HELP!!!

Ok, I've got a few things done, changed fuel filter, air filter, distributor cap. Going to remove the manifold either today or tomorrow (prob today) .

However, I can not find a #2 VRIS solenoid to save my life. I'm hoping to be driving my car by the end of the week if all goes well.

 

I've got the overall job done, thanks especially to mazdamech. NOW, I have some antifreeze leaking from beneath the Throttle Body and I have some white smoke coming from the back of the engine. Anyone have a clue? Also, can someone remind me how to do the "paperclip test".

Thx

 

There should be a coolant passage that helps prevent icing of the TB and intake. Lower Intake Gasket failure?



Quoted from an older thread:
Ok the paper clip trick is when you bridge out a pin in the 17 pin dlc plug under the hood. It will not work for OBD-II, sadly you will have to connect it to a diagnostic tool.

 

UNCLE!!!!!!!!!!!

haven't been on for a while, still working on my car.


I found in a repair manual how to adjust the timing by rotating the distributor cap, and then fine turning it using a timing light. The instructions for rotating the cap was: Losen bolt, rotate cap until engine runs smoothly. Anyone guess what's wrong with this? Losen BOLT! it actually has 2-bolts. So I losen the one bolt and it wouldn't rotate. The car is 20-years old on so I thought it was just stuck so I took a ratchet extension and a rubber hammer and tried to loose it. The car was running at the time because I was trying to hear it running better. I hit it and hit it and it wouldn't budge. I ended up giving it one good WHACK and it stopped running. This was 2-months ago (or more). Been so damn cold here I couldn't work on it for a while.


I damaged the distributor cap. One of the screw holes the cap split, I knocked off a hose that goes to the Air filter, and broke off a nipple on the air filter housing that held a hose. I have replaced all of them and put them back on the car.


Still doesn't run. I'm at a loss finally. I don't even get any codes telling me what is wrong. I'm sure the spark plug wires are attached properly to the distributor cap. I did put the old cap back on and it's slightly corroded on the contacts inside of the cap. But it did run before when I had that cap on.


Any suggestions? Please give me any ideas you have that I can test out and get to the bottom of this. Remember, I am not working because of my health and have zero income, so buying something else, or taking the car to a repair shop is not an option.


Ideas?

 

There you are, nephew!
I knew you were in hibernation. Imagine, we had about 70 F today!

Bengalbrad:
Can you verify that you have good spark at the plugs?
If so we should move ahead and deal with the water leak. It probably made the plugs already wet and keeps it from starting. Good thing too, because you don't want antifreeze mess up your catalytic converters.

 

ok, got back out to work on it again, and took the distributor cap off to check the connection of a few things. Was going to put it back on and then do the spark test when I noticed something. The part that goes between the cap and the actual distributor has 3 cracks in it. Could this possible be the problem, does it matter if I replace this part? The cracks are encircled in red.

 

Could be.
What strikes me is that these cracks are at perfect 120 degree angles. I wonder if the spark voltage found a way along these tracks or cracks. Do you see any deposits, burn marks or something else indicating electrical activity? If you have a spare part try it.
It looks like a dust cover. So you may try a test without it installed.
Also look at the shaft going from the rotor back to this cover. Are there any traces?

 

Ok, did the spark test, holding the #1 spark plug cable to a metal part, and zero spark. So, I'm thinking distributor cap, right?

 

Not exactly. There are 2 separate circuits involved and they interact in the ignition coil. Look at this:

There is a large coil fed by the battery and inside of it is a tightly wound coil that creates the spark voltage. Form there that spark voltage gets distributed to an individual spark plug. In your case the points have substituted by electronics.

Starting with your test you can only say that there is no spark voltage at the Nr. 1 cylinder. How about the others?
Once you have checked the others and lets say one of them fires then you know the coil works and the distribution does not. If you get no spark anywhere you don't even know that. It could be the coil or the cap and rotor or the distributor itself.

Knowing the story I have the feeling the distributor itself is bad. But hopefully the coil creates the voltage but that voltage runs via the cracks in that dustcover to ground.

Here is what I would try: put it together without that dust cover. If that cover acted as a conductor than you might get a spark now.

Obviously you use your best cap and rotor.

Check the secondary circuit, the one that gets battery voltage. For testing you need some specs, like resistance of primary and secondary coil. I don't have those. I think you have a Chilton shop manual.

To better understand ignition systems study this: Ignition system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia