undertow911

hi,

car: 93 cav with about 130k on it. 2.2 manual

symptoms: no spark

parts replaced: CPS, ICM, both coils, wires, (sparks plugs are already good)

story: about a week ago, my girlfriend drove it to the store and said it kept stalling on her. after that it ran perfectly fine for about 2 days then it wouldn't start. it was cranking, and getting fuel, but no spark. spark plugs were only a few months old, and i tested them on my roomates car and they were still good. i replaced the Ignition control module (icm) and it started up fine. i drove it twice, then the next day it wouldn't start again. again it wasn't getting spark. so i had the ICM tested at autozone, and its good. then I replaced both Coils. no spark. i replaced my spark plug wires (just cause the old ones were crappy). no spark. i replaced my Crankshaft (or is it camshaft?) Positioning Sensor (CPS). no spark.

as far as i know that is the whole ignition system. the CPS reads the position of cam and sends it to the ICM. the icm decides when each cylinder should fire and sends the signals to the Coils. the Coils up the voltage to the massive voltage the spark plugs need, and send it down the wires to the plug it self, and wammo, explosion!!!

question: anyone got a clue to whats not working? could it be the ignition switch in the colum? if so how do i replace that?

thanks in advance

kcb37

Be sure that both of your coils are getting power.

undertow911

how can i check that?

each coil controls spark for 2 cylinders. i've checked all 4 to see if their producing spark and none are.

the icm has 3plugs on it.
- one is a 3 wire and come from the CPS.
- one is a 6 wire - i don't know where it goes
- the last has 2 wires - don't know where that goes either

do you think the 2 wire one is the power supply? my electric meter quit working, so i cant test till i can find one to borrow.

beckeruti

may i ask how u tested to see if they were getting spark

one of the wires should go to the cps
and the other to the CPU
and the other one not sure

also have u checked the fuses and relays and stuff like that

good luck

undertow911

i tested the spark plugs to see if they were good by hooking them up to another car, then held the plug so that the metal part by the threads is touching a ground (engine block works good). while he turned the engine over, you can watch it spark.

i try the same thing on my car (i've tried all four spark wires) and get no spark, from any of the plugs or wires.

i've checked all my fuses. they are fine.

i haven't checked any relays because i dont think there are any relays that are used in the ignition system. are there?

i know the relay for the fuel pump is working (take a paper towel tube, unscrew your gas cap, hold tube up to hole where you put gas in, have your buddy turn key to ON (not start) and you will hear the fuel pump engage. if the fuel pump relay wasn't working, you wouldn't hear the fuel pump engage)

and the solonoid for the started is working (cause it cranks)

are there any other relays i should be worried about?

mabey i need to fill my blinker fluid... heheh (j/k)

undertow911

i tested the power circut. it was receiving power. i cleaned all the connections and stuck it back together.... it started. now i'm wondering if its going to keep working. i'm thinking one of the plugs isn't making a snug fit from being old and that it might vibrate itself out. if i don't post back in a week, then that means ti was just loose connections and i'm an idiot. if i do than that means it was a bad plug and i'm an idiot for not noticing when under the car, or something else is wrong...

hehe.. thanks for everyones help. hope this thread helps someone else


still want to put a jumper in and do a diagnostics. anyone have a suggestion for what i can use to jump a-b (paper clip mabey?)

uncle bill

We're all idiots from time to time. Check the rest of Your connections to be safe.

kcb37

Like uncle bill said we can all be idiot's and overlook things from time to time. Anyone that says different is stupid and has a big head. (but with time comes wisdom)
As for jumping the connections to check the computer so long as you know which two to jump, I would be afraid of frying something (haven't done that yet) I use a short peice of 18 gauge wire.

undertow911

still not working... ok so that cleaning the terminals/loose terminal theroy was wrong. it started and ran 4 times, then wouldn't go again. hmm... still stumped. my buddy has a computer to plug into it so we can figure it out. gunna try that in a few days.. i'm stuck fixing my 71 volkswagen van for now, so i won't have time to get back to the cavalier for a week or so.

HaydnsMum1

Has anyone figured out what the problem was? My car is now stuck 10 miles away from my house and I can't figure out what the hck the problem is, same crap as the guy who posted this originaly had. Please help!