94 Stang= No Spark

[AmMscl]

A friend called today and needed some help with his 94 GT...stalled and won't start. He already replaced the TFI and coil.........so I went over and looked at the GT. One of the screws inside the distributor housing backed out and fell down inside. I pulled it out and replaced (threaded back in no problem ) But now the coil has no spark, when cranking ..any ideas?????? Could the PIP cause the coil not to spark?
I didn't have my fluke with me and it was getting dark....so it will have to wait for tomorrow.
Thx

 

[fiveohh94gt]

if its not the coil and not the TFI and theres power going to the coil then it is most likely the PIP, its pretty common to go out

 

[HISSIN50]

If he has no injector pulsing and no spark, that suggests PIP.

Good luck.

 

[AmMscl]

GOT IT...BAD PIP
Running like a champ
Thanks guys

 

[HISSIN50]

Nice work. If you dont mind my asking, what was your/your friend's experience with swapping out the PIP? Any issues with getting the gear aligned back up or anything? I ask because it seems to be about 50/50 on whether one struggles with it, and I am just curious.

 

[rude_life]

When i tried doing mine on my old stang i broke the dizzy. HAHA

 

[CManT1914]

When i tried doing mine on my old stang i broke the dizzy. HAHA

JT, you seem to know a lot about the ignition systems. What exactly would cause my tach to start jumping around sporatically, and what else would this problem cause? It just started doing it again the other day.

 

[HISSIN50]

Chris, I wont answer the tach part w/o checking first - It is a little different on an SN than a fox and I would hate to give bad info. If you get to yank codes, look for an IDM code - if often accompanies a tach issue if the signal to the tach is screwy (The stock tach gets its signal from the computer - there should be a dedicated port for the tach, as opposed to using the coil wire like we do for aftermarket tachs). The alternative is a bad ground at the instrument cluster or internal issue with the tach.

If your shop has a handheld tach (used for diagnostics on cars with no factory tach), try it (the signal lead goes into the negative terminal on the coil connector) and see if it jumps around too. That might help. That neg wire is tan/?? or ??/tan IIRC. Double check that obviously.

Seriously, you can probably also let this go for a bit. If it is not bad now (like it is sporatically intermittant), it will likely get worse and be easier to diagnose.

I am sure others will have better info for you. I just dont want to give you 'guesses' and waste your time Chris.

Good luck.

 

[CManT1914]

Chris, I wont answer the tach part w/o checking first - It is a little different on an SN than a fox and I would hate to give bad info. If you get to yank codes, look for an IDM code - if often accompanies a tach issue if the signal to the tach is screwy (The stock tach gets its signal from the computer - there should be a dedicated port for the tach, as opposed to using the coil wire like we do for aftermarket tachs). The alternative is a bad ground at the instrument cluster or internal issue with the tach.

If your shop has a handheld tach (used for diagnostics on cars with no factory tach), try it (the signal lead goes into the negative terminal on the coil connector) and see if it jumps around too. That might help. That neg wire is tan/?? or ??/tan IIRC. Double check that obviously.

Seriously, you can probably also let this go for a bit. If it is not bad now (like it is sporatically intermittant), it will likely get worse and be easier to diagnose.

I am sure others will have better info for you. I just dont want to give you 'guesses' and waste your time Chris.

Good luck.

Thanks JT, I'll probably start a new thread sometime when I get around to it.

 

[AmMscl]

He just paid $95 for a new dizzy (old one was trashed from the screw that fell inside)...I installed and sent him down the road......funny thing is the other screw (opposite side) broke off when I tried to unscrew it and take it off for the new one. So one backed out killing the dizzy and the other was rusted in place
Thx again guys!

 

[HISSIN50]

He just paid $95 for a new dizzy (old one was trashed from the screw that fell inside)...I installed and sent him down the road......funny thing is the other screw (opposite side) broke off when I tried to unscrew it and take it off for the new one. So one backed out killing the dizzy and the other was rusted in place
Thx again guys!

Cool thanks. I will put that in the mental cache of 'bad PIP replacement experience' - it would have been. Getting a reman'd dizzy is often better anyhow.
Nice work!

 

[94 gtr]

Maybe I'm just tired or something but what is PIP. I am haveing the same problem with my car. 94GT with no spark from the coil. Ignition control Module is good and coil is good. I was thinking the stator is bad. Any ideas?

 

[CManT1914]

Maybe I'm just tired or something but what is PIP. I am haveing the same problem with my car. 94GT with no spark from the coil. Ignition control Module is good and coil is good. I was thinking the stator is bad. Any ideas?

Profile Ignition Pickup

It controls base timing, sends it to the TFI (thick film ignition), which processes that, sending it to the computer. The computer determines how much spark advance is needed for current load, rpm etc. and sends it back the the TFI which converts it and sends it to the coil.

 

[94 gtr]

Is the pip in the distributor? I think it is the electrical part that actually comes out of the distributor and plugs into the stock wiring harness.

 

[CManT1914]

Is the pip in the distributor? I think it is the electrical part that actually comes out of the distributor and plugs into the stock wiring harness.

Yep, in the dizzy.