No spark or fire

Tiny
LOURIE TRAHAN
  • MEMBER
  • 1992 DODGE SHADOW
  • 2.2L
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 98,000 MILES
I have already changed the ignition coil. My plugs and wires are good. I was driving it made a u-turn it spit and sputtered then shut off. After that it will not crank. It is getting fuel to the motor though.
Friday, August 3rd, 2018 AT 7:02 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,873 POSTS
"Will not crank" is a starter problem. You are describing a failure to run problem, but in this case, the fuel pressure can be a misleading clue. Most commonly you will have a loss of spark, injector pulses, and fuel pump, but the fuel pump will still run for one second when you turn on the ignition switch. You should hear the hum of the pump for that one second. That is what gives you the fuel pressure that makes it falsely appear like the fuel supply system is working.

To begin the diagnosis, there are two things to consider. Probably the most common cause of this is a failed distributor pick-up assembly. That is a flat black plastic disc that sits under the rotor in the distributor, and has three wires connected to it. The engine computer needs to see pulses from that sensor to know when the engine is rotating, (cranking or running), then it turns the automatic shutdown (ASD) relay on. That relay supplies the 12 volts to the ignition coil, injector, and fuel pump or fuel pump relay.

The fastest way to tell if the ASD relay is being turned on is to connect a grounded test light to the positive terminal on the ignition coil. You will see the test light turn on for one second when you turn on the ignition switch. What is important is if it turns on again when you crank the engine. If it does not, suspect that pick-up assembly.

The second common cause is a broken timing belt. These engines do not have a common failure history, but 100,000 miles is approaching the expected life of the belt. One way to quickly identify that is to observe if the rotor in the distributor turns when you crank the engine. If it does not, suspect the timing belt is broken. If it does rotate, it is still possible the belt is not broken, but it could be worn enough that it jumped a few teeth. You would need to remove the side covers to check the timing marks A jumped timing belt is not a good suspect for your engine because if it was just out of time but still working, the ASD relay would be turning on and you would have spark, but at the wrong time.

The good news is the 2.2L and 2.5L engines are not "interference" engines, so if the timing belt broke or jumped a few teeth, the valves will not be damaged. Just pop the new belt on and adjust the tension, and you are done.

You might find more ideas from this article:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start
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Friday, August 3rd, 2018 AT 8:04 PM
Tiny
LOURIE TRAHAN
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
I flooded it when I tried to crank it when it first shut off. There is no fire going to the ignition coil.
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Friday, August 3rd, 2018 AT 8:13 PM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
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Do the test light test at the ignition coil. If the ASD relay is not turning on, the engine cannot be flooded because the injector also would not be powered up.

If the test light does turn on during cranking, that would point to the jumped timing belt. In that case, the engine computer would see the pulses from the pick-up assembly, and it would turn on the ASD relay. Spark timing would be wrong so the engine would not run or it would run poorly, but in that case the injector would still be pulsing and the engine could indeed become flooded. If you remove a spark plug, the electrode will be wet with raw gas if the engine is flooded.
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Friday, August 3rd, 2018 AT 8:32 PM
Tiny
LOURIE TRAHAN
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Thank you.
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Friday, August 3rd, 2018 AT 8:36 PM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
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Please keep us updated on your progress. The Shadows and Sundances were really tough, dandy little cars.
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Friday, August 3rd, 2018 AT 8:40 PM

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