95 no spark

[p377y7h33f]

hi everybody. my first post here. i'll try to give you as much information on my problem as i can in as few words as i can.

i only have the van for a week. it sat still for about 6 months, so it took 3-4 minutes to start the very first time i saw it. over the next couple of days/200 miles/20 starts it began starting instantly, ran solid once warm, and put out 2000 miles in the week after that. so here i am in Massachusetts, 300 miles away from home(NY), parked in a hotel parking lot, shut off the engine and waiting for my reservation e-mail. i decide to open my window for a smoke, so i turn the key to ignition without starting the van and leave it that way for about 10 minutes. once i get the bad news from the hotel, i try to start it again, it cranks and nothing happens. that night i didn't do much.

next day, Labor Day, everything's closed so i venture to open the engine cover. checked all the fuses prior to that, they were all good. first thing i did was check for spark. PLEASE, tell me i did it right. i removed the wire right from the (very old)ignition coil, took a wire connected to an unpainted body area and held it close to the coil contact. cranked it - no spark. should i check at the rotor cap or it doesn't matter??? mind you, the electrical components in the van are all out of wack. speedometer is showing about 3/4 of the actual MPH, voltage meter is at 16v with ignition on, and 18v when running. fuel gauge can't be trusted. half the switches don't work, some are mixed up(rear defrost switch opens the rear door, no power locks and so on...) also, i cannot eliminate the possibility of me pulling out a wire with my foot while using the e-brake. i actually found a loose brown wire coming out from behind the fuse box and connected it to where it seemed to belong - a metal bracket which seems to provide ground.

next day, today, i decided to start replacing stuff. first, new ignition coil - $17 bucks, why the hell not. no change. thick pink wire to the coil has 11.5v(battery starting to give out), skinny short white with a connector is loose, hasn't been used for anything for a while. the skinny red and white from the coil to the ignition control module both have 11.5v. next, i took a walk and got a new ICM(ignition control module). no change. that's when i renewed my AAA membership and towed it to a shop. the guy took a quick look, measured the fuel pressure. it was 45psi, and i know it's lower than it should be, but he said it should be enough to start. then he checked the fuses again - all good. connected his scanner and said there was no communication with the computer. then he closed the shop and left for a week-long vacation.

now it's parked at a closed shop with the battery almost dead, i'm a mile and a half away in a hotel, wasting money, unable to complete my job assignment, looking at another tow, hours of diagnostics, possible rape by the local mechanics tomorrow, fresh out of ideas and no hope of making it back home for my daughter's birthday. the van cost me around $1800 so far and now i don't know if it's worth investing money into it any more.

i'll be able to post some pictures of under the dash area tomorrow, maybe you guys can see something i can't. oh, and i think it's a 95 body, but 94 and older interior. the dashboard is still squarish, and after a thorough search i never found the underhood fuse block i'm supposed to have on a 95. thanks for taking your time to read this. what's my next step?

p.s. not sure how to check for injector pulse. only got a multimeter. all suggestions welcome.

[v8famvan]

I do not like the '95 van because it is the year that has some of the old & some of the new on-board diagnostic systems.
Anyway... if you have no spark - and it sound like you tested it reasonably correctly - the most likely or probable cause is the crank sensor.
Simple thing to verify if you have a functioning scan tool.
A little more difficult if you do not......


In addition to this, 45 psi is too low on a '95 van but this does not cause no spark........
Simple way to verify if you have a fuel delivery problem - spray some flamable liquid (fuel) into the air intake hose for the engine. If it fires, the ignition system is working & you have confirmed the problem is the fuel delivery.

[p377y7h33f]

the tow truck guy's first impression was the crank sensor, but the mechanic that looked at it mentioned that the crank sensor had to be good since the fuel pressure was building up. it would be nice to know where the sensor is, and how to test it before i get a new one. its around $80 bucks so i don't want to rush into it...

[CaptSquid]

Try the ignition module.

[p377y7h33f]

Try the ignition module.

already changed that.

[LiftedAWDAstro]

The fuel pump will build pressure just by cycling the key to "on". I would double check the ECM fuses.

Where in NY are you?

[p377y7h33f]

i gotta get home to Bensonhurst in Brooklyn, NY.

tried building up the pressure with the key, stays at 35 psi. ether doesn't do a thing, so can't say i'm eager to work on better fuel delivery.

had a mechanic look behind the crankshaft pulley, and he said i got an earlier 95, probably a late 94 which didn't have a crank sensor yet. anyway, changed the spark plugs today, wires, rotor cap and the rotor itself. rechecked ground, rechecked fuses. still no spark.

question: would the ignition coil spark with just the power to it, or maybe with the wires on the black connector(left) shorted?

[LiftedAWDAstro]

With the doghouse off, check the large wire harness that crosses over the right valve cover. Check it for burnt or broken wires. I have seen this in a couple vans so far. Normally this takes out one or both ECM fuses though. This harness goes to the ECM in the right side passenger kick panel.

35 PSI is not enough to run the engine. I think the minimum is 50 PSI. Might be partially to blame on the low battery voltage.

Oh and just clarification...the 95 vans only got the new front end like the 96+. The dash, drivetrain and interior are the same as the 94's.

[v8famvan]

Check out the post that i made in this thread viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4853
This should give you an idea on how to determine what is bad (or good) in your ignition & fuel system.