1992 festy no spark! any answers?

[gmiller123]

So my buddy has a 92 festy. He replaced the clutch then went to start it and it ran for 10 mins then died. Wouldn't start at all after that. This was a dd car. Then we bought a new coil and disty an put on it and it started an ran for like 30 seconds now no spark again. And I have no idea and he wants to sell it to me but idk what's wrong. Also we swapped in my good ecu and it still wouldn't start.

Funny thing is another friend is a parts guy at the local ford dealership and said a old man brought one in with the same issue an they can't figure it out.

So I'm guessing last thing to check is the wiring harness for a short or something. I'm gonna buy it just wondering if anyone here could help me. thanks guys!

Gregg

[FestYboy]

did you try a new ICM? the little box right next to the coil... can be had at any junk yard from any B series engined car.

[gmiller123]

Is tht the little black thing thts like 1in by 1in? Not sure. Does icm stand for ignition control module? Happen to have a picture by chance? Thanks!

[econoaddict]

[gmiller123]

Thanks! Ya he replaced tht cuz the old one was cracked. Any other suggestions?

[RhodeStiva]

1992 festy no spark! any answers?

Fuseable links?

[TheresGabe]

^^X2 any time a Festiva has quirky electrical, that's the FIRST place I look!

[gmiller123]

They were messed up and the wired in actual fuses right there. Can u buy those fusible links? Its really weird to me.

[Darlo]

Oh man, I remember when my car did this! It ended up being the fusible links! Do you have a pic of what it looks like now (after the apparent re-wiring job)? Those fuses that he put in are what size? It should be (if I recall correctly) 30-40-30, and I was running 30-50-30, as my 40 would blow periodically, and I never ended up fixing it properly, lol..........Mine just needed a good cleaning, but even a quick spray of cleaner (or in a pinch, WD-40 :nono would make it work for a bit.

[gmiller123]

I don't have a pic but I will try and get one. Do u know if I can buy new ones?

[RhodeStiva]

1992 festy no spark! any answers?


Kinda blurry but upgrade to these. Pink green pink. Junk yard under almost any hood but make sure the slot is deep to fit or the the fuse won't fit.

[RhodeStiva]

1992 festy no spark! any answers?




this one is the one that works.

This one doesn't work.

[Bert]

Don't rule out; failed camshaft position sensor. You will have 12 volt live in the single wires on either side of the coil with the key on but no spark being generated, only because the ECU has not received a signal saying the engine is turning! This cute little magnet-derived gizmo is built-into the distributor and cannot be replaced separately. If you have a spare EFI dizzie on hand this is worth a shot but be careful in taking it on and off because there are 3 different positions that the rotor can be installed at and the dizzie connection at the camshaft also appears to fit two different ways (ie 180 offset).
If it turns out the dizzie is cooked check with U-pulls and bone yards for various EFI Mazdas of similar vintage. New or rebuilt dizzies aren't cheap.
Good luck!

[gmiller123]

Hey. Thanks so much! He actually upgrades to those fuses you have but it looks like a hack job. It wired up out side the fusible spot. He just bought a new dizzy it was like 200 something. So maybe he installed it wrong like you said. But it has no spark. If you install it 180 off it will still spark but not in the right order or right time correct? Thanks!

[Bert]

Hey. Thanks so much! He actually upgrades to those fuses you have but it looks like a hack job. It wired up out side the fusible spot. He just bought a new dizzy it was like 200 something. So maybe he installed it wrong like you said. But it has no spark. If you install it 180 off it will still spark but not in the right order or right time correct? Thanks!

Likely correct that there would be a detectable spark, but not at the right time. So yes that would be easy to check for if you have a timing light or spark plug tester. New dizzie (likely a rebuild) $200; ouch!! Some of the guys on here are diagnostic and electrical wizards and surely one of them can be enticed to assist. These guys are absolutely logical/methodical and will want to know specifics about which wires are live and when and where. These OBDI cars have all kinds of small components (like an ignition relay that is hidden away inside the drivers fender behind the headlight) that are difficult to step by step diagnose and offer generalizations about. The search feature (which I rarely have much luck with) should yield all kinds of useful information.
My car was down for a week last year as I went about scratching and trying to figure out why there suddenly was no spark. Lucky I have spares of everything but only through careful queries here ultimately discovered a failed sensor in the dizzie.
And they wonder why I love carbed and non-electronic engines. Used to be an IQ of 75 was plenty to become adept at servicing cars. Not so today, unless you happen to have a smart boss/service manager that tells you exactly what to do and how to do it.