Saturday, February 6, 2010

Ignition Problem Strikes Again!

I decided to take the car around the block and it would not start. From past experience, I knew I only had a few minutes to troubleshoot the cause so I started immediately.

I connected my test tool which replaces the spark plug to confirm the ignition is working. The tool clips to a ground and has an adjustable gap which the spark should jump across when trying to start the car. There was no spark.

I checked voltage to the positive side of the coil and there was 12 volts. I then disconnected the coil and check continuity between the positive and negative terminals. It was at 3 ohms which is correct for the coil.

The next step was to check the Ignitor using the procedure I published before. I tried it and there was nothing registering on the volt meter. I came in and checked the document again. I walked out and started testing it again with no result and then it started registering voltage. I connected everything back together and the car started fine.

While I really believe I was testing it properly the first time. The fact it started working while I was testing makes me think I was missing something. I'll likely just order another Ignitor as that is all I could imagine causing the issue at this point.

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