No fire to plugs or coil pack. Engine turns, but won't start.

[badass_m0_f0]

hi the title just about says it. the car had been running fine for the most part. made several long distance trips. had the car sitting for a while, as i was looking for a new door/w glass after being broken into. got the car set and ready to run. took a drive and got it cleaned.
the next day i noticed that at idle the car was running at a lower idle than usual, and seemed like it was about to die unless i touched the gas pedal to increase the rpms.
the next night the car would not start. the engine will turn over and try, but it wouldn't fire up.
today i checked and i'm not getting any fire at the spark plugs, or to the coil pack. it doesn't arc. it also doesn't smell like it's pumping any fuel.
i'm thinking it might be the "ignition system control box" under the hood on the driver's side. i'm going to take it out and have it tested at a dealership tomorrow.
any other possibilities you guys can suggest would help.
thanks in advance , Josh

Update! i just checked and i have an error code 12

Diagnosis
•No "NE" or "G" signal to ECU within 2 seconds after engine has been cranked.
Trouble Area
•Distributor, or CPS, circuit
•Distributor or CPS
•Starter signal circuit
•ECU

could this cause the problem i described?

 

[badass_m0_f0]

any advice?

 

[89supra7mgte]

go to the tsrm and get the cps specs, make sure you have no broken wires, or connection problems. And yes the if i am correct the cps does control the spark.

 

[nick88]

Mess with the cps plug a little, then try and start it.

 

[89supra7mgte]

double check your timing also maybe the belt slipped?

 

[quasiinsomniac]

Last weekend on the first spring drive, I lost engine power at about 80mph on the highway. As I was coasting, I repeatedly depressed the throttle only to hear the throttle body opening yet no power. Upon stopping, I was able to crank the engine, but it did not fire up. This persisted throughout pumping the gas, checking the fuses etc.

Now here is where the serious troubleshooting starts. I took a volt-meter to the ignition componenst as per the TSRM. The coil pack was not receiving power, the ignitor was receiving 12v, but the Cam Positioning Sensor was not giving back ANY reading in ohms for any of the connections. The TSRM states it should be receiving 180 in resistance. The ECU is flashing a 12 error, which is "no NE to G within 2 seconds of crank".

So hopefully this helps the original poster troubleshoot. But my question is, would it be safe to assume that the CPS is at fault in my situation and possibly even in the original poster's?

Thank you.

 

[7mslider]

it would be pretty safe to assume that your cps is to blame if you are not getting any resistance when checked. i had the same problem about a week ago. driving then the engine died and would not start back up. timing was correct but no spark from coil pack. i checked my cps and it also had no resistance. it turned out the cover was cracked and oil had gotten in there which i attributed to being the reason it went out. i replaced the cps per tsrm and low n behold running smooth as can be. hope this helps

 

[quasiinsomniac]

I wanted to close this thread up with my earlier post. I replaced the CPS with a known good one from HalMKIII here on the forum. Still no dice, but I went back to the TSRM and started troubleshooting. I started to reset the timing and see if I had just plugged the CPS in wrong. I went to rotate the crank, but noticed that the cam lobes were not turning. I took off the cam cover to find that the timing belt was shredded to hell and the little teeth were everywhere inside except on the belt. So, to sum it up, yes the CPS probably wasn't good, but an error 12 can also be a stripped timing belt. The engine turned over fine, but no spark to the spark plugs and error code 12 from the ECU. Good luck to everyone. Thanks for everyone who posted on here to help with the problem.

 

[supramn21]

it sounds like your efi fuse it blown is a number 15 amp check that if its bad u get no fuel or spark let me know thanks

 

[89supra7mgte]

Is the 7m an interference engine? if so i would check for bent valves also. maybe even piston damage.

 

[badass_m0_f0]

it's been along time.

I did take my unit to be tested and they told me that they could not test it and that the unit rarely goes bad. The funny thing is after i reinstalled it the car cranked right up and ran with no problems, untill now. I really don't know what the problem was, but i assume it had something to do with the damaged connector ontop of my CPS as nick88 implied. the two wires are firmly connected but the little bit holding the unit to the CPS it's self is broken so the connections hangs some.

Funny thing is i really didn't even know what the CPS was untill now lol.


Just as a side note, my pre-cat imploded a whiile back and clogged up my exhaust. I had a mechanic shop in Wakarusa, Indiana attempt to remedy the problem so i could leave that place as i was stranded with no tools or clues. I actually thought that it was my turbo that siezed up and was preventing air flow and the mechanic shop agreed with me. So i did get a new oem turbo installed that i managed to pick up on e-bay SUPER CHEAP if i recall it was about $80.00. However the mechanic shop coincidentally found that this was not the only problem after installing my new turbo for me and charging me out the ass for labor. They found the pre-cat was clogged, and suggested to me it was due to my turbo failure potentially impellers or other pieces that flew through the downpipe. The people at the shop there were liars and incompetant on top of it. They told me i would have to order an entire downpipe assembly from toyota as the pre-cat was welded in place and it would be 'impossible' to remove it and install another one and have it fit back correctly. Being experienced with a torch, welder, and grinder i knew this was certainly not true. I ended up carrying my downpipe assembly to a local Mineke. They were abled to remove the old precat and install a new one on the assembly in about 15 minutes, without the car being present. The shop in Wakarusa still had my vehicle so they reinstalled the downpipe + new pre-cat with utter disbelief that someone was able to do what Mineke did. Once it was all in, they managed to hit me up for new spark plug wires citing that the care would not start and that was the reason why, charge me $30.00 of labor to do a tape up job on my O2 sensor wires(that i believe they cut at some point), lost a nut for my turbo's heat shield, and was going to keep my old cat + turbo for scrap. Well i did tell them i wanted my old parts back, the pre-cat was indeed junked. However my turbo seemed PERFECT! no broken impellors as suggested, no shaft play and it spun freely.

ok i know alot of useless info there, but what i was wondering was if my rewired, taped 02 sensor wires would cause any problem simular to what i described above. As i said i think it was the CPS connection but the cut wires are near it and both could be to blame i assume.
Also if you ever break down in Wakarusa, IN never ever ever ever trust "My Mechanic" the guy across the street from him next to Dollar General is much more friendly and helpful, he charges slightly more and the local folk are down on him because he has a local monoply but his prices are reasonable and he actually does quality work. He even helped me do an Oil change there for only 10$ before i left that town. I did have the oil and filter, i just didn't have a way to raise the car aside from a tire jack. He threw it on the lift and fought with the akwardly placed filter for only 10$, and was very courteous, unlike the sawed off neuro-linguistic moonlighting cop, and his meth-head scrap metal turbo stealing side kick across the street. sorry, i have a bit of a grudge.