92 Ford laser not starting

s.patete, Feb 11, 11:29pm
Its an auto and carb model, I think I have narrowed it down to spark.The car will turn over just wont fire into life.Petrol is getting to the carb and plugs look good, they are only a month old,Would it be the ignition coil or dizzy!Can I test either of these with basic tools!worst case can it be towed to a repairer being an auto!

kazbanz, Feb 11, 11:31pm
Is it turning over at normal speed or quite slow!

s.patete, Feb 11, 11:36pm
Normal speed,everything sound fine while its turning over, just not firing.

toyboy3, Feb 11, 11:38pm
x1
is the dist. rotor turningwhen cranking

s.patete, Feb 11, 11:44pm
Its an electronic dizzy, does anything in these move!Limited mechanical knowledge here so please be gentle.

kazbanz, Feb 11, 11:51pm
I'd suggest try removing a plug at a time and seeing if theres spark getting to the plug--ie rest the plug against the head and see if a spark apears

thunderbolt, Feb 12, 12:07am
Is the camshaft turning! And the dist rotor!

s.patete, Feb 12, 12:12am
Have done all four plugs with tip resting on top of motor, no spark in any.

s.patete, Feb 12, 12:13am
How do I check camshaft is turning and do electronic dizzy's have a rotor!

carstauranga001, Feb 12, 12:16am
Coil or distributor!

carstauranga001, Feb 12, 12:20am
Turn engine by hand (or watch it while someone turns the key) and with dizy cap off see if rotor is turning. Check the distributor cap inside for signs of cracks or carbon arc tracks.
Also, check to see that the little carbon contact for the center terminal is in place; without that you can have spark but it won't get to any plug wires.

s.patete, Feb 12, 12:39am
Will go and check dist.
A bit of history on the problem if it will help, car has been running absolutely fine up until 5 days ago.
It stalled on the wife at an intersection in the morning after about half an hours driving with one stop at school and wouldnt start, she went back to it about 3 hours later and still wouldnt start, I went to it a further 3 hours later and it started and drove fine.
The next day it stalled in our drive after the school run again, it started and drove fine 5 hours later.
The next day the exact thing happened again.
On Friday I took the car to work with no problems (only a 10 min drive). Went to pick kids up in afternoon, drove for about 45 min with a couple of stops and it stalled on me as I was waiting to pull up our drive.Hasnt started since.
It doesnt hesitate just kills power like its been turned off with the key.I have noticed though that it seems to idle quite low, roughly 500rpm.
Sorry for the novel.

s.patete, Feb 12, 12:52am
Have pulled dist, cap off,contacts had some crusty stuff on 2 or 3 of them which just flaked off when rubbed, and tip of the rotor is not shiny where it should be making contact, its crusted over.Will go down and get a new rotor and dist cap.

therafter1, Feb 12, 1:18am
I think you will find that there is a spark but it is so weak that it is almost invisible, check again in the dark and you will see it.

The usual cause is the ignition module in the dizzy.

Usually cheaper to get a second hand dizzy than it is to replace the module.

kazbanz, Feb 12, 1:19am
woa there a mo--Im not disagreeing with anybodys diagnosis here.--all sensible stuff BUT --given the symptoms. Is it possible an alarm is still partially fitted! -Im wondering if something is stopping spark

s.patete, Feb 12, 1:46am
Never been an alarm, we are only the second owner.

fordkiwi27, Feb 12, 1:51am
my limited knowlege,do they have an ignition module!

fordkiwi27, Feb 12, 1:53am
oops didnt see that post

s.patete, Feb 12, 2:21am
$200+ for an ignition module, bloody hell!

a.woodrow, Feb 12, 5:27am
x1
try a second hand dizzy instead

s.patete, Feb 12, 6:01am
Yea will be tomorrow, cheers for all the help everybody.

s.patete, Feb 13, 3:15am
Thanks for the help people got a second hand dist today $120, put it in and we are away, what a relief.

carstauranga001, Feb 13, 3:23am
Cool. Thanks for letting us know the outcome, so often people seek help and we don't hear what the problem was.

johnf_456, Feb 13, 3:32am
Great to hear