87 loyal 1.8 non-turbo 4X4 wagon..I was driving in the heat yesterday and all of a sudden it just died! I've checked the fuses under the dash and there all good. Checked the three (green,red,black) wire fuses next to the battery and there good.. Checked to see if I was getting spark from the coil and I'm not!! Are there some relays/circut breakers somewhere I missed?? Any way to check if the coil blew? Any ideas? Thanks!!

Make sure the wires to it are tight. If they are, then the coil is toast. It happens.

... Any way to check if the coil blew? Any ideas? Thanks!!

You can bypass the ignitor and the control circuitry by attaching a wire to the grounding side of the coil (the opposite side to where the power enters it; I don't have a wiring diagram at hand) and momentarily touch the other end of the wire to ground. If your coil is receiving proper power and the coil is good, you should get a healthy spark from the coil's HT lead.

Make sure the wires to it are tight. If they are, then the coil is toast. It happens.

 

Thanks.. I'll try replacing the coil!! my coil wires are (1)black w/white stripe w/ red connector and (2) yellow no stripe w/white connector?? What one is possitive/negitive?? thanks.. Are there any other relays/fuses anywhere? thanks...

you should get a healthy spark from the coil's HT lead.

 

Pat's right (as always). I once had a HT lead (the wire from coil to distributor) go bad, causing a shutdown. Double check that HT wire or swap in a spare and see what happens. One more thing: make sure your rotor on your distributor is not loose (the little retaining screw can let go, causing a no spark condition).

I could be mistaken, but isn't there a module (electronic item of some sort) inside the distributor that could have gone bad

Just curious, where you able to locate or find out what the problem was.....

87 loyal 1.8 non-turbo 4X4 wagon..I was driving in the heat yesterday and all of a sudden it just died! I've checked the fuses under the dash and there all good. Checked the three (green,red,black) wire fuses next to the battery and there good.. Checked to see if I was getting spark from the coil and I'm not!! Are there some relays/circut breakers somewhere I missed?? Any way to check if the coil blew? Any ideas? Thanks!!

Just curious, where you able to locate or find out what the problem was.....

 

No, I have not found the problem yet!! I tried the bypass method mentioned above and didn't get a spark from the coil! Must be the coil?? I wonder it there is anything between the battery and the coil I could check besides the fuse under the dash?? It's too dam hot to be doing this!! Any more ideas would be very much appreciated!! Elliott in Boise!!

Here's a simple one for you - check to make sure the coil bracket is grounded. It should be bolted to the body, but sometimes that stuff gets rusty.

 

......this may seem silly to ask, but you have one of those weird years - 87's are often carb if they are not 2WD I've noticed. Is your car fuel injected or carbed?

 

GD

Here's a simple one for you - check to make sure the coil bracket is grounded. It should be bolted to the body, but sometimes that stuff gets rusty.

 

......this may seem silly to ask, but you have one of those weird years - 87's are often carb if they are not 2WD I've noticed. Is your car fuel injected or carbed?

 

GD

 

It's a carbed model.. and I guess i should start checking grounds and loose/cracked/burnt wiring!! Thanks for all the help!! I'll be checking back if anyone has any other input and will let everyone konw what the problem was once it's fixed and running!!

First thing to check is actually your drivers side timing belt. The drivers side cam turns the distributor, and if the belt broke you won't get any spark. Just pull the distributor cap off and turn the engine over to see if the rotor turns - if not you know the problem.

 

If it's turning, then you may have a bad ignitor module inside the distributor. Best to just get a junk yard disty for 20 bucks and give it a try. Same with the coil - the OEM coils are tough, and I've yet to personally see one go bad. Often replacement cheapy coils die, and I think a lot of those got there as a result of people either replacing the OEM unit because they thought it might be bad, or because it was just old so they figured it would be a "good idea". I've seen a lot more distributor ignitor failures than coil failures, but test the resistance of both units.

 

GD

First thing to check is actually your drivers side timing belt. The drivers side cam turns the distributor, and if the belt broke you won't get any spark....

Yup. I forgot the obvious.

Well I popped off the timing cover and found a broken belt!! At least now I know what the problem is!! So I've pulled the grill, rad, timing covers and hope to finish it up tonight!! It looks like I need to remove the middle pully to complete the job?? Is there anything I should know going into this?? I've gotten a better/newer book that pretty much shows how it goes but if anyone has any advice, I'd love to hear it!! I don't plan on replacing the two side timing covers but should I put the center one back on??Thanks for all the help!! Elliott In Boise!!

you could remove the oil pump pulley to make the driver side a little easier to install the belt and also make sure the marks line up together on both the cam pulley and flywheel after tightening them up...rotate the motor a couple of times to recheck if the marks still line up together.. after both belts are on, start the car up and see how it runs before putting everything else into place...

Well I popped off the timing cover and found a broken belt!! At least now I know what the problem is!! So I've pulled the grill, rad, timing covers and hope to finish it up tonight!! It looks like I need to remove the middle pully to complete the job?? Is there anything I should know going into this?? I've gotten a better/newer book that pretty much shows how it goes but if anyone has any advice, I'd love to hear it!! I don't plan on replacing the two side timing covers but should I put the center one back on??Thanks for all the help!! Elliott In Boise!!

Well I popped off the timing cover and found a broken belt!!

Nice call GD. Way to go.

Main pulley removal:

 

Should be a hole in the flywheel. Rotate engine while looking down the timing hole. Once you find it, place a punch or screwdriver in it. Might use a short piece of rubber hose to protect the threads. Then use a breaker bar on the pulley socket. This is the preferred method to retorque the pulley bolt, too.

 

Bump method: Denote which way the engine turns. Place breaker bar and socket on pulley bolt so bar smacks ground when starter is 'bumped'. Do so. Voila'.

 

Do a search for how to align the cam pulleys and the crank. The cam pulley marks will be 180 degrees apart from each other

 

Nick

Rope trick - thread enough 1/4" nylon rope into the cylinder to stop the engine from rotating. Safe for the engine - don't have to bump the starter, no risk of dropping strange metal objects down your bell housing, and works on automatics too.

 

GD

Great tip GD!

Rope trick - thread enough 1/4" nylon rope into the cylinder to stop the engine from rotating. Safe for the engine - don't have to bump the starter, no risk of dropping strange metal objects down your bell housing, and works on automatics too.

 

GD

 

I Think it is Good Idea, but I can´t figure out how to get Rope into the Cylinder yet... ...Any pics for explanation? 10X.

I Think it is Good Idea, but I can´t figure out how to get Rope into the Cylinder yet... ...Any pics for explanation? 10X.

 

A quarter inch rope is small enough to fit down the spark plug hole.

Oh! ... I´ll try next time... Thanx.

yah that rope trick works great.. its best if you have somewhat stiff rope, it helps to feed it into the sprak plug hole at an odd angle.. (if your motor is still in the car, like mine.. I had limp rope problems. Yikes, i didnt mean that to sound so.. X-rated.. )

yah that rope trick works great.. its best if you have somewhat stiff rope, it helps to feed it into the sprak plug hole at an odd angle.. (if your motor is still in the car, like mine.. I had limp rope problems. Yikes, i didnt mean that to sound so.. X-rated.. )

 

With limp rope, I just use a phillips screwdriver to stuff it down the hole. Usually takes about 4 or 5 feet of rope to stop the engine (depends on thickness of course).

 

GD

LOL, thanks for the tip, GD.. I'll remember that next time i am having difficulties with my twine..

 

seriously though, i just _happened_ to read one of the first posts you had recently that you mentioned that in about two days before i needed to know that trick.. and it worked like a charm on two engines, one of which DID have to run again, so thats a big thank-you.. i had heard it before, somewhere, but never would have used it or remembered it if i hadn't seen it here..