Was driving it yesterday when it decided to stutter and stop at a stop light. Got it back to the yard and did some poking around, looks like I wasn't getting any spark, but I wasn't getting any codes thown from the reader.

reading thru forums it sounded like it was probably the CPS, so I changed that but I still don't get spark. I still get fuel when I crank it tho. Any help for an amateur mechanic

Let me know if i need to provide more info

btw it's the 2.5L

 

First thing First ...
Do you have 12 volts on the FUEL PUMP ????

 

I'll check on that when I get back to the car, which will probably be in the morning. I do know I do get fuel when I crank, I smell it and my brother has one of those diagnostic readers and it was showing that it was getting fuel.

I forgot to mention that when I try to crank it, I don't get any response from the tach. Never noticed if it did before or not while cranking but the tach does work when it is/was running.

EDIT: After reading thru the forums I think I see where you are going; I didn't know about the Fuel Pump Relay and ASD's relevance to my problem, I'll check those out tomorrow and report back

 

If your getting fuel (aka 12v at the fuel pump), check the rotor cap for corrosion / breakdown. If the cap looks good, my guess is the camshaft sensor or the coil in the distributor. Either one requires you to get a new distributor.

I just went through this one myself.

 

So finally got around to checking on stuff, and this is what I've found so far:

*All my relays are in good working condition w/ 75ohms res and switch like they are supposed to w/power
*My fuel pump is good, and it does it's thing when you turn the key
*For kicks and giggles checked the alternator - it's good

When I crank it, I don't get even a hint of a spark but I am definitely getting fuel to the cylinders. My guess is that the coil has gone bad, or I have a loose wire somewhere near it. Haven't checked that yet due to the heat (currently 87F and climbing) but I'll check wires when it cools.

I've found that I can buy an ignition coil for this car, but with it being in the distributor does that mean I have to replace the whole thing, or is the coil just happen to reside inside for convenience?

EDIT: apparently I didn't read all of Killa200's post I don't really want to buy a new distributor - that's expensive(ish)

Yes i'm being whiny about it

 

So I may not need to replace the distributor or the ignition coil - I believe I found the culprit, this guy:


Sry about the big crappy pic, can't find my good camera.

Anyway, that is the plug that feeds the ignition coil in the distributor. That broken off linkage goes to the plastic plate that holds the cam sensor. I was gonna ask if anyone knew where to get ahold of another one of these plugs, but I changed my mind - i'm just gonna replace that prong with a wire and see if it works.