Can you help me get spark from my coil?

MIKIEFELKINS

MEMBER
1998 DODGE DURANGO
180,000 MILES

I have a 98 Durango. I am not getting spark from the coil. The coil has been tested & is good. There is about 11 amps coming from the wire plugged into the coil. People said it was probably the crankshaft sensor. I replaced & still nothing. Someone else is saying it might be the distributor now. I dont have tons of money to keep putting in to this. Is there any other possibilities? I was thinking if theres power to the coil but no spark from the coil, then the coil is bad. But then I have it tested & it is fine. Clueless!

5 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,873 POSTS

Have you checked if the fuel pump is running or just stop testing with the ignition system? The best place to start is by measuring the voltage to the coil or either small wire on the back of the alternator, but you must test while cranking the engine. If you see 12 volts there for the first one second after turning on the ignition switch, but not while cranking the engine, suspect the crankshaft position sensor or the camshaft position sensor inside the distributor.

When you installed the new crank sensor, did you have a spacer on the end to set the critical air gap?

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Friday, September 16th, 2011 AT 7:44 AM

MIKIEFELKINS

MEMBER
7 POSTS

Fuel pump is running. The wire going to the coil was measured at roughly 11 volts. When I installed the Crankshaft sensor, it looked exactly like the one I pulled out. Not sure if there was a spacer or not. But it did look identical.

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Friday, September 16th, 2011 AT 5:14 PM

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,873 POSTS

Is that 11 volts during engine cranking? If you have that voltage with just the ignition switch turned on but not cranking the engine, you're measuring something incorrectly.

Also, when you say the fuel pump is running, you should hear it run for one second after turning on the ignition switch, then it will stop. It won't run again until the Engine Computer sees engine rotation. It knows that by the pulses from the cam and crank sensors.

The new crank sensor will have either a thin plastic rib molded to the end to set the air gap, or if it came from the dealer it will have a thick paper spacer stuck to the end. Some aftermarket sensors use the paper spacer too. If neither of those were present, the sensor could be broken from hitting the flex plate.

If that 11 volts did indeed come back during cranking, the cam and crank sensors and automatic shutdown relay are working. For no spark, that would leave the ignition coil, Engine Computer, or wire between them. Computer failure on Chryslers is very rare.

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Friday, September 16th, 2011 AT 11:12 PM

MIKIEFELKINS

MEMBER
7 POSTS

I got it fixed. It was the Pick-Up Coil thats between the distributor & Distributor cap.

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Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 AT 5:08 AM

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,873 POSTS

Dandy news. When the Engine Computer receives the pulses from that camshaft position sensor and the crankshaft position sensor, it turns on the automatic shutdown (ASD) relay which sends voltage to the ignition coil, injectors, alternator field, oxygen sensor heaters, and fuel pump or pump relay. That's why I wanted to be sure you were really seeing voltage at the ignition coil during cranking.

Very happy to hear it's solved.