Spider wont start :(

Yesterday I made a very spirited defence against some of the unjustified accusations leveled at our beloved beasts.

In a very amusingly ironic way my spider broke down and left me stranded on the M25 last night

Oh well, these things happen. So here's my question

The car has fuel, turns over very strongly.
The coil has power on both of the small terminals but produces no spark.

The blokey that came to assist suggested it was the ignition pack, has anybody got any ideas about what else it could be?

It's an '86 S3 FI/EI ( american import)

TIA

Mark

Here's a few suggestions :

Fuel pump relay
Defective fuel pump
Not being sarky but I presume there is petrol in the tank? Alfa tank sender units are notoriously prone to sticking
Check all the fuses
Double check all the HT leads and connections

Got it started yet?

Originally Posted by Sarto

Here's a few suggestions :

Fuel pump relay
Defective fuel pump
Not being sarky but I presume there is petrol in the tank? Alfa tank sender units are notoriously prone to sticking
Check all the fuses
Double check all the HT leads and connections

Got it started yet?

No

Thanks for your suggestions sarto,

Another question....
If part of the fuel system was not working, would that prevent the ignition from firing?


Yes... there is fuel in the tank.

I was watching the rescue guy test all the HT leads none of them produced a spark, I watched him test the Coil to Distributor HT lead and no spark was produced there either.
I did see the test lamp light when it was applied to either of the small ignition coil terminals.

If the probelight showed 12 volts on terminal 15, and alternating current on terminal 1 on the coil, but no spark was produced, then the coil is shot. Factamundo

Hoygaard

Should I be going and apologising to Burnout before my car breaks down?

Originally Posted by Hoygaard

If the probelight showed 12 volts on terminal 15, and alternating current on terminal 1 on the coil, but no spark was produced, then the coil is shot. Factamundo

Hoygaard

OK..
which or what is terminal 15 ?
Which or what is terminal 1?

How can I tell if the current on terminal 1 is alternating ?
How can I tell if I'm getting 12 volts on terminal 15?

Cheers for the help so far
I'm certainly liking the idea of it only being the coil, the one part of the ignition circuit I didn't replace during a recent service



@bazza..
Burnout's smug attitude was obviously the result of black magic, beg his forgiveness now

Altho' TBF I was defending modern Alfas

JaB

Power at both small terminals on the coil with the engine cranking tells me that the ignition ECU isn't switching the coil from earth like it should. I'd start by checking some of the ignition related electrical connectors in the engine bay particularly those going to the reference point and rev transmitters. These connectors are (I think) located behind the windscreen washer bottle on the right bulkhead. The transmitters are in the bellhousing; one above and one below the starter.

OK...

I found terminals 1 & 15

There is current at both, when the ignition is ON and when the engine is cranking.. there is no spark.

I've checked the resistances on 1/15 there is about 200 Ohms

On the HT lead I get no reading at all

The fuel system is pressurising, the relays are relaying, and all fuses are fine. I've checked the erath point at the back of the block and all is fine there.

I'm thinking I should replace the coil?

JaB

The coil primary resistance (terms 15 & 1) should be 0.6-1.0 ohm with all wires disconnected from the coil. If you're reading 200 ohms, connect the two meter leads together and read the meter. It should be zero. If not, subtract the meter reading from the 200 you got at the coil and the result is the primary resistance. The coil secondary resistance should be 3k-5k ohms as measured between term 1 and the HT terminal.