I'm having issues with a 97 corolla w/128,000 miles. My wife drove it to work yesterday morning without any issues. When she tried to leave that afternoon, the engine would fire up and run very roughly for 2-3 seconds and die. I went over and after several tries I was able to get it to run for several seconds but it ran very roughly and only if I kept tapping the gas pedal. Before I called the mechanic I tried starting it one more time and again was able to keep it running for a minute or so and then it cleared up and started running fine. I assumed the issue was the trash in the fuel line, a clogged fuel filter or a dying fuel pump. We drove it home and out again last night with no issues.
This morning it wouldn't crank at all. The engine just turns over but it won't fire. I bought a fuel filter and replaced it and while I had it off, I tried cranking the engine to see if the fuel pump was pumping fuel. Sure enough, gas was being pumped to the filter so I don't believe the issue is with the fuel system (let me know if there's something else in the fuel system that could be causing the problem)
So, my next guess is the electrical system. I'm going to get new plugs, wires, cap, and rotor tomorrow to see if that helps.
Is there anything else that could be prohibiting the spark? I know it has a coil - do these generally go bad?
Thanks in advance for your help.