help!! wont start

[lance lindenmuth]

just got a 1993 festy! 5 speed manual. it had a dead battery and needed a starter, got both, it cranks like crazy but wont start. what is my next step?? is there a coil wire on this, or is the coil inside the distributor? hate to be dumb, , I am just not a mechanic but will learn fast

[drddan]

Coil wire goes from ignition coil to the distributor. Ignition coil is mounted on the drivers side strut tower. You need to check for fuel and spark. Pull a spark plug wire off the spark plug, hold the plug wire close to the plug and see if it sparks when cranked. Don't get your hand close to the end of the wire or you get a shock you wont forget!

Spark should be a blue-ish color. No spark or a weak orange spark, probably a bad coil, or coil wire. For fuel you can pull the fuel line off the intake and put the end of the fuel line in a jar, or whatever, to see if fuel comes out when cranked. No fuel, you may have a bad fuel pump. Turn the ignition key to the on position (don't start it) and you should be able to hear the fuel pump run. If pump doesn't run, there are a few things that can cause this.

Do the above mentioned things, and get back to us with a report on what you found. We will take it from there

Welcome to the forum, BTW!!!

I had noticed you had introduced yourself in someone else's thread, back in 2011. You probably didn't get a response because of that!
Don't be such a stranger!!! lol

[tooldude]

Well, as usual, by the time I can type something, I may have some repetition here, but I'm not going to rewrite this. You need to check the 4 basic requirements for your engine to run: Air/Spark/Compression/Fuel. I would first check the intake ducting, air cleaner box and air cleaner filter for obstruction/nests/cleanliness so you know that air intake is good. Next, check those problematic fusible links for good clean connections - then check the last three and one of these should reveal the general area where the problem lies for specific troubleshooting. What is your approximate level of automotive knowledge and what amount of tools do you have to work with? It's pointless to tell you to check fuel pressure if you don't have the equipment.

[TominMO]

Also timing! Both ignition timing and valve timing. Timing belt mighta jumped a few teeth, or igniton timing might be way off. Not likely, but they have to be checked out.