# No spark at #3 Cyl



## cityjack (Sep 30, 2009)

Hello all,

My son brought his 92 stanza 2.4 over to me last night with a rough idle. Started pulling ignition wires one at a time and found that #3 was not firing. I replaced that wire still no fire at #3. Took the distributor cap off to look underneath it and at the rotor. You could see where the rotor was moving around in the cap and was hitting the two posts plus gauging some of the plastic away on the other two posts that are imbedded into the side of the cap. The distributor was moving because somehow the 2 screws that you hold the distributor in and also loosen to adjust timing were loose and allowing the distributor to move around a little. I snugged them up with the distributor centered in the adjustment range and cleaned the underside of the cap of loose plastic and oxidation on the posts. But there was definitely 2 grooves wore into the two standing posts. Put it back together. Still it runs on only 3 cylinders and #3 still ain't happening. Bought a cap and rotor this morning from NAPA. Put them on and STILL no spark getting to #3.

Now what to look for? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Sid


----------



## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

Might be a bad spark plug. It's best to replace all of them.


----------



## cityjack (Sep 30, 2009)

My bad. I forgot to tell you that was the first thing we did. Then the wire. Then the cap and rotor. Why just one cylinder though? I'm thinking everything else in the electrical ignition signal path to make the thing run controls all cylinders. Not each individual one. I'm thinking the distributor does the individual firing of the electrical. Something in there is sensing when to fire and it senses 3 out of 4 cylinders.

Any more help PLEASE? I gotta get this thing running.

Thanks.

Sid


----------



## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

For #3 cylinder, did you plug in another spark plug into the plug wire end and lay it on the valve cover to see if it was firing?

The #3 cylinder could have a bad fuel injector or it's not firing; the symptoms would be the same as pulling a spark plug wire.


----------



## cityjack (Sep 30, 2009)

BINGO! You hit the nail on the head. I just kept swapping wires and parts and then would pull the suspect cylinder wire off the plug and no change in engine rpm so I knew it wasn't firing. We just pulled the plug out of the suspect cylinder which was brand new and had about an hours worth of run time on it. It was still brand new pristine white. I knew then I should probably hold the plug to a head bolt or something and SEE if there was no spark. I did this and got tons of spark. The plug should have been black and wet with all that fuel for an hours worth of time and no spark. Thats when I started fishing around back by the fuel rail. I grabbed the electrical connector to the injector in that cylinder and it just came right off. I grabbed the other three and pulled on those. They would not come off. I looked at the connector that went to the injector, the one that came off in my hand when I just touched it. The housing of the connector was broken and the little silver wire clip that wraps around the connector was all twisted. It looks as if some one was already back there playing around and tried "horsing" the connector off the injector and in the process broke the connector housing and twisted that wire all up. I just plugged it back onto the injector as secure as I could and fired the car back up. Still #3 was not working. GOOD CALL ROGO!

Next question or questions..........how do I check the injector/remove it?

Thanks a ton man!

Sid


----------



## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

To check the injector electrically, remove the injector harness connector. Check the injector with an ohmmeter; the reading should be in the range of 10 - 15 ohms.

To remove the #3 injector, all the injectors which are attached to the fuel tube need to come out as one assembly. Now you can remove the #3 injector. When installing the assembly to the intake manifold, use new seals on all the injectors.


----------



## cityjack (Sep 30, 2009)

Can I just remove the fuel rail and bracketry and all injectors with the rail only? Or do I need to mess with that intake system sitting right next to the rail running parallel to it? How do you get the injectors out by the way? Whats an average price for an injector? Any particular brand?

Thanks

Sid


----------



## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

All the injectors are top feed to the fuel rail, so to remove any one injector, the fuel rail and all the injectors must be removed from the intake manifold. Once that's done, you can now remove an individual injector.

The average price for a new injector is around $80; this is from Advance Auto.


----------



## cityjack (Sep 30, 2009)

Thanks Rogo,

Hey I have a new injector and 4 seal kits coming in from NAPA this afternoon and I'll take a stab at putting the new injector and fuel rail back together. I have the injector harness, cables and bracketry all out of the way and the fuel rail is loose. I can remove the injectors and fuel rail right now but I want to wait to have the new parts in hand first. Anything special about putting the new seal kits on or installation of the injectors back into the head? Do I need to prime these injectors or lube the seals or whatever?

Thanks again for your help. 

Sid


----------



## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

When installing the injectors, lube the O-rings lightly with motor oil. Don't twist the injectors; just push them in straight.

No manual priming is needed. To test for any leaks, turn the ignition switch to the run position without starting the engine; the system will get pressurized with fuel.


----------

