sorry. okay, turn it to on, all the warning lights turn on like it should... try to satart it and it actually cranks so the engine is spinning. fuel is being pumped in because like I said i could smell fuel after a while. I took the spark plug out and grounded it and told my friend to crank. no spark. changed the distributor cap and it still didn't work (i had a new one sitting around). Could it be the rotor or coil? how do I tell if the rotor or coil is bad or worn out? AND where is the coil......

any other possibilities?

 

could be that its FLOODED, try UNLOADING IT. youre ****ing daft.

 

i usually humpstart it.

 

daft?

if you read correctly that there is no spark so its an electrical problem. i'm beginning to suspect the ignition coil. if there was a spark and it wasn't startting then maybe the cause is because its flooded. i tried unloading it before cuz you suggested it and I KNEW it wouldn't work.

anyone else think it might be the ignition coil?

they also have a party called the igniter.... what does that do?

 

i know its a new battery, but what are your voltages like?

 

my money is on the rotor and coil... But how did you ground the spark plug? I just pull the wire off the plug, still on the dist, stick a screw driver in the end, and hold it about 1/4-1/8th inch away from the block. If it sparks, your's good. If not, but it's turning over, it's definitely the dist.

 

Replace the coil,i think you have a pick up coil(if i rember right) i would try replacing that to. good luck

 

i believe its still above 12v

well since its in the parking lot of my school, i'm very limited as to what I can do. the way I grounded it was I pulled the wire of the plug, took the plug out... re connected it and then touched the plug to a grounded part of the car.

how does the rotor go bad? still looks good, but the ignition coil is a little box... so i can't tell if its bad....

 

open up the box and test it with an amp meter

 

Many mechanics and dealers will jump to the conclusion that it's the igniter but nine times out of ten it's the coil. The symptoms you are stating are identical to a bad coil. Just replace it, if it was'nt that then at least you still have a new coil. I would put my money on the coil though. Usually a bad rotor will go out gradually not all at once. A coil just goes out, some last forever and some last only a couple years. The last time mine went out it was right after I started the car (it just died and would not restart) My best friends wife has a 97' Accord and it was fine one day and would not start the next. For an external coil just get one from a junkyard. That's what we did on the Accord and that was almost two years ago and the junkyard coil is still ticking and we only paid $20.00 for it. They either work or they don't.