RANDOM no spark / start 1993 Toyota Camry 2.2

My 1993 Toyota Camry 2.2L has an intermittent, no spark / start problem. Sometime it starts and runs with no problem, other times it will crank with no spark at all.

I've seen more than once when I use a spark tool to "see" if there's spark, it will change from no spark to full and the car will start right up.

I've tried wiggling wires, bench tested all components by the manual etc. etc.

I even stopped by the Toyota dealer for some insight and they agreed that the car must stay "broken" long enough to diagnose. Just a few minutes ago, I pushed it into the garage, put it on the lift and it started right up.

I have replaced the distributor/coil assembly (new unit), ignitor, ECM, charcoal canister and spark plugs to no avail.

ANY ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Reply to
Keith
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I've seen similar problems if an engine ground strap, or other grounding connection in the circuits, is faulty. Have you checked that the strap(s) are okay, and the contact points clean?

Reply to
Larry Van Wormer

The ground at the transaxle/engine was a little "iffy" and it's spotless now. I does start up now and I'll keep checking it...

*Thanks
Reply to
Keith

Did you replace plug wires, do all plug wires show no spark. Is this the reason you replaced the coil?

Reply to
m Ransley

I didn't replace the plug wires as they are either all firing or non firing.

Reply to
Keith

Did you use toyota parts, is this the reason you replaced the coil, coils are known camry issues and aftermarket electronics have a high defect rate.

Reply to
m Ransley

Yes, I used Toyota parts.

Reply to
Keith

So far so good Larry - I think your ground suggestion nailed it.

Reply to
Keith

So where did you find the questionable ground? Battery? Frame?

Reply to
Daniel

There's two grounds that leave the battery. One runs to the body (and was OK).

The >> So far so good Larry - I think your ground suggestion nailed it. > ===============

Reply to
Keith

Nuts. It happened again this morning after 3-4 days of working great.

Stopped about an hour and the car cranks but won't start. On about the 5th try, it starts right up and drives away, no problem at all.

Again, I'd appreciate any suggestions on items that I can check out to diagnose this random, no starting condition.

Reply to
Keith

Nuts indeed! Thought it was fixed.

Do you have a voltmeter to confirm whether or not power is being supplied to the ignition? If 12V is indeed always available, then it's the ignition system itself that's at fault.

A CD of the repair manual, with wiring diagrams, is likely available on eBay...

Larry Van Wormer

Reply to
Larry Van Wormer

Yes, 12v is available to the system.

When the car won't start, I've also noticed that the gas tank appears to be under a significant amount of vacuum. When you release the gas cap, there's a distinct "whoosh" as air rushes in.

After doing this, the car restarts and you can drive away. It happened like this twice today (a very warm day) in San Diego.

I expect that this might be as meaningful as sprinkling holy water on the hood but it does seem to have an impact.

Does any>> Nuts. It happened again this morning after 3-4 days of working great. >>

Reply to
Keith

Well the problem is still there and I could use any help that the group could provide.

It seems now that the fuel tank thing was a red herring and had nothing to do with the actual problem. The canister, purge, lines etc. have all been checked and they're working fine. To be safe, I put on a new Toyota gas cap as well.

I've tried the "wiggle test" on the wires and harnesses when it wouldn't / would start and that seems to have no affect.

The spark / no spark will be at random and affects all cylinders. There seems to be no pattern in the condition so I'm definitely guessing here.

Any new ideas out there?

Reply to
Keith

Try Igition Coil

Reply to
m Ransley

Yeah, I replaced that with the new distributor assembly.

Thanks though.

Reply to
Keith

============== Not necessarily true. They could be only supplying marginal or intermittent or weak spark.

Reply to
Daniel

============================ See Toyota factory service manual here:

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Go to the "ignition" section, and follow the flow chart for trouble shooting to isolate the problem area.

Reply to
Daniel

All, I have enjoyed reading the troubleshooting tips here and wanted to share how I fixed my problem. I have noticed a lot of information on problems but not a lot of "how did you fix it".

I too have a 1993 Toyota Camry that would not start. I purchased a "clicker fixer" kit off ebay. This kit is the c> Keith wrote:

Reply to
toyotadaddy

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