brand new fuel pump. now.. now im not getting spark. i've swapped the spark pulse sensor and the cps back and forth a million times. i've tested the cps. i've swapped the coil. and i've tested another dme. swapped the main relay too.

im at a loss here.

2 friends of mine (independently) think something, unrelated, just broke in the mean time. a relay or what not. all the fuses look good. i've tapped on all the relays to see if that helps. pulled the plugs, soaked in gas. pulled the line to the fuel rail, i got soaked in gas. i know i have gas. i've pulled the plug, connected to the an ignition wire and cranked and nothing..

the coil is not getting any power during cranking either.

input appreciated.

[nebulous123]

I had this same problem with my car after it sat for a little while.

1. Get your Bentley out.
2. Run every test you can in the areas of ignition and fuel system. From the DME plug in your dash.
2a. Test both engine speed sensor and engine reference sensor. Make sure the resistance is within Bentley specs. If not replace them.
2b. Test the resistance of the ignition coil and check for voltage off and on and when cranking the motor.d

Now if all of the above check out and passes all the test and still won't start, check the battery cable in the trunk of the car that send power to the DME. Its got a massive fuse on it and just make sure its intact.

But if that all checks out its a bad DME and you need to replace it. Which is what ended up happening to me. Its like $60 or less from a pick and pull

Here are some clippings to use from Bentley to get you started.













Just posted this on another guys thread, sounds like you could use the help too. i took out the parts about fuel cus you said you are getting it.

Good luck.

[e30_3I8I]

I bet you its the Crank sensor.

[accident]

Check the rotor. More than once I have done a timing belt job and found the rotor in pieces after trying to start the car.

[Kershaw]

I've swapped the dme. I've tested the cps. I'll check the engine speed sensor.

The cap and rotor are brand new.

[accident]

Check it anyway. It's happened to me.

[StereoInstaller1]

The cap and rotor are brand new.

"New" does not mean "good", take that shit apart and check it.

[Kershaw]

i had them running in my zinno ix for a month before they got put into the lachs car. so i know they're good. still... it's worth a shot to check i suppose.

[Kershaw]

well, even if the cap and rotor are bad...

it still doesnt solve my issue of no power to the coil...

[accident]

Didn't read that, my bad. CPS is almost definitely the culprit then. Or the main relay. Does the CEL illuminate when you turn the key to run without trying to start the car? If not the DME isn't getting power.

[sweet6e30]

I had similar issue, maybe even the same, I mixed up these two connectors, i didnt have spark and everything else was perfect. i swapped them and boom started up right away

TRY SWAPPING them, One is for the cps, and the other for the spark plug wire "whatchamacallit"

these connectors are identical one plugs upsidedown and the other the right way up.

[Kershaw]

Not that I don't appreciate you guys trying to help, but I already checked all that. First post.

That's why I'm stumped.

[Rigmaster]

check the crank sensor (resistance specs above or in Bentley) and check the fusible link in the small wire that runs parallel to the main positive battery cable. It's just a small piece in the wire that is supposed to burn out before the wire starts melting, to prevent a short. They are notorious for going bad and causing starting problems. There are a couple of threads around on how to fix/bypass the fusible link if it's bad, or if you think it's bad.

[Ceeker]

such a common problem the cps and fusible link. I'd rip the cps out since they are dirt cheap and check the inline fuse in the + cable about a foot up from the connection. Test it with a light tested. one of these two is the most likely culprit but you never know.

[accident]

I'd rip the cps out since they are dirt cheap

wat