93 Carb Festiva - No Spark

[wilesjc]

Hello all! I just acquired a no-start Festiva (very base L model) that has been non-running for a few years. I started troubleshooting and discovered I had no spark at the plugs or from the coil. Coil has 12v battery voltage, and seems to be good with resistance checks. This Festiva is fuel-injected but still has the distributor. I checked the connector on the distributor (believe this is crank position sensor, see pic). I'm not reading voltage with the key on for any of the three wires here (y/g, y/br, and black). Does anyone have any info on whether one of these three wires should have voltage with the key on? Tried disconnecting the air flow sensor connector as well and reading no voltage on any of the pins there. Have checked all the fuses under the dash and replaced the only one I found that was bad (cooling fan fuse)

[WmWatt]

Suggest checking the 3 fuses on the strut tower in the engine compartment. They are called "fusable links" and look like standing loops of wire. Search for blown fuses and for rusted or dirty connections. For more info type "fusable links" into the search box at the top of this page and be prepared to be overwhelmed. Peopel frequently clean the connections and replace with ordiary fuses as you will see if you try the search. You should also see what each is for. Sorry I can't be more specific off hand - poor memory and all.

[wilesjc]

Thanks for the suggestion. Fusable links tested with good current on both sides, but there was quite a bit of corrosion on them. I just replaced them with fuses this afternoon. Unfortuately that didn't fix my problem though. Still not getting any spark out of the coil and not seeing 12v on any of the terminals at the crank or air flow sensor (still not sure if any of those wires should have 12v). I am getting about 1.5v on a wire to the air flow sensor and to the distributor.

[WmWatt]

Oops! If you look higher on this page you'll see a closed sticky topic called 1993 wiring diagrams. LOL! I'm also looking at the wiring diagrams in the back of the Haynes manual (pg 12-22)l. The Y/G wire goes to the ignition control module (ICM), aka transistorized points, which is likely to be the problem. It's used to time the spark. They degrade from heat causing stalling and eventual dead engine until replaced. You can find lots of information about them on this site. I don't see a Y/Br wire but there is a Y/Blk wire and a Y/Blu wire coming out of the crank position sensor, so maybe a Y/(faded)Blk wire? The 3-wire connector isn't specifically shown on the diagram. Hope that helps. (PS I have replaced the ICM om my '89 twice. On the '89 it's under the distributor cap One year it was mounted on the strut tower perhaps to keep it cool.)

[Rick the Quick]

Did you check for a broken timing belt? If you remove the distributor and crank the engine you should see the rotor rotating. If its not, the timing belt has probably broken. If you have access to a good source of inexpensive parts such as a pick and pay salvage yard and you don't want to trouble shoot your car because of lack of time or lack of test equipment. Get a distributor and an ignitor (also called an ICM) and first try the ignitor and if that doesn't work swap distributors and chances are one or the other will get you going. The distributor or cam (or is it crankshaft) postion sensor as the manuals call it comes in 2 varieties. One is a Hall Effect and i believe the other is an Optical Sensor?. The have a diffent number of wires coming out of them. Either one will plug in to your wiring harness and either one will run your Festiva as long as it is a '90 thru '93. The first year ('89) of fuel injection used an altogether distributor, or so i have read. The same ignitor is used in a lot of Mazdas from the early to mid 90's. I have had one go out on my '91 but wisely carry a spare. I believe the one you want has the Mitsubishi logo along with "701" on it. I have seen new ones on eBay anywhere from $10 to $100. Good LucK and let us know how it goes.

[WmWatt]

Rick makes a good point but for "If you remove the distributor and crank the engine" he means "If you remove the distributor cap..." which is easier and takes less time.
There is also lots of info on the ICM in old postings on this site (the search box is your friend). If you do replace the ICM inside the distributor it will last longer if bedded in dielectric heat transfer paste which helps keep it cool, Another use of the paste is to put between the CPU and heat sink on home computers. You could buy a small capsule for $1 at electronics stores or today probably off the Internet. If you get stuck just ask here.

PS I forgot the black wire in my earlier post. It's the gound. That's standard.