I went to work on the car for an extended lunch break. The result...no luck. Car still doesn't start. Now I'm thinking (actually I'm pretty sure) I am having spark issues. The coil gives an intermittant spark when cranking. In other words, it's a crap shoot as to whether or not the little blue spark shows itself. I am now certain it's not an air or vacuum leak. I took the plastic hose that goes between the AMM and TB with me to IPD and he thought it unlikely that the little hole inthe hose would lead to a no start problem. Anyway, what about this spark thing, what could be the cause of that? This started while I was driving in the rain if that make a difference, although it has since dried out a bit and still doesn't start.
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1987 240 dl wagon 'rustbucket'

charm,

I agree with janglim, that you have to have the signal from the Hall sensor consistently to provide the proper voltage fluctuations to the primary side of the coil. The magnetic field energy that is created and stored in the coil on the primary side is transferred to the secondary side when the primary circuit is interrupted.

Have you cleaned the contacts to the coil (primary side)?

Clean the 25A fuse on the inner fender- it often looks fine but develops an oxide layer that can be an intermittent problem, especially in the rain.

If your contacts are clean and still has the same problem, I think I would get a coil from the PnP to try.

Also, Fuel pump relay - resolder or replace with new.

Just a few ideas...

Good Luck!

TomD
'86 240
'93 240

I'm making a (paritally) random guess here but it sounds like you have reached that point in this particular diagnosis.
You don't mention what year it is, but you should have either a hall-effect sensor or RPM sender that tells the computer when to tell the coil to fire. It reads the rotation of the engine at the distributor (hall) or flywheel I think (RPM). The plug into the wiring harness, or the wires themselves can short or fail intermittently, or the unit itself can fail.
There is a good step by step description in the 700 FAQ about how the ingnition system works. Yours may have different steps, depending on how old, but it may be helpful to read. If the specifics apply to your hear, there is a test there for the hall sender operation, probably in Bentley too.
On my 83 with chrysler ignition (white cap), I had problems with the hall sender. One (only?) benefit of the chrysler distr. is that the sender was pretty easy to replace, not like described in the faq.
Joe

Oh ogd, I hope it's not that, I think ( at least I hope) the problem is happening before the distributer. Oh please let it be before the distributer!
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1987 240 dl wagon 'rustbucket'

Don't forget that the hall sender is "before the distrubutor" even though it is in the distr.
The high voltage role of the distributor (which the new cap and rotor would address) won't matter if the hall sender isn't getting a consistent signal to the computer.
joe

Does your car have a radio suppression relay or was that just on the 700/900. Have you checked / re-soldred the fuel pump relay. Cleaned distributor cap, is the cap cracked. How are the spark plug wires, have an assistant try and start the car while you check for arcing to the block. just a few things that come to mind.
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'82 DL - 150k, '93 945 - 96k

The spark I had checked is from the coil wire to the hood hinge, that way I can check it alone. I ahve done this in the past, reently in fact, with good results. When I tried an hour ago, I was getting spark in like one out of every 7 or 8 cranks. So the spark issue is pre-distributer. At some point, although everything looks great, I will be replacing the cap, rotor, and plugs just for good measure. Soon , I will also do the timing belt for good measure as well. And maybe even the radiator, just so I know where everything stands. Beofre the big stuff though, I gotta get the thing running. The big stuff is assuming I don't sell the beast and buy a 700 turbo. Either way, gotta get it going!
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1987 240 dl wagon 'rustbucket'

Pile on more theories!

I recently had a no-start on one my 700s, very stubborn, feeble/no spark at end of coil lead. It was in fact the coil lead itself that was defective, arcing to the tranny dipstick. Maybe try checking it after dark to see if you've got sparks flying.

perhaps it is your ignition coil?
just a thought.

chuck
(sorry about the no-post, oops)

That's my thought but I hate to go through the car and replace good parts to get to the bad one. I am wondering if there is a way to test the coil? If the coild works then it's not getting the proper signal to fire and then it would be something else, but what? Also, as an aside, is there another way to check if the fuel pump is working? Listening for it would work great in a garage but on the side of a busy street with the annoying key in the ignition bing sound, there's no way. I had thought that the whine I was hearing was the fuel pump but no, it's the fan, or the radio or something but not the pump. Keep 'em coming, we'll finmd it
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1987 240 dl wagon 'rustbucket'

tonight after rush hour when less people are out, find a quiet lit parking lot to drive your car to. keep it running and get out of the car, close the door to stop the binging, and put your ear as close to the main fuel pump as you can if it is whining or hissing then your fuel pump is working to hard (whining) and hissing my be the fuel pump check valve. if it is the fuel pump, your intank pump probobly needs replacing, hence the main pump working too hard and crying about it(my 88 244 is doing that right now).

I don't know how to test an ignition coil. you may want to unhook it and gently shake it to be sure there is some liquid in their, if it is dried up it may be on its way out.

Best,
Chuck

If it is the coil, then I can start the car and check the fuel pump, the problem is, the car isn't starting. If it didn't I'd be asking questions about cleaning up the interior and body work, and where to find cheap sway bars.
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1987 240 dl wagon 'rustbucket'

there are resistance specs for the low and high tension side of the coil. Do you have a manual?? an ohmeter?? If not search the archives for coils specs. I dont have my manual in front of me.

MRE


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'82 DL - 150k, '93 945 - 96k

Hmm our 87 that died on the road 6 hours away from home (just far enough for me to not be able to go get it) turned out to have a fried coil. This is a good thing to get from the junkyard for not much $$, doesn't fail very often and will at least help rule out one item.
Next thing to look it is probably going to be the ignition ECU in the RF fender as well as connection to the distributor- make sure all pins are tight and look good. The ignition harness under the front pulley is always suspect on an 87- I've seen a few run after nothing more than pushing and pulling on the wiring harness.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 744GLE: 625K total

I thought about the harness there as well but everything looks good. The HAll Effect is, unfortunatly on the top of the list. While replacing the wiring harness, I bumped the plug that hooks into the harness and the plastic that keeps nice and close to the distributer broke and is now dangling. I asked at IPD if this was going to be an issue I was told probably not but there's always a chance. Any opinions on the broken plastic piece being the culprit?

Sooner or later I'll get a starter because damn that makes this far more frustrating than it needs to be. That thing just spins and spins and every once in awhile it actually catches. I could solve this much quicker with a good starter...oh well one thing at a time.
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1987 240 dl wagon 'rustbucket'