FJ62 Ignition Problem - Now I'm spending wildly...

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John means the EFI relay. It's ont he passenger side fender wall. That's the part that goes bad, not the fuse in the fuse panel, though like John said it is a much more common occurence on 80s than it is on 62s. Still worth a check and, if possible, a swap with a known good.

I don't have my manual with me and it's been awhile since I looked, but another option could be the circuit opening relay, located in the passenger side kick panel--I just can't remember if that turns spark on and off or just fuel. Can someone pipe in on that?

Timoss
88 fj62 TLCA
 
Timoss said:
John means the EFI relay. It's ont he passenger side fender wall. That's the part that goes bad, not the fuse in the fuse panel, though like John said it is a much more common occurence on 80s than it is on 62s. Still worth a check and, if possible, a swap with a known good.

I don't have my manual with me and it's been awhile since I looked, but another option could be the circuit opening relay, located in the passenger side kick panel--I just can't remember if that turns spark on and off or just fuel. Can someone pipe in on that?

Timoss
88 fj62 TLCA
i dont know either im sure its something stupit wrong
 
Coils are easy to check w/o replacing: Make sure that there is 12V at the + side, disconnect the ingitor from the - side and momentarily ground the - side. It should make a big fat spark.

If you have 12V on the + side of the coil and the coil checks out good and you aren't getting a spark, that leaves the ignitor and distributor pick up as possibilities. Since you have already changed the ignitor, that leaves the pickup, which coincidently is the only thing you haven't replaced yet. You don't have to replace the distributor; just the pickup if it is bad.

YOu should be able to check the impedance of the pickups with an ohm meter, but I don't know the specs. It should be in the FSM.
 
Wow, thanks for all the help guys.

I definitely checked the EFI fuse, as well as the main relay. They all tested good with a voltmeter/ohmmeter.

I don't think I'm getting a check engine light - but I do get error code 51 when I plug my test loop module into the computer access point on the passenger side firewall. I've narrowed that problem down to something in the air conditioning - which I'm going to look into next.

Yesterday, based on advice above, I decided to just get another distributor ordered. My understanding was that I couldn't replace just the pickups, so I have a used one on the way. It's the only thing left that I haven't tried. The car has 300K miles on it, so it might simply be worn down. (The gap checked ok though).

Cross your fingers, and thanks again for all the help. Wish I had known about this place earlier.

-T
 
If you are not getting a check engine light it still sounds like the efi relay. You should see the check engine light when you try to start it up. Also are you getting spark upstream from the dizzy?
 
Having same issue

Hey Ted, I've got the same rig as you and I'm currently having the exact same issue. I just got done replacing the igniter and coil. Did you get yours figured out? There is some good help in this thread, so thanks for that. What do you guys think about the timing chain being at fault here? If it slipped or something we would still be getting spark wouldn't we? just at the wrong time?
 
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I noticed that nobody has replyed to this post in a while I am now experiencing the same issue :bang:. I replaced the fuel filter and am getting good pressure. Has replaced the cap, coil, and rotor but am not getting any spark. I had the dizzy replaced about 5 years ago. When I removed the dizzy cap, I noticed rust on the pickup. I cleaned everything up as well as I could with WD-40 but still no spark. I am on a tight budget-aren't we all-so I can't throw a lot of money at this problem :frown:. Does anybody have an igniter and dizzy,or just the pick-ups,that they could make a deal with me on? :beer:
 
well I too am now having this problem of no spark. 89 FJ62, mine will start and run say in the morning, then after a short drive, around 10 minutes or so, if I shut it off and then let it sit for 5 minutes or so, it will turn over but not start. It will start if I try to start it immediatley after shutting it off. If I let it sit for a few hours, it will start right up. Its not fuel, just no spark. Read out all wires for voltage and ohms including distributor. changed coil, fuses relays. I am down to the ignitor for this reason: if i use a jumpoer wire from the connector that plugs into the ignitor directly to the coil posts, i get a spark from the coil wire going into the ditributor. Then hook it back up and it will start. My question is is this an ignitor problem or am i jolting something else to make it produce spark? I also did do the ignitor check according to the FSM and that step checks good. Is there any other ways to test ignitors? - Thanks.
 
I hate to sound like a broken record but I'mchasing the same issue. I'm replacing the distributor soon so I hope that will fix it.
 
I would suggest this sequence of tests before just throwing money & parts at it. Which ever test fails will point to the item that isn't working correctly.


  • What is the battery voltage while cranking? Cranking loads can drop battery voltage low enough that electronics don't work.


  • Does the coil have 12+ when the ignition is on?


  • Does the coil have 12+ when cranking? Cranking loads again.


  • Disconnect the wire(s) on the "-" terminal of the coil. Put a known to be good spark plug cable into the coil's high voltage tower. Insert a spark plug into the other end of the cable and ground the spark plug body. (I have a non-resistor plug with an alligator clip welded onto it just for this sort of testing.) With the ignition on, does grounding and then releasing a jumper between the "-" terminal on the coil and ground cause a spark in the spark plug gap?


  • Connect a spare distributor to the pick-up leads of the ignitor. With the above cable & spark plug in place, but with the wire(s) to the coil's "-" terminal reconnected, spin the spare's shaft. Does that cause sparks in the plug's gap?


  • Does cranking the engine over, with the above cable & spark plug in place, cause a spark to jump the spark plug's gap?
 
Don't know. Took mine to the shop and they said I had an open circuit in the distributor pickup. Cost $423 for the aftermarket distributor which touts american modules and japanese bearings.
 
Here I am, another broken record. Just received my FJ62, 1988, from Argentina yesterday (I'm in Denmark). Drove it there from LA.

It was driven on the ferry, but now it won't start. Battery is completely flat. It's charging overnight, so I'm hoping that jump-starting it with another car just didn't provide enough juice.

20180711_173047.webp
 
Its the coil ground to body. The cage that holds the coil ignitor combo, has bolts that ground it, and the ignitor should have a seperate wire added to the wheelwell. Unbolt, clean the cage, and the bolt holes, and add a wire from ignitor to body, and should fire right up.
 
An inline spark tester is a great way to see if you're actually getting spark past the dist.
 
@morganism I think you're right. Didn't have much time to check it today, but I'll definitely check it tomorrow. It's funny though how this would start from the car sitting still on a ship for two months.
However, are you sure the igniter doesn't get negative from the battery?

@IBFJ62 I have power from in the chord all the way from the battery to the connector before the ignition coil, and my high tension chord from the coil to the distributor doesn't give sparks when I hold it close to the body of the car.
 
I don't know if it makes a difference or not, but I try to hold the end of the high tension close to a bare metal bolt or something, instead of a painted spot.
 
It didn't help to charge the battery fully. This is starting to look weird. It seemst that it's an ecu problem.

Here's what I know. I have 12V all the way to each bolt on the top side of the coil. The igniter has 12V too. There's no spark when I test the high tension cable. The high tension cable shows 5 k ohms.
For now I've taken out all the spark plugs, because the shipping company might've drowned the engine in an attempt to start it. So I'm letting out all the fumes overnight and hoping this is the answer.

Any ideas on what to do from here? Test the ECU? I'll run a diagnose right away.
 

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