Where can I test my ignition ignitor? (2 Viewers)

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San Fernando Valley CA
A mechanic stopped by...no power to the distributor. He suspects the ignition ignitor. Where can I have it tested? 818 area code.
 
Not sure about testing but just buy another one as a spare anyway. They are cheap insurance.
 
Toyota price over $400...How is that cheap?
 
There is no test for the ignitor. Your best bet is to find someone that is local that will let you swap one in a good one to test.
 
89621-26010
Toyota ignitor
$15
ebay
 
There is no test for the ignitor. Your best bet is to find someone that is local that will let you swap one in a good one to test.

This is true.

89621-26010
Toyota ignitor
$15
ebay

I did this once for my FJ62. It was just as broken as the one I already had.
 
I bought one off Ebay ($25 delivered) and it works fine (tested on my 80). Do note that if you plan to test another ignitor in your 80 you MUST screw it down to the bracket. The ignitor gets its ground connection through the bracket and will NOT work if you just plug it into the harness and let it 'dangle'.

The one I bought was listed as for "Toyota Tercel 3E-E 3EE COIL IGNITER 91-94 92 93 94 1994" which has the exact same part number as the one on my '97 80 series.

A friend had his 80 die on the road, it had no spark. Turned out that one (or maybe both) of the pickup coils in the distributor had failed (corrosion etc) and so the ECU would not fire power to the coil. So, plugs or output of coil not having spark can be more than just the ignitor failing.

cheers,
george.
 
A mechanic stopped by...no power to the distributor. He suspects the ignition ignitor. Where can I have it tested? 818 area code.

Is this part of your jiffy lube fiasco?

If so, I would be focusing more on what simple thing they could have screwed up: Wires to the distributor or smoething amiss under the cap, etc.
 
...no power to the distributor. ...

I would check power circuits that feed it. My first check would be the fusible links at the battery, common problem that would cause your problem. The ignition igniter has proven to be very reliable.
 
I bought one off Ebay ($25 delivered) and it works fine (tested on my 80). Do note that if you plan to test another ignitor in your 80 you MUST screw it down to the bracket. The ignitor gets its ground connection through the bracket and will NOT work if you just plug it into the harness and let it 'dangle'.

The one I bought was listed as for "Toyota Tercel 3E-E 3EE COIL IGNITER 91-94 92 93 94 1994" which has the exact same part number as the one on my '97 80 series.

A friend had his 80 die on the road, it had no spark. Turned out that one (or maybe both) of the pickup coils in the distributor had failed (corrosion etc) and so the ECU would not fire power to the coil. So, plugs or output of coil not having spark can be more than just the ignitor failing.

cheers,
george.

I have to thank you for the information. (Yes, your gospel is secretly spread out!)
For the money, it's a no-brainer. In the truck for many months (hopefully forever!).

Thanks for the research!

The off chance your ignitor fails while you are on a trip, you can just plug in the new one. $lunch money & 10 minutes :meh:

or you can get towed to the dealer, pay $400 and wait a few days for it. I doubt anyone has it in stock except maybe American Toyota.
 
I have tested on the car this way:
Unhook coil wires from igniter, connect a voltmeter (or 12V test light) to igniter in place of coil and crank. voltmeter should swing from 0V to 12V or test light should blink on and off.
Tests everything in the circuit from the ignition switch to the igniter output.
 
I have tested on the car this way:
Unhook coil wires from igniter, connect a voltmeter (or 12V test light) to igniter in place of coil and crank. voltmeter should swing from 0V to 12V or test light should blink on and off.
Tests everything in the circuit from the ignition switch to the igniter output.

Like I wrote above, if the distributor pickup coils have failed or aren't getting their signal back to the ECU, the ECU will not fire the signal to the ignitor and therefore the coil won't generate spark. So, not seeing an output at the ignitor does not mean the ignitor has failed.

Testing off the vehicle is likely the only (or easiest) way to test the ignitor.

Unfortunately in this case we have a feedback control system so we can't just start at the ignition switch and work to the coil/distributor.

Anyhow, a good read:

http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/h39.pdf

cheers,
george.
 
Update

Put other ignitor in...and same result.
 
It wouldn't hurt for you to write a more lengthy description of what happened as a lead up to the "no power to the distributor" diagnosis. Not really sure what that means - no power or no spark??

We'd all like to help you debug and resolve your problem, but one line descriptions hardly help...

Just the 'aftermarket alarm' in your signature rings a few warning bells...

cheers,
george.
 
My post "stalling at idle" has all the info. Alarm working correctly.
 
Well, that thread has a lot of one liners from you too :)

I'd recommend you get yourself the FSM and read through the fault finding section that covers no spark - if indeed you have no spark. Have you yourself tested that there is no spark? The FSM has quite a detailed section and includes how to measure/test the pickup coils in the distributor.

There's several things that can prevent the spark which is controlled by the ECU. Like I wrote previously, if the pickup coil(s) in the distributor aren't getting a signal back to the ECU then the ECU will not fire the igniter that then fires the coil.

There is a limited amount of fault reporting that the ECU can do in that spark path. It can detect a P1300 which means that the igniter is not returning the IGF signal to the ECU.

Anyhow, without you putting in some FSM debugging time all we can do is make guesses.

Do you have any error codes being reported by the ECU? CEL light lit up? CEL light actually works? All all the spark leads secure. The coil spark lead good? Have you tested the coil? Read the FSM...

cheers,
george.
 
Seriously man, your one-liners are killing it. I just read through your "stalling at idle" thread, and there wasn't much info there either.

I know I probably sound like a jerk, but I'm really not, if you get to know me. That being said, why do people not realize that LOTS and LOTS of SUPER DETAILED info is needed to accurately diagnose car problems over the internet. Are any of us physically there with you? No.

Like was said before, your first problem was taking it to Jiffy Lube. That's just crap.

Second, you need to wait until you put the new intake hose on. Tape will not work, I've tried that already. Had to get a new one, and was right as rain again.

Third, what procedures did your mechanic go through to determine that there was no power to the distributor?

Lastly, do you know how to work on vehicles? There's no shame if you don't, very few of my friends can. We just need to know if you're capable of performing the tests you're being told to do (the FSM stuff, for example). If so, what all have you done, and what have been the results?

Jon
 
Sorry guys for the one-liners. Not mechanically inclined...that's why I had a mechanic check it out. Already changed intake hose and put in new oem filter. The mechanic is stumped. Looking for a mechanic that can come by and diagnose this issue. 818 area code. He checked fuses in hood area, fuel pump comes on and took a test light around. He did not see any power from the ignitor to distributor. No spark or power in the distributor, his words. He also pulled a spark plug and probed with the test light. Hope this helps more. His educated guess was the ignitor...I put another one in and same problem...vehicle cranks over but will not start. Thanks again.
 
A mechanic stopped by...no power to the distributor. ...

I would check power circuits that feed it. My first check would be the fusible links at the battery, common problem that would cause your problem. The ignition igniter has proven to be very reliable.

?????

... He did not see any power from the ignitor to distributor. No spark or power in the distributor, his words. ....

Have you checked the power circuit that feeds the ignition? Most common is the fusible links at the battery.:confused:
 

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