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80 Tercel no start

Car has 67,000 original miles. Has been running fine, no problems what-so-ever. Drove the car to work one day. When I tried to start it, to come back home, it wouldn't start. The starter engages fine, but it doesn't hit at all. No hint that it is even trying to start, the starter just sits there and spins. I can smell fuel though after it cranks a little bit. There is no spark out of the secondary side of the coil.

After getting the car home I started checking some things. Dug out the Toyota manuals and started looking for hints of what the problem might be. Here are some things I tested.

1) The ignition relay and fuses are fine. With a voltmeter negative lead grounded to the chassis, there is 12 volts on the positive terminal of the primary connection to the ignition coil. (With the negative voltmeter lead attached to the negative lead of the primary plug there is about .5 volt right across the plug when the ignition switch is "ON"). 2) Ohmmetered the coil. Getting very low resistance on the primary side (less than 1 ohm) and about 10 K from the positive coil connection to the secondary. Checks ok according to the manual. 3) Removed the connecting plug from the primary side of the coil. With voltmeter across it, getting about 1 to 2 volts there when cranking the engine. 4) Disconnected the plug that goes between the "igniter" and the distributor pickup coil. Applied a AA battery to the igniter side for just a couple of seconds and measured about 9 volts across the ignition coil primary plug (with it unplugged from the coil). That convinced me that the igniter was ok and that the problem must be with the pickup coil. Ordered a new pickup coil and got that this morning. Replaced it, set the air gap to about 0.012", put the distributor back together and had the same symptoms. Actually, I probably had a little less voltage at the primary plug at the ignition coil. So, decided to try setting the air gap a bit closer. Set it at 0.008" and that did increase the voltage a little bit seemed like, but still not enough to produce a spark in the secondary of the coil.

Timing belt was changed about 7,000 miles ago, plugs, wires, fuel filter, air filter, all have been changed out in routine maintenance.

At the price of the igniter and the coil I hate to just start shotgunning this thing. The resistance of the coil windings seem to be within spec, according to the manual and the igniter seems to be increasing the voltage from the "signal generator" or distributor pickup coil. It just seems to me that the voltage from the pickup coil is too low, but I don't really know what it is supposed to be.

What am I missing? Besides spark!

Thanks, Mac

Reply to
Mike
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Actually I should clarify that the engine does turn over. I said earlier that the starter engages but it doesn't hit at all. The starter does engage, the engine turns over, but there is no spark so it doesn't "hit".

Reply to
Mike

IIRC, several models of Toyotas had problems with no-spark due to bad igniters in the early 1980's, but most have failed way before now. Some models were covered by a special service campaign (recall). Check with your local Toyota dealer to see if it is covered. If the igniter is not covered, you may want to go over the igniter diagnosis part of the manual very carefully.

Reply to
Ray O

When was the timing belt last replaced ?

John

Reply to
John Karpich

According to the OP, 7,000 miles ago.

Reply to
Ray O

Timing belt was changed in April of 1999. The car is usually driven 10 to

20 miles per week and I would guess the timing belt has about 7,000 miles on it.
Reply to
Mike

Found the problem. It was a bad ingiter. I tore into the old one and found two large transistors. Removed the smallest one and replaced it with a

2N3772 (that I just happened to have on hand - probably paid about $1 for it). Hooked the igniter back up and the car started right up. I don't know whether this transistor would hold up or not and I would be afraid to trust it very far. (Anyone know how much current it has to handle?) I am going to install an igniter that came off of a 1980 Toyota pickup. It seems to be made a bit differently, but I think it will work ok.

Thanks to all who responded.

Mac

Reply to
Mike

Wow! I would have been out Junkyard shopping and bought a used one for $25-40!!! And I was an Electronics tech for about 17 years!!!!

Good for you. Did the case match? I mean, did you replace a 'Bakelite' transistor the another 'Bakelight' (plastic case) one, or was the original in a metal TO-3 type can?

If you replaced a metal one with a plastic one, I would head down to RadShack and get a metal one. If not, let it ride!

Reply to
Hachiroku

The transistor I used is a TO-3 style case (as was the original). I haven't received the igniter I bought yet (the one off the salvage yard 80 Toyota pickup), but I have seen a picture of the circuit board and I can tell from the photo that it uses a different style transistor in that spot. Maybe a TO-220. I'm not sure how the 2N3772 will hold up. I assume with faster switching speeds there will be more heat. It may burn up the first time I drive the car at highway speeds. It sure sounds good running on my driveway though! I am supposed to get the other igniter today so I will get it ready to go for a back up just in case. If a person could find the original type transistor they used in the igniter (marked TD5090) it could be repaired for much less than $278. That was the cheapest new igniter I could find. One place wanted $409. The salvage yard charged $25 for theirs. That was much more to my liking!

Reply to
Mike

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