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The 3 wont start so Im drivin my moms pimp mobile buick centry. Anyway. So I was driving around all day the night before it died and then I go out to the car in the morning and it wont start. It cranks but it wont start. I figured it was the HEI mod I did about 6 months back going bad. I replaced it and its still not starting. I checked all the vaccum lines. I found one that had come out but it didnt do anything when I put it back in place. Seems like Im not getting any spark. We put one of those things around the spark plug wire thats suppost to flash when youve got spark and it didnt show any signs of there being a spark. I read through the older posts and Im leaning towards the external coil. Any ideas?

Steve-O

Reading your story, tells me you dont have external coil. (and you have been playing with a timming light)

Hei Mod comes in 2 fashion ways. One with only the Hei and the other Hei and external coil.

The simple Hei mod will not cover coil failures, so I bet that's a external coil that's missing there.

Next stop, the diagrams...

Yep I did the mod without the external coil cause my car kept shutting down and it fixed that.. So maybe adding a coil is what I should be looking at trying next? Im having to travel 100 miles just to work on the car cause its setting at my parents place and I goto school 100 miles away. Any other ideas or any seconds on that idea??

Steve-O

I second that idea. You can check the coil though and make sure that is the problem. Search in the Service Manual labeled (Online Shop Manual)on the front page for directions on how to test it. under Tech Info on the left side of the front page.
If the coil tests ok, then test the cam position sensor and the crank position sensor, but my money is on the coil.

I just changed out my clutch about a month ago and while I was doing that I missed a wire that was attatched to the transmission and tore it out of the connector. I unbolted it and it had a gear on the end of it. I think thats one of the sensors your talking about, right? We managed to solder it back together but it might have been a temporary fix if thats whats killing me now. Would that cause there to be no spark?

Steve-O

No start analysis, engine will turn over...

Yeah, sounds ignition related. I'd check all the usual; cap + rotor, wires, plugs. You can get your ignition module(s) tested at a local autoparts store. There is a possibility you burnt your old one out, or it became insufficiently grounded, and a further possibility that the new in box one was faulty off the shelf. Yet it's not likely. I'd try an external coil.

Sounds like your charging and starting systems are good, so there's a plus.

Can you hear your fuel pump/have you tested it?

I would start off even more basic than what you're doing and see if you can pull any codes (if you have any at all). if no codes then given that you have an internal coil in your distrubutor, the easiest way to find out if the coil is the problem is to do an external coil mod. if you have a buddy with a working mx-3 distributor you can swap that one in and see if the disty is the problem. otherwise the cam and crank position sensors can also cause the car to have "no spark" when faulty. one of those should do it, keep us posted.

The HEI modual was good, but I replaced it anyway. I smell gas so thats running. Im going to throw in a coil and see if that takes care of it. Its going to take me awhile to get the parts shipped in so Ill shout back when Im done.

Steve-O

I have a similar problem with a 4-cylinder mx-3. The engine cranks, but there is no spark. I replaced the rotor, and the cap, and I checked the distributor as the book says. I also checked the wires and the plugs spark on another car. However when I tried to measure the voltage on the primary of the distributor harness (harness side) I got zero!
So my hunch is the the problem lies between the distributor and the battery, but I don't know how to check. The book says "check main fuse, ignition switch, and wire harness" I am not sure about these... I will try tomorrow to check all the fuses and wires but just in case anyone has any idea. Thanks!

I checked main fuse first thing and it was good. Its bolted in place in that fuse block close to the battery.

Steve-O

i changed the distributor and it worked. This is strange, since the measurments of the primary and secondary were good.