Need some help, 98 Plymouth breeze.

[21willys]

For my sons 12th birthday I bought him his first demo car so he can run in a youth demo that's coming up. It's a mini car demo so I bought a 98 Plymouth breeze that a friend of a friend had. The more we work on the car the more we discover how big if a idiot the guy was. Anyways... He claimed the car ran and drove before he started working on it. Now it don't have spark. After I realized that was the problem with it not running I started chasing wires. I noticed it has been on fire between the engine and the firewall. I didn't see any burnt wiring tho.

Does anybody have any ideas? None of the cracker box parts stores around me can test the coil.

 

[Dirtyrat]

Well if its a distributorless system, here is the diagnostic procedure on the coil:

Primary Coil Resistance Test
Unplug the electrical connector from the ignition coil pack.
Measure the primary resistance of each coil. At the coil, connect an ohmmeter between the B+ pin and the pin corresponding to the cylinders in question.
The resistance on the primary side of each coil should be 0.45-0.65 ohms. Replace the coil if not within specifications.

Secondary Resistance Check
Disconnect the spark plug wires from the secondary towers of the ignition coil.
Use an ohmmeter to measure the secondary resistance of the coil between towers 1 and 4, then between towers 2 and 3. (1&4 are across from one another on top, 2&3 are across from one another below)

Checking secondary resistance between the ignition coil towers
The secondary resistance should be 11,000-14,000 ohms. If resistance is not within specifications, the coil must be replaced.

Let me know if you need anything else, or if this car has a distributor...

 

[21willys]

Thanks for that info! If I had a ohms meter I'd be set lol. Ill see about borrowing one tomorrow.

Thanks again!

 

[Willowbilly3]

Just buy a good one. It's a tool anyone working on stuff should have. I carry my old Fluke 77 where ever I go.

 

[21willys]

Well after doing some more research Ive learned that testing the way previously mentioned won't actually tell you if the coil is good or not.

 

[Dirtyrat]

Well after doing some more research Ive learned that testing the way previously mentioned won't actually tell you if the coil is good or not.

How so? it will tell you if it has failed, or has internal damage, IE windings cooked together, etc, because the resistance will have changed.

Did you need any more info? I have been gone a week, and just got back on the forums...

 

[21willys]

It's up and running. The cv axle boot had partially came apart and snagged the wiring for the crank sensor. Just enough for it to loose connection inside the male part of the plug.