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1990 Camry V6 will not start

My son has a 1990 v6 camry which has been running great and then one day it died going through an intersection and would not start again. It cranks like mad. I can smell fuel at the tail pipe, but I have no spark at the plug. I have spark coming out of the ignition coil but maybe it's a little on the yellow/blue side. I checked the ignition coil resistance and found the secondary resistance to be a little high 12.2k ohms vs 10.4 max spec. So that appears to be a source of a weak spark but not NO spark. I tried to check the resistance of the plug wires but get an "open" reading. No way that 3 of the 3 plug wires I checked could all have failed at the same time. I think they are silicon, do you have to measure resistance differently. I measured the resitance of the igniter but do not see a spec anywhere.

I see from other postings that ignition coils seem to be a likely culprit amongst Camrys, but I suspect that there are other problems. Any help on the igniter resistance spec or other things to check. Yeah, I'm trying to NOT take out the distributor, that job looks like a knuckle buster.

Reply to
mlambie
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If the coil tests out of spec, and the wires read open resistance, replace the coil and wires first. Then, if the problem remains, check other items. It's not that the wires all went bad at once, but that the high voltage in the secondary ignition system can bridge small open faults in the wires. They should still be replaced. There is no special procedure for measuring them, just an accurate ohm meter with a lead on each end. If you're smelling gas, and getting no spark, could be the combination of weak coil and weak wires together producing insufficient voltage at the plugs. If the wires and coil are not operating properly, might be a good idea to check the spark plugs also. Obviously, if they're worn, will also increase the voltage needed to fire them.

Reply to
Daniel M. Dreifus

Check the timing belt, also. Remove the distributor cap and note the position of the rotor. Put a wrench on the crankshaft pulley, and turn it one half turn. Check to make sure the distributor rotor has moved.

Reply to
Daniel M. Dreifus

Final diagnosis on my 1990 Camry 6 cyclner. IT turned out to be a bad coil and the rotor was cracked nearly in half and burnt very bad. Never seen a rotor die that bad. Not sure why the ignition wire resistance read so high but I guess it must be related to the amount of voltage my voltmeter uses to determine resistance and the very high resistance of the wires to prevent radio noise. I have a strong spark so it looks like they are OK, but I'm still suspicious. Anyway, put everything back together and it cranks... and even runs like a champ. One item to know... my manual says there are two bolts to remove to get the distributor off.. and in fact there are three. So that cost me a distributor. Also, take care not to damage the ignition wire holders that attach to the distributor. They are $6 each and not carried in stock by the Toyota dealer. Also when you go to order them, take your VIN number as 1990 was a split year for two different configurations of the ignition wire holder.

Reply to
mlambie

Just went through the same on mine - running fine one moment, completly dead the next. It was arcing across the rotor (which had also split). Spark at the coil lead but none at the plugs. A new cap and rotor and all was well plus the slight miss at 4500rpm has gone.

Sorry to hear you had to do a coil and dizzy as well.

Pat.

coil

Reply to
Pat Sproule

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