Hi experts?..
My 92 Toy pickup with the 3VZ-E engine failed on me for the first time in 17 years. It was running perfectly, and the next day it would not start. It cranks over really well, but there is no indication that it even tries to start up. I have done tons of diagnostic work over the past week, and am now at a complete loss on how to proceed. I?m not the type who likes throwing money at a problem and buying new parts (distributor, coil, igniter, or ECU) without having first tested everything within reason.
Here?s what I know???.
1) There are no diagnostic codes showing on the dash light. But, the engine emblem is lit when I turn the ignition key to the ?ON? position.
2) I have fuel when I crank the engine. I loosened the banjo fitting on the fuel line at the cold Start Valve, and saw leakage. Also, I connected a jumper wire from the B to FP terminal in the diagnostic box and I can hear the fuel pump running. Granted??I have not measured fuel pressure yet.
3) I connected a spare spark plug to the end of a spark plug wire, and grounded the body of the spark plug. There was a spark across the plug gap, but the spark appeared very weak and almost non-visible. Certainly, it is not a blue ?snap? that I am accustomed to.
4) I have +12 V at the + terminals of the coil and the igniter.
5) I checked resistance of the high-tension wire from the coil; impedance checked ?good?.
6) I checked impedance of the primary and secondary sides of the coil. Both sides checked ?good?.
7) I don?t see any voltage on either the 1GF or the 1GT wires running into the igniter with key ?on? or when I am cranking the engine.
8) I checked the impedance of the distributor?s pickup coil and signal rotor coils. All three resistances were within spec. Also, the distributor air gap is 0.012? (within spec).
9) My igniter is grounded. To make sure, I also connected a ground strap from the igniter case to a ground on the engine.
10) I cranked the engine over so that cylinder # 1 was at 10Deg. BTDC on the compression stroke. The rotor inside the distributor was pointing to the # 1 contact on the cap. This tells me the timing belt has not broken or slipped time.
11) I did not see voltage on any of the 4 wires at the plug in connector on the distributor (G1, G2, G-, and Ne) from the pickup coil and the signal rotor coil. I saw no voltage with key in ?on? position or while cranking.
Here?s where I suspect my ?Won?t Start? problem lies???.
Please advise if I should be seeing voltage on the 4 distributor wires mentioned above (G1, G2, G-, and Ne), and how to test for such voltage. Is it possible that the distributor could be defective when the resistances of the three pickup coils check OK? It is my understanding that the coil, igniter, and ECU will not function correctly without signals from the above wires. So at this point I am uncertain whether I also have a problem with one of these latter components.
And lastly, I mentioned that I do not see a voltage (or a pulsed signal) on the 1GT wire at the igniter. What kind of voltage or signal is normal on this wire when all I am able to do is crank the engine?
Your thoughts are appreciated.
please see if this tests will help you.
Thanks for the quick reply, especially on Christmas day. It is appreciated. My tests on the distributor plug-in were done the same way that is mentioned in the files you sent to me. All three were within spec. I would like to know if the distributor can still be bad even though these coil resistance tests come out good.
Thanks again
DonnieD