One strong spark (1 Viewer)

[aktundra]

I’m chasing down an ignition issue. Short story, stock 1980 California spec FJ40. did routine: cap,rotor, wire, plug refresh, then would not restart. No cough, no back fire, no stumble, just crank & crank. Firing sequence double checked.

Weather closed in before getting it resolved & took it to a local shop. Shop is stumped, but said something interesting, & not sure if it triggers ideas from more experienced wrenchers in the forum. They said when cranking, first spark is strong, then spark continues but weak. Does this suggest coil ?, ignitor?, distributor ?

 

[pithicus]

One thing to quickly try is run a wire from bat+ to coil+ temporarily and crank it over ,and check the spark quality. If it.s still weak it could be a coil or igniter issue.
***The 1980 has a inline ballast wire in the harness rather than a resistor, and can make things confusing.

 

[B y r o n]

Have they checked to see if the coil is shot? Is the voltage to the coil constant or does it drop off?

 

[Skreddy]

Outside possibility, but are you sure you didn’t get the incorrect rotor that is shorter and doesn’t quite reach the cap contact points?

 

[aktundra]

Pretty sure I have the correct rotor. I got it from the dealership, but did get the cap that matched the old one, from a local parts store. (Pics are old & new side by side)

It looks like the coil is readily available. Has anybody sourced an ignitor recently ?

 

[pithicus]

The new leads might have too much resistance for your ageing igniter/coil. You can try using the old leads until you get the igniter /coil sorted.
The 78 to 87 igniters are interchangeable. see here Dizzy FAQ - http://www.globalsoftware-inc.com/coolerman/fj40/DizzyFaq.htm

Also it doesn't have a ballast resistor correct?

 

[aktundra]

The new leads might have too much resistance for your ageing igniter/coil. You can try using the old leads until you get the igniter /coil sorted.
The 78 to 87 igniters are interchangeable. see here Dizzy FAQ - http://www.globalsoftware-inc.com/coolerman/fj40/DizzyFaq.htm

Also it doesn't have a ballast resistor correct?

How do I check for a ballast resistor ? As far as I know, it is completely stock under the hood.

Went to the dealership to get the “correct” p/n’s in case the ignitor and/or coil need to be replaced. This is a 1980 California Spec vehicle & the dealership gave me the ignitor p/n 89620-22020, however some of the online parts houses, flag it as not the proper p/n for a 1980. Can anybody confirm before I pull the trigger ?

 

[pithicus]

How do I check for a ballast resistor

it looks like this. probably near or on the coil.

your igniter should look like this

 

[pithicus]

Also, did you try the wire from bat+ to coil+ trick? It's important to do this to rule out a problem with the ballast bypass circuit.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

this is eazy peezy

you or whoever pulled on the GREEN water proof connector plug for the dizzy to the coil

they will kink and fail if pushed on or yanked after 50 years


you will have a square connector

my updated SNOW VERSION weather proof kit is round because of that

 

[aktundra]

Thanks folks, I’ve got acouple of things to check. After the shop realized they were getting nowhere, they pulled my 40 back outside, then of course, it snowed 4 feet !!

I’ll go over & dig it out, get p/n’s, check the (+) to (+) and the green connector

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Thanks folks, I’ve got acouple of things to check. After the shop realized they were getting nowhere, they pulled my 40 back outside, then of course, it snowed 4 feet !!

I’ll go over & dig it out, get p/n’s, check the (+) to (+) and the green connector

blown fuse too here maybe ?

start simple

then go complicated

 

[aktundra]

this is eazy peezy

you or whoever pulled on the GREEN water proof connector plug for the dizzy to the coil

they will kink and fail if pushed on or yanked after 50 years


you will have a square connector

my updated SNOW VERSION weather proof kit is round because of that

View attachment 3204285

View attachment 3204286

View attachment 3204287

View attachment 3204288

View attachment 3204289

View attachment 3204290

@ToyotaMatt i think you may have nailed it !

Step one dig it out

Step two snapped this pic.


Upper left is the back end of a new coil connected but not fully installed, the shop tried (quick & cheap) to see if it was quick & cheap to fix.

Middle down deep, slightly to the right is the dirty green square plug, with a wire coming up alongside the ignitor

Upper right is a single female bullet connector. I manipulated the harness to dig this out for a future tach install. (More on this below)

Along the bottom is the ignitor. See the black electrical tape in the center, that used to be wrapped around the ignitor? It looks to me like the PO used tape to hold the wire from the green plug in exactly the right way to compensate for a broken wire !!! When I was grubbing around looking for the tach wire, I must have pulled back the tape.

Shop’s yard is locked up till after the holiday. But for now, hope springs eternal !!

 

[ToyotaMatt]

i like nailing things for my fellow members .....

the primary reason i dreamed up my new SNOW VERSION brand of certain parts like the new ignition system kit example

TECH. pics above , is because they are TOUGH AS NAILS ...


glad your on the path to a much clearer diagnoses and correct by the FSM Remedy ...

just remember one important key point here i will make , take the needed time it takes to repair this job scope correctly the first time you tackle it , you can see the results of 1/2 measures now , and how they simply do not work or last long ....


if you always subscribe to the T-TEN Factory Focus-Point Mind-Set Approach Philosophy , you can't go wrong if you set your self up for success beginning with step #1 .....

happy new year ...


matt

 

[aktundra]

You can see, not the best working conditions, & freezing rain forecast most the weekend, before I can get back to the yard. Last trip my snow shoveler was pooping out on me, & I didn’t put in much time.

Would like to take that piece of harness inside & properly repair. I assume I can unplug at the square green connector, does anybody recall what is involved with disconnecting the other end of the harness ? Just nuts on the coil ? (Would be nice to show up with the necessary tools)