by moni on May 23rd, 2007

moni

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I have a 91 toyota corolla and will not start at times...it will turn over, but no spark...then will begin working again....I cannot get a diagnostic tests until the problem is going on at the mechanics-which has yet to happen...any ideas? Not the starter

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  • by Old School on May 24th, 2007

    Old School

    Usually when you have this sort of intermittent no-spark condition, either the coil is intermittently failing or the electronic ignition control module (sometimes called the 'igniter', esp. on Hondas) is having a problem.

    Is the problem worse when the car is hot? That's another indicator that the coil or module is bad.

    Good luck.

    Comments
    • I agree, especially with the ignition module part. I haven't ever seen intermittant failure with a coil, though. Aren't they usually pretty much go or no go?

      GingerL

      by GingerL on May 24th, 2007

    • Sometimes the internal connections inside a coil unit can get weak. Then temp. changes/vibration can cause them to intermittently fail. It's not common, but it can happen.

      Old School

      by Old School on May 24th, 2007

    • I can see how that might happen, I just haven't ever seen it in real life. Usually, when a module has failed, I reccomend coil replacement anyway. Thanks.

      GingerL

      by GingerL on May 24th, 2007

    • GingerL - are you in the auto repair business? I used to turn wrenches on BMWs for a living.

      Old School

      by Old School on May 24th, 2007

    • BMW's, for a dealer or as an independant shop? Either way, that's usually a fairly cushy job that requires quite a bit of skll and knowledge. It's nice to see those kind of credentials on Answerbag.
      I turned wrenches for a few shops many moons ago, worked for a salvadge yard tearing down cars and selling used parts. I spent 6 years in auto parts as a career doing outside sales while catching "overflow" work from my customers. I was ASE certified, but I let that expire. Now, I'm a stay at home mom, and sometimes work part time for one of the parts stores I used to work for. If it was made after 95 or so, I'm out of my element:)

      GingerL

      by GingerL on May 24th, 2007

    • I was a dealer mechanic for 4 years and it was any but cushy. The problem being that management/BMW expected us to diagnose rolling computer networks (did you know a bad radio can put the transmission into "limp home" mode?) while still beating flat rate. I got sick of fighting that battle every day.

      Old School

      by Old School on May 24th, 2007

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You're reading I have a 91 toyota corolla and will not start at times...it will turn over, but no spark...then will begin working again....I cannot get a diagnostic tests until the problem is going on at the mechanics-which has yet to happen...any ideas? Not the starter

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