SC died while driving!
 

My engine suddenly died yesterday and now will not start. The engine just cut out when shifting (? if this has anything to do with it I doubt). Now it cranks but won't start. (I had it towed home).

I checked the fuel pump as per Bentley, and it seems to be operating (noise heard when sensor plate is lifted and key is on). I don't smell any gas however.

Next, I checked the voltage across terminals 86 and 87a of the relay socket, and there's nothing. The fuse is fine and tight in the panel, and the wiring seems in tact.

How could the pump be operating if there's no voltage to the relay?

What could be causing the missing voltage?

OK, I realized I should be checking the voltage at each terminal, not across the two, and it's fine. So what next?

Did the alternator light come on prior to **** down?

What is the voltage reading on the battery? If you have an external Voltage Regulator, I would pull that to see how worn it might be.

Engine needs fuel and spark. You checked for fuel but you have not checked for spark. Do that next.

Fuel and spark check...

Lift the flap in the air box to actuate the fuel pump. You should hear also hear a high pitch whine from the CDI box.

Check your ignition coil...I had the same thing happen twice with my SC both times bad coil. The new Bosch coils are junk.

check fuse 18

Just because the fuel pump is running doesn't mean you have gas. You may be out of gas. The fuel senders on these cars stick all the time. Turn the key on, pull an injector out from a runner and lift the sensor plate to see if it sprays. If it sprays then check spark.

No spark! How do I test the coil? I don't see anything about this in Bentley.

Mine did the same thing. +1 Bad coil.

Check the round black connectors under the dash.

I've measured the resistance of the coils. Primary is 1.0 Ohms, Secondary is 714 Ohms.

The tech tips section of our host's site says: "When measured with ohm meter the primary coil windings should give reading of 0.3-0.6 ohms. Secondary coils should be near 600 ohms."But it does not specify the year. Another post here says that Primary should be .4 - .6, and Secondary should be 650 - 790.

Do I have a bad coil? Is it possible the coil is bad even if the resistance readings are in spec? If it's not the coil, then what?

Ignition signal test........
 

Connect an inductive timing light and crank the engine. Look for a strong ignition signal. Or use the spark plug test. The ignition coil could be bench tested using a voltmeter to measure resistance of the ignition coil.

Tony

Paul, what connectors are you referring to?

I pulled a plug wire, attached a new plug grounded the attached plug, cranked it over and no spark.

Also, I'm getting voltage to the CDI.

I'm not sure if my pm response went through. There are about 3 or 4 round black electrical connectors that plug into the steel part of the dash under the steering wheel. From memory, they are similar to the ones that are behind the fusebox, and are about the diameter of the fuses themselves. They sometimes just pop outof place.

Maybe your CDI box is the issue. Are you hearing the distinct whine when the ignition is ON but engine isn't running?

CDI is whining!

What else can be causing no spark?

To recap, my engine died while driving. Now it cranks but will not start. The fuel pump makes noise when I lift the sensor plate in the air box. I'm not getting any spark. The coil appears to be near enough to spec to not be this issue (the primary coil is reading a tad high). The CDI is whining when the ignition switch is on.

What else could be causing no spark? The distributor pulse generator? (What's that?) There's one more test as per the manual that I can run on the CDI cable, but I need another pair of hands.