if you're not getting voltage to the ignition coil, then that has something to do with your alternator i believe. theres a wire that runs from your alternator to the ignition coil, and the ignition coil takes that small voltage from the alternator and amplifies it to the thousands of volts it takes to spark and run the engine. if you're not getting voltage to your ignition coil when you're cranking the engine, then something is wrong along those lines. maybe like, dakota said, check your fuses(swap them if need be), if that fails, i'd suggest taking your alternator out and getting it check at like advanced or some other store. they usually do it for free anyway.

 

If no spark, I would think the culprit is the cam positioning sensor. At least that is what it was for me when I had no ignition spark on my old GM. I don't know how much these two systems differ, but that's my take on it.

 

I also read that if the crankshaft sensor or the camshaft sensor fails the engine will not start. I know the camshaft sensor is in the distributor cap, but where is the crankshaft sensor located? Anyone know??? My truck is a gas v8 5.9L. Someone mentioned behind the starter.

 

no, the cam sensor is in the dizzy and the carnk is on the tranny bellhousing on the passenger side....its supposed to be a real doozy to get to.....

 

i still think because hes getting NO voltage or spark at all, it has something to do with the power to the ignition coil.

 

I absolutely think there's power issue going tot he ignition coil, but my understanding is that if the cam or crank sensor is not working the computer will not provide ground to the automatic shutoff relay thus no power to the ignition coil and no sparks. I will post again once it stops raining here and I can get down under the truck to poke around.

 

You are better off doing it from the top, use a mirror to see it. Then just replace it blind. It's in between the bell housing and tranny dip stick tube. That's the easy part,LOL. Tracing the wire and finding the plug is a PITA. It's behind the distributor. If you can believe there can be anything farther back near the firewall.

 

Sorry, no cigar. The coil is fed directly from the battery (via an ignition-switched circuit), which is the only thing that connects to the alternator. Even if the alternator was not working, so long as the battery has a full charge it will energize the coil. It is simple to test the coil supply with a voltmeter. It should have 12V present with the key in the on position.

 

If you have a tilt steering wheel, it is very possible a wire in the column is hosed. Remove the pretty plastic pieces and check the wires.

 

Fixed it today and here's what I learned that I hope will help others.

It was the Crank Position Sensor and it was a real pain in the xxx to remove and replace.
The position of it is right next to the engine exhaust block where it connects to the cat converter. The two bolts that holds the sensor is almost impossible to get. Definitely need extensions and GLOVES if you don't like to bleed much. The wire to the sensor as "zman17" say is also a real pain, it routes behind the distributor cap and practically behind the stereo of the truck, but on the other side of the firewall.

Now, this is what I found extremely helpful that helped me troubleshoot the problem.
• Crank sensor tells ECU when to spark
• Cam sensor tells ECU when to send fuel (injectors)

If the Crank sensor is bad, the computer will not ground the ignition coil wire, thus you will get no spark and no power to the ignitor.

If the Cam sensor is bad, you will still get sparks and power to the ignitor but the engine likely will not start because it will tell the computer to not send fuel to the injectors.

To get the truck to display the trouble code without a OBDII, all you need to do is turn the key to the on position 3 times. On the 3rd time, the odometer will show your current milage then quickly change and it will show you the code.

Code P1388 = ASR error (Auto Stop Relay). The ignition coil is connected to the ASR and the computer controls the ASR so again, if the Crank sensor is bad, the computer will not let the ASR provide power to the ignition coil.

I really hope this will someone else out there. I am going to create another topic just to post this finding.

Many thanks to you all for your support and help.