Very True

 

lost light and did not have chance to check for spark. checked the timing belt the timing is on point and there are no teeth broken or missing. I pulled the spark plugs and cleaned them (look brand new) letting them dry overnight. going to try and see if there is spark tomorrow but its supposed to rain all day and night but the weather is never right and I work in the driveway(no garage) also another note when I pulled the plugs there was oil pooled around the 1st 4 plugs but not the 5th but the plug wells are perfectly dry and clean and there is no debris in any of them. I soaked up most of the oil and cleaned it as best I can. I think but I obv. may be wrong that I need a new oil cap because the seal is worn because it seems to be leaking from the fill cap. also when I scanned the car for codes no codes came up whatsoever and the diagnostics said that everything was good fuel, exhaust, o2 sensor, the whole bit everything came up good. the stamp on the plug wires said 46 95 or vice versa and its a 1996 car so does that mean the wires are from 1995? sorry for the run on paragraph

 

I'm not sure about the wires, Its been too long since I had stock wires.. But keep in mind wires wouldn't cause a no start issue unless the coil wire is broken. You would just get a nasty misfire.

Well it looks like you have determined you have fuel, so now you just need to verify you have spark and compression.

If you have all the plugs out, pull the fuse or the relay for the fuel pump.

Crank the motor over you will hear a sucking sound 90% of the time your good on compression... put your hand so it covers each plug hole one at a time and have some one crank the motor.. You will feel it sucking and pushing.

You should really do a compression test but with no tester this is the only way to really see.

It sounds like you lost spark though. Check your cps, check ALL your fuses again on both sides of the fuse. Check all your connections, pull your ecu and make sure all the pins are clean and not corroded.

 

cps? is that short for compression? how do I pull the ecu and clean the pins? do I take the battery out first? ill check all the fuses again but I did that a few times and they are all good. when I check for compression one at a time like I said I have all the spark plugs out so when I check it one at a time its ok that the spark plugs are out right? do I leave the plugs in the empty holes while I check it one at a time? or can I check all 5 holes real quick with no plugs or wires in them or will it blow some stuff out?

 

I always have a problem with CPS. Depending on who is talking or the contex it's used in it's either the crankshaft position sensor CKPS or the camshaft position sensor CMPS.


Cars 101: How to Do a Compression Test - Popular Mechanics

 

Soooooooo any update??

 

no update as of yet sorry. I can only get to the car at certain times. this sunday ill be working on it but alone due to wrestlemania. but I will update you asap and again I really appreciate all the help. quick question when I test the ignition coil wire do I stick the screwdriver in the wire end and ground it then crank it to test for spark?

 

Have you tried to search for any of your information ?? When you ask really basic info we tend to reach back into that bag of sarcasm and toss some at you.

You can't ground the screwdriver as you won't have any spark. You need to place it close to a ground and be able to see IF you have a spark that will jump to ground.

 

like I said sunday ill get to all this. and don't get me wrong I can take some sarcasm just like the next guy but when it goes to far or its consistent that's another story. I just don't like how I come to this free forum for help and someone says they wasted 50 dollars in time talking to me. if that's the case then don't answer. but again I appreciate the help

 

so finally got to the car but had very little time so I cleaned off the sensors and checked for compression. there is compression in all 5 cylinders and from the feel of it very good compression. there is spark coming from the ignition coil but the side of the wire that plugs into the dist. cap looked a little eroded and the ignition coil part was fine so I switched them around. but due to the little time I had I didn't even get to try to start the car again. so

I checked for compression it seemed good(I know I don't have a gauge)
I cleaned the cps
I checked all fuses and they were all good
I rechecked all hose lines for leaks
I cleaned the spark plugs

anything else i can try to check
i know i have to check for spark in the individual plugs and wires but i haven't had a chance yet.

 

Checking for spark is dirt basic. It's not the last thing you do it's the second right after seeing if it's got gas Second because with out spark I, you and we have no clue what you do and don't have. If you just want to pull stuff apart and play with it for "fun" go ahead but don't come here and ask for help if your just going to do everything else but help us help you.

You have time to clean a CPS and check fuses but you can't check for spark ?? Like I said before "it's either the crankshaft position sensor CKPS or the camshaft position sensor CMPS."

What "CPS" did you clean? The crank or cam sensor, with what and why ??

How can you have the time to take the wires off to remove the plugs and clean them but not have the time to check for spark at the end of the very same wire you removed to get to the spark plug.

Get upset at me if you want but now you're just sounding dumb.

 

I took out the spark plugs last week and never put them in that's how they were cleaned and dried.

2nd I didn't have a second person to crank the car while I check for spark in the plugs themselves or the wires I only had a 2nd person for 10 sec to check for spark from the ignition coil.

SO...instead of sitting there wasting my time doing nothing I did what I could with the time given to me. which was about 5 min so I cleaned the cam sensor right under the dist. cap.

I cleaned the sensor with a rag as best I could and the reason why is because I want to make sure its not all gunked up with oil or anything else.

 

checked for spark finally.. all spark plugs and wires have spark except for the 2nd cylinder there is no spark coming from that spark plug.

?

 

Try switching out the plug from the 2nd cylinder with one of the ones you know is good. If it still does not spark you have a bad plug wire or a bad distributor cap. If it does spark, then you know the plug that didn't spark is bad.

Just a tip I always try to remember. For the engine to run you need the five basics....fuel, air, spark, compression and proper timing. It sounds like you have fuel, air, compression and at least some spark. After you get the spark sorted out, it should run....if not then you either have a bad cam/crank sensor, or the timing is off.

If you get the chance, try some starting fluid again now that you have messed with it. If it tries to run for a few seconds then dies, you have a fuel issue. If it does not even fire or try to run for a few seconds. then you have a spark issue.

 

That's not the cam sensor, its the rotor.

If you have spark on any cylinder, the crank and cam sensor are not your problem. The car should still start on 4 cylinders. But if the cap is worn enough to prevent spark on one cylinder, you may have weak spark on the others.

Swap the plug wire with another to see if you get spark with one of the other wires. Though I'd suggest replacing the wires, cap and rotor all at once anyway.

 

im no an expert on checking the spark but in my opinion a few of the sparks looked a little weak. im guessing a good strong spark should be blue and not a weak yellowish/whitish spark correct?

like I said before the stamp on the plug wires was 95/44 and the car is a 96 so I know the wires are old. ill try swapping out the plug with a working one to see if its just the plug or the wire and ill start looking around for a better dist. cap

also I don't think its the timing because I checked the belt and teeth and theres no problems and its lined up perfectly on the 0

 

Correct, the spark should be a nice whitish blue (signifying a good, hot spark) yellowish spark is not a strong spark. I think you are down to doing a good electrical tune up. I would go with the following....New plugs, new wires, new distributor cap, and new rotor (part under the distributor cap) if you still have a weak spark after that, the coil itself is the most likely culprit.

One thing is for sure, you are learning a lot about your car, and once you get it all sorted out I'm confident it will run much better.

My hat is off to you for sticking with it, being willing to learn, and not being afraid to ask questions!

Keep at it, you are almost there....

Glenn

BTW, a couple good good sources for parts are fcpgroton.com, or rockauto.com

 

Any updates??

 

no updates as of yet. going to work on the car tomorrow if weather permits it. going to go right at the distributor cap and clean it as best I can and hopefully that will bring all the sparks back up to strength. thank you for the help. I will let you know asap what happens

 

Why not just replace the cap and rotor? They do wear out you know.