93 festiva GL 2 automatic Not starting( ignition system ?)

[danf6975]

Hello ,
boy do i need some help.

i have a 93 ford festiva gl automatic ( 2 door)
up to this point it has run great and i really mean it . nice and smooth. its at 144000 and all its maintenance has been kept up by the previous owner.

the problem started with driving down the road and the engine just shut down as if you had turned off the the engine and pulled out the key.
an older wiser person in the area said the first thing to test for is spark as he passed by so he pulled the lead wire off the coil and held it near the frame while i cranked it.
he said its not developing spark. later i heard that coils can develope partial power but not enough so i replaced the coil and the cap and rotor

the reason i did the cap and rotor was because after fiddling around with the rotor and cleaning it off, the car started and ran long enough to get it back home.
which led to me replacing them and after which it immediately fired up again nice and smooth but while i was letting it idle , it then shut right off . no sputtering wheezing or anything , just shut off like before and no amount of fiddling has helped not even the replacement of the coil.

there are really only 3 things i can currently think of maybe 4 to try

1 new set of lead wires
2 the little black controller chip like thing near the coil (cost about $100 new)
3 the points under the rotor ( dont know cost but dont have the tools to work on it so might have to buy a replacement that would hurt me financially)
4 some part of the electrical wiring ( i sure hope not because that could really be time consuming and or expensive )


i do not have a volt meter currently and i dont know how to properly test for spark or anything.

oh it cranks fine as far as the starter engaging and the battery is concerned though.


any help would be greatly appreciated

[jglutz]

Welcome to the site!

There's no points under the rotor....it's an inductive pick-up (CPS, Crankshaft Position Sensor) that tells the ECA where the engine is (TDC).

Just dies...like turning the key off...sounds like and electrcial problem.
Next time it dies....without touching anything (including the key) place a volt meter...(+) on the coil blk/wht wire...(-) on the battery negative....It should read 12VDC. If it does not...the problem is prior to the coil, Key switch or fusible link.

There are two "black controller chips' near the coil. One is the condenser (blk/wht and blk wires) cuase very little problems and car can run without it. The other is the ignition module (solid state points), it has three wires (Wht, blu/org & blk).
I would start there...

[danf6975]

great thanks that is exactly the kind of info i needed. i was just telling my wife 2 minutes ago that it might be the ignition module ( says power module j701 or something like that on it) or the connections themselves betwen any of the parts
you know how each has a plastic clip , might have a loose connection inside one of them

than you very very much for info about the points and how to trouble shoot the voltage before the coil.
i would really like to take back the coil because its $100 dollars but so is the power ignition module so might even out. tbh i hope its the module because all the other wiring is such a PITA that im willing to suck up the loss just to have transportation again

[WmWatt]

The ignition module can be taken to some auto parts stores and tested for free.
When they start to go they can shut down the engine at odd times. After a while then car will start up fine. For more information on testing and replacement look here www.ncf.ca/~ag384/Cars.htm

[FestYboy]

STOP!!!! before removing anything, take off the cap, rotor and pickup cover. then LIBERALY spray down the inside of the distro with carb or brake cleaner (i like brake cleaner). allow to dry and do it again. replace removed parts and fire up, she'll run like new. oil seeps in from old seals and coats the electronics, once the oil gets warm it looses what little conductivity it has and the car dies.

edited for directions.

[danf6975]

humn not sure what to make of it. i tested battery and got 12.5 volts btw .
there are 2 wires that are going into the plastic clip that attaches to the coil the blk/wht one and a yellow one . there is also the main lead that leads off the coil to the cap.

now because there was no exposed wire to touch i disconnected the clip that goes to the coil and stuck the positive into the the clip where the blk/wht wire went in/ forms the female end .
got over 12 volts
so either im doing that wrong or its the connection in the clip in the female part ( possible) OR its something else.
i know there is a plastic connector with 4 terminals and 3 wires going to the top side of the cap and i dont know what it is and was wondering if it might be related

what do you think

should i test the coil by plugging the clip back in and unplugging the main lead ( and using the voltmeter on the lead) this time to see if power is making through the clip when its plugged into the coil ? or s that a bad idea?

[danf6975]

humn not sure what to make of it. i tested battery and got 12.5 volts btw .
there are 2 wires that are going into the plastic clip that attaches to the coil the blk/wht one and a yellow one . there is also the main lead that leads off the coil to the cap.

now because there was no exposed wire to touch i disconnected the clip that goes to the coil and stuck the positive into the the clip where the blk/wht wire went in/ forms the female end .
got over 12 volts
so either im doing that wrong or its the connection in the clip in the female part ( possible) OR its something else.
i know there is a plastic connector with 4 terminals and 3 wires going to the top side of the cap and i dont know what it is and was wondering if it might be related

what do you think

should i test the coil by plugging the clip back in and unplugging the main lead ( and using the voltmeter on the lead) this time to see if power is making through the clip when its plugged into the coil ? or s that a bad idea?

[danf6975]

feastyboy my cap and rotor are brand new and are completely clean .is the pickup cover the metal rotating part between the 2 pickups. because i cant remove the plastic part under that

[FestYboy]

cap and rotor have nothing to do with the oil seals on the distro. OK, i just re-read my post and i forgot yo say WHERE to spray. you need to spray down the distro internals (not cap and rotor). if there's no plastic cover under the rotor, then don't worry about it, just spray away...

see previous post...

[88festiva1.3l]

umm the module inside the distriutor might be bad wuts it called point are not getting a connection so yes the black box under the car and rotor might be bad

[88festiva1.3l]

umm u sure u have them coil wires working right
another thing theres a main wire from coil to al if i'm right which goes back to the main wire harness

[danf6975]

that wire from the coil to main harness has a clip and i was thinking it might be the clip portion of the wire.
how dificult is it to replace the wiring for that . looks expencive or increadably time consuming and thats assuming that its the problem.

ill see about other parts first that i can actually try and do

[danf6975]

ok so things i know it is not

1 the coil itself ( this excludes wiring going to or from)
2 the cap rotor or the CPS
3 the main lead and wire set

so what im looking at is most likely something in wiring .
1 person mentioned from the alternator
then there is any of the clips that wires feed into to ajoin to the cap assembly or to the coil or to the power control unit
it could be the j701 power unit itself but when i stuck the voltmeter on battery neg terminal and into the clip that runs to the coil blk/wht wire i got over 12 volts

when i crank the starter engages and all the dash lights indicate correctly , even the oil light goes off after a second of cranking

im at a real loss here. i cant just buy another car and because my wife and both work and need the car but niether have we are in some serious hot water.

[packrat427]

Where are you located ? you may add your location to your profile .
There may be a member close that can offer a hand .

[packrat427]

Not sure what you have done recently ..But..

Have you checked ALL of you connections , like

VAF meter
Disty plug
All the wires in your main electrical box , on the dr. side inner fender .
They may look tight , you may need to wiggle , clean all contacts .

I had a fusible link that was corroded inside the little brown box , car cranked , but no start , I wiggled it around and it started and got me home .