98 WF No Start

[beemer]

Hi, my 98 WF 1.3 will not start as there is no spark being generated by the coil. I have tested the wires to the coil and there is no voltage, as I would have thought I should see 12 volts when the ignition is on. Is there a wiring diagram available to help me diagnose the issue, or has anyone any suggestions...any help is appreciated thank you, and I will post the results to help others

[bobbyspider]

Whats your location? did you check all your fuses and relays? Don't know if that year/modle had fusable links still? What country are you in?

[Tommychu]

I have tested the wires to the coil and there is no voltage, as I would have thought I should see 12 volts when the ignition is on.

The coil only sees 12v for a fraction of a second, when the dizzy (or ECM in the case of a distributorless system) asks for a firing event through the ignition module. If the coil did see constant DC voltage it would not work (also it would eventually melt itself down) since an induction coil works by using the primary windings to establish and collapse magnetic fields over the secondary windings to step the voltage up to the point where it will strike an arc at the plugs.

Test your ignition module and your distributor. There are a few write-ups around, or if you can readily find some known good used ones that's the quickest way to test them.

[FestYboy]

tommy, the coil sees a constant 12v, the ground is what changes via the ICM. you can't create a good field if the coil can't charge and that takes time.

the coil sees 12v and ground (ICM controlled). when the ICM removes the ground, the field collapses onto the secondary winding in the coil and that's when you ger your spark.

[beemer]

I am located in Brisbane, Australia.....thank's for responses

[beemer]

I have replaced the coil and all fusable links and still no spark at the coil, so will probably get her towed to an auto electrician as I'm not sure what else to check?

[roadkyll]

is there an ignition fuse on the wf?

[Movin]

The ignition switch should turn a relay on that powers the ignition. Normally, when you turn the key on you hear the relay click if things are quiet. The relay may be labeled something referring to ignition or injection . Power from the ignition switch, ground, fused power in and coil power out will all be under that relay if you pull it and pin check. You may be able to google a diagram for that relay.

[beemer]

I may be getting closer to the problem, I pulled the distributor cap, rotor and plastic cover, then removed the metal plate covering and water dribbled out, car was washed and the bonnet was up for part of the cleaning, so possible water in the distributor although I did remove and clean under the cap when all this began.

[beemer]

After a liberal application of WD-40 to the distributor internals and connectors and leaving the distributor cap and shield off overnight the car started without problems and seems to be running fine....Lesson learn't about water near the distributor...the odd thing is the car started directly after being washed and I drove it back into the garage, but a few hours later after replacing the speedo cable and rocker cover gasket it would not fire, so I'm thinking it was something I have done whilst working on it and not due to being washed with the bonnet open for part of the process.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and advice.

I hope others will benefit from my experience.