Distributor or Computer?

my13waysused · Post by **my13waysused** » March 6th, 2006, 1:31 pm

Having trouble getting my 1.6L 4cyl to start. One day it was running fine with no hesitations or weird noises, and I pulled into the driveway. About 20 min. later, I tried to start it and car jut cranks normally but will not start. Car is getting fuel and has recently had timing belt replaced. There was no spark coming thru the wires, so I replaced the wires, plugs, rotor, and cap....still no spark. I noticed that when I turn the key to -on- position, the check engine light does not display.

Is this problem due to problems with the ecu/computer, or is it the distributor? thanks in advance

max kl · Post by **max kl** » March 6th, 2006, 3:18 pm

have you checked all of the fuses and there is a relay on the pass side of the ecm you realy cant test it but i have had the same symptoms 2 times on my 4cyl car and that relay was bad

there is i 10 or 15 amp fuse in side the car and the main fuse is under the hood if they are blown you need to find out why. fuses dont wear out

i keep a spare relay handy so i can pop it in whene car wont start you could get one used to keep the cost low and see if car starts [the relay on the pass side of the ecm]

2fazed · Post by **2fazed** » March 6th, 2006, 11:31 pm

I think the common problems are the disty, and altenater. If your car seems to have plenty of power, then it's probably your disty.

ariesdude · Post by **ariesdude** » March 6th, 2006, 11:47 pm

try pulling diagnostic codes - if the cel doesnt light up at all then ecu might be the problem - but i have heard many times that the ecu doesnt break unless somebody did something stupid with it. It might just be a blown fuse somewhere.

my13waysused · Post by **my13waysused** » March 8th, 2006, 9:31 pm

Just thought I would let everyone know who won the idiot of the year award....me!!

Checked fuses again, and they looked good. Checked relay next to the ecu...wasn't that. I changed the ecu...wasn't that....then i spent almost 300$ on a distributor, and still no spark...

Then i decided to check fuses...Turns out there was a blown fuse that looked like it was brand new, but apparently it had blown..and yeah, the car started right up.

Oh well...I guess I should say that I got a lifetime warranty on a new disty...

So lesson.....do more than visually inspect your fuses !!