I have an unusual problem. Recently did a timing belt job. After completion, she failed to start. Cranks, no start. Troubleshooting revealed one of the 3 coils has no fire.

I have ruled out ECU, coil packs, wiring between ecu/igniter/coil packs, timing. Crank and cam sensors are plugged in.

I failed to disconnect the battery before doing the timing belt job.

Has anyone seen an igniter fail? Is there another likely cause that I am overlooking?

 

Ground wires clean and reattached?

 

No grounds removed during the course of the job. All grounds that I did see (went back and looked for them) were screwed down tight.

 

Have your tried unplugging each connection, MAF, igniter, coil, TPS, crank sensor? Just trying to hit some likely low hanging fruit first.....igniters fail, but it seems like it is more related to the TB work and, possibly, just a bumped electrical connection.

 

Inspected each of the above, tested wiring harness for shorts leading to the sensors, tested sensors for appropriate resistance between terminals

 

Is distributor in correctly?

 

beat me too it ^

 

Sorry, I should have specified the vehicle. 1997 4runner sr5, 3.4L manual transmission. No distributer.

 

Sure the timing belt was installed correctly? Real easy to get it a tooth off which could screw with the computer real easy.

 

^^ x2 on what TA said.

did you turn the engine over and confirm cam timing?

if it was running before belt change it should run now.

 

Yeah, I triple confirmed timing. Pulled covers back off, had a mechanic friend look at it with me, then did a compression test for good measure

 

It sounds like it is out of time, but if the compression numbers were all within cold spec, then maybe electrical. Did you replace the cam/crank seals as well?

www.car-part.com to see if a yard close by has a $10 igniter for ya.

 

Yes, I did all 3 seals. Also replaced tensioner, rollers, thermostat, water pump

 

When my friend's igniter went south on him in his T100, he had no spark at any coil, it was just dead. His mechanic said that it looked as if water had gotten into the connector somehow and killed it. After replacing it with a junker, I think he is still going strong three years later.

Did you move/rotate the cams while changing the seals? Maybe the cams vs. the crank is 180 degrees out of time but that should have been reflective in the compression test.

It seems to be a hard one to diagnose over the WWW. You may have to just bite the bullet and take it to a mechanic if another igniter does not pan out.

 

Did you replace anything else when doing the tbelt? Other than seals, bearings and wp? Even a tooth off it should run and even with a bad coil it should run. Are you sure you didnt pinch the cam sensor wire where it goes between the covers? And you triple checked the ground wire on the intake manifold above the oil cap? Did you check for codes with a scanner? Will it start with a spray of starting fluid? Did you reinstall the passenger side cam gear in the correct position so the cam sensor reads it properly?

 

I did a full timing belt job, but no other work.
I've tested all of the above with no problems found. No start with starter fluid. No codes to read, aside from the one time during trouble shooting that I forgot to plug in the cam sensor prior to cranking. She threw a cam sensor code until i remembered to plug it back in.

J2F42C, thanks for the link to www.car-part.com. Useful website.
Picked up a used igniter for $35.

Just got back from the Turkey-day trip to see mom. My ECU came back from a specialist in Florida, they said it all checked out. Unfortunately, the battery drained down to 4.5 volts while i was out of town with the ECU unplugged. Trickle charging it now, maybe i can salvage the battery. At any rate, I need more voltage before I can test start with the junkyard igniter. Hope to test start tomorrow.

 

Good to hear that you were able to locate a cheap part. I'll be crossing my fingers that it gets your 4runner to turn over.

 

Looks like the parts database steered me wrong. The igniter I picked up was a denso 89621-41010. The original was 89621-35020. The wrong igniter had a curious effect on the engine.

After installing the new igniter and turning the key to the RUN position (not Start), a repeating popping noise could be heard from the engine bay. Leaning against the truck, I received a series of shocks in time with the popping. I realized that the new igniter was firing all the spark plugs as soon as the key turned to run. Dammit

Ordered another igniter (ebay) paying strict attention to the model#.
Looks like I have another week's wait before proceeding to the next step.

 

Did you put the correct cam pulley on the correct side *passenger side one is special for the cam sensor? did you damage the teeth on the crank timing pulley?

 

Pulleys are marked R on passenger, L on driver. I was cautious with the pulleys, no damage during handling