Hi all, first post. Please don't crucify me, about this, and yes I have searched the forums for tips.

The patient - a 97 avenger, 2.5 liter.
The problem - no start, especially after raining. Currently not starting.

• The engine/starter turns.
• Battery is fully charged.
• All 3 relays tested out OK on my bench (use 12volts to actuate them and verified the switch contacts with a multimeter)
• Can hear FP turn on for a second or two when ignition switch is first turned on.
• No CEL light codes.
• Replaced crank angle sensor earlier this year.
• The crank angle sensor outputs pulses when cranked. I used LED/resistor hooked up to leads spliced into the sensor harness.
• The crank angle sensor tests fine per the FAQ section of this forum.
• The cam angle sensor outputs pulses when cranked. Used same LED/resistor combo & probed the brown cam angle sensor output wire off the distributor harness connector.
• The primary and secondary dc resistance of the coil measures OK.
• I can smell gas out of the tailpipe (I assume this means it's getting fuel).
• No evidence of water/moisture in distributor cap/rotor, but I replaced it anyway with a different one.
• Removed spark plug wire, stuck screwdriver into it, saw sparks when cranking. Spark jumped about a 3/8" gap or so. Cannot verify "quality" of spark though. I don't have anything that measures in the kv range.
• Measured the ignitor transistor (if that's what it's called) that's inside the distributor. I measured it via the distributor connector. It measures a little different than a normal PNP transistor. It does not appear to be shorted, or it does not appear shorted like any other bad transistor I've seen before.
• The current plugs/wires/cap/rotor are about 2 years old. Probably less than 15k miles on them.
• I have new wires/plugs/cap/rotor on order from rockauto. I'll replace them when I get them sometime early next week. I can't believe that wires/plugs/cap/rotor would go bad with less than ~15k miles.

I'm at wits end on this thing. Can someone shed some ideas I can try out?

On a sidenote, I've seen that you can replace the coil. Does the coil include the ignitor transistor too? Or is the ignitor transistor part of the whole distributor? If possible, I'd even retrofit the distributor to use an external ignitor transistor like a normal car.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

Coil is NOT replaceable. You can wire an MSD seperate coil but need the msd system as well ($300+)
verify you have 12 volts on the fuel pump and it stays

 

Got around to measuring the voltage at the pump this morning (yep, right at the pump connector). It was 12 volts when key turned to ON position. It was steady 12 volts when cranked. You could hear the faint motor sound of pump too. It hasn't rained here in like 2 solid days and to my expected surprise, the car started when testing the FP voltage. I'll know for sure after I change the plugs/wires next week if that's the root cause or not. Maybe my car is just an accurate weatherman - it will tell me if it has rained.

Rockauto, among other places like autozone, sell a replacement coil, or at least that's what they advertise for a 2.5 liter 97 avenger. Here's a link and another link. At the airtex website (the manufacturer), it appears that that part is really for a 98-00! Is there a *real* difference between the 97 & the 98-00 distributors?

 

I can't see the picture but they list it ... I've been getting the replacement distro from rock auto

 

Picture link
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=1188785