Icemark

Well the cables should have less than 16K ohm resistance per 3.25 feet, so if you have a meter you can check them out.

Now your problem is only on the trailing coils right??? (these are the ones in the back of the engine compartment, next to the brake and clutch masters).

To check the trailing coils, with the battery disconnected and a digital multi-meter, the resistance between the two leads on each coil should be less than 1 ohm. If it is higher then you have a bad coil. the leads actually for the coil are on the front side of each coil and you will have to check each one independently.

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

my old coils that i pulled from the car are reading 2.1 ohms and 1.8 ohms

im going to test the other ones that are in the car right now

Icemark

yep, 2 ohms is bad!

wow it is very rare to ever have a coil fail

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

im a little new to testing resistance and stuff too

im testing it at the 4 plug connector coming off the coil/igniter

is that the right way?

Icemark

No there should be right on the coil itself two leads, you have to remove the black plastic snap on cover to get to them.

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

ugh prolly isnt the right way.. dmm was a little out of whack and i fixed it..

retested old one and newer one

both i measured at the 4 prong plug to plug into the harness..

both are reading 2.1 ohms, and > 0.3 < ohms

since they are EXACTLY the same reading im gonna guess im not testing them right

i tested one right at the 2 prong plug and the bracket (ground) and it read well below 0..

thats the best i could do though unless someone wants to give me a better detailed way to test them properly

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

OH under the cover

thats what i thought

i was getting well under 0 ohms.. the meter went from infinite to WAM as far down past 0 as it could go... ?

Icemark

The spot you are testing on the trailing coils is under the black plastic cap, there will be two nuts on threaded shafts there (one set for each trailing coil).

Icemark

This is with the battery disconnected or the coils unplugged right???

and with a digital multi-meter???

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

ok i got both old and newer in front of me

all reading super under below 0 ohms.. so something here is off..

(yes the DMM _IS_ set to the OHMs measurement)

Icemark

like 0.00000001 or something???

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

i guess youd call it that

its a.. well its METERED.. doesnt have digital READOUT, if thats what you meant by DMM

if that is what you mean, them im just using a MM.. and the meter is (by default) sitting at infinite

if i touch the test wires to eachother the meter goes down and past 0 till its stopped (because the meter doesnt go any further)

same thing when i test the coils..

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

if i touch the brown wire terminal (pos) and the other test wire to the bracket (as ground) it reads dead on 0 ohms not below

both coils - old coils

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

ahh **** this this meter is ****** gay

now its reading below 0 again if i do brown to mount bracket

**** it ill just take all the coils up to work tonight and test them with a REAL DMM..

Icemark

yeah, I am not sure what you are seeing on the MM, a Digital display multi-meter might be of more help.

But if what I recall of the old analog meters, it should move simular to what the two leads joined should move.

But its been a long time since I have even seen a analog gauge style MM.

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

ive got two.. ones really crazy with all these settings

the other one (which is garbage) wasnt givng out constant results.. and then by accident while i was switching coils in my lap i dropped it into a bowl of cereal (the analog MM - into the milk)

so its NFG now..

it just took out the leading that was in the car, and now i have 2 leads and 2 trails in my cavalier im going to test at work (start at 3)

i was REALLY hoping to have the 7 in decent running order and take 7 up to work, but doesnt look like it

well it IS in running order, just isnt very smooth, thats all.. and im afraid it will stall out - but on the contrary it didnt stall at all on that 1/2 hour drive today.. it just wasnt smooth thats all

charger-

iTrader: (1)

I meant one OTHER thread. You know he didn't mean to post the same thread 8 times,

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

ok, tested the COILS at the terminals w/ a real DMM.. no resistance.. i have 2 lead coils and 2 sets of trailing coils

all of which tested well - 0 resistance

since the coil/ignitor are a unit, maybe the ignitor in one (or more) have gone arye? any way to check?

ive got the nice DMM at my house, so tomorrow morning ill test the plug wire resistance..

anything else (resistance) i can check with it? CAS? TPS? something that would show signs of failure, malfunction, or overall health? (only got the nice DMM for the morning)

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

augh now it wont even start!!! WTF!!!

it just turns over - no spark style - as if the CAS was disconnected.. turning the EGI switch off and on doesnt make any difference (except for maybe dumping fuel in or something - you can smell a bit of gas in the engine bay after starting)

is it maybe flooded and needs a rolling down the hill start?

i was just trying to start it to get it up to the garage cause its a tad cold outside..

cold start system? it was a bit chilly

so i ended up testing everything outside.. all ohms results i tested were at the "20K" setting on the DMM
-installed lead coil - 0 ohms @ coil
-installed trailing coils - 0 ohms @ coils
-checked lead plugs and trailing plugs and quickly brushed em (no real need, they ARE brand new)
-installed plug wires - L1 7.6 ohms, L2 7.61 ohms
-installed trailing wires - T1 4.8 ohms, T2 5.1 ohms
-was at a loss for the situation - thought maybe disconnected CAS from yesterday made the ECM go crazy go nuts - disconnected the ground from the battery (reset ECM? no idea - worth a try) - reconnected - still acts like CAS disconnected

i check the CAS connections and they are good - i even heard the snap when it plugged in..

so help me out here guys! wtf!

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

never mind.. it was flooded

while im at it - bump!

it does act up though when its cold.. it like to cut right out no matter the rpms (cold as in around 0 degrees C) - as if i pulled the EGI fuse style - cut right out and if i have my foot keeping it at 2k rpm it wont die, but cut out and cut back in by the time the tach is reading like 600

seems like sensor being tripped / loss of signal in a sensor.. anyone experienced the same deal and knows the situation a little better than me? ie - WHAT sensor if the sensor, or..

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

*bump*

no one has anything else to say? coils tested fine - ignitor attached to trailing coils a problem? how to test? etc? anyone?

Icemark

Have you done the throttle body mod and removed the cold start throttle assist?? If you haven't then it is not working correctly. It should raise the RPM to around 1200 until the engine is warm.

And I thought you said the car is running now, that it was just flooded???

Ignitors can only be tested with an ignitor tester from the dealer. If there is a question on the firing just replace the whole coil assembly with a known working one. Remember that the coil pack must be grounded/ mounted to work correctly.

The other way to check, is just to see if the coil is firing. pull a sparkplug cable from a trailing plug, and hold the end about a 1/2 inch from some ground of the car body. while the car is running, it should arc/spark if the coil is firing.

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

so i added a 12" ground to the lead coil, and it runs smooth as silk..

im going to take it for another drive and repost if the trailing was still hot as hell..

should be much easier to take it for a drive now! no stalling - all the power is back.. hoh man.. best 10 bucks ever spent..

after it was out for a bit (and up to operating temp)

it started going crazy go nuts with cutting out..

so the car eventually stalled by cutting itself out.. like not hesitation.. a pure CUT..

anyways i let it sit for 2 mins (i was on the side of a road in the boonies) and then popped the hood and inspected the CAS connection to the harness.. seemed ok.. checked my new ground wire.. seemed ok..

so i fired it up, fired up no problem.. drove it around for another 30 minutes.. and it didnt go crazy nuts with the cutting again.. its like it disappeared.. didnt stall, ran smooth, so.. i dunno.. im still going to look into it, but at least i can still drive the car in excellent working order

could it have been a bad spot of fuel? seemed electrical cause it was a pure cut, not a bad-fuel-hesitation..

Icemark

Could be a loose coil, or corrosion on the mounting.

And yeah, could be a bad spot of fuel. It seems gas that its richer in alcohols (ethenol/etc) tend to have issues in rotaries, but I believe that it s more related to pre-ignition because of the volitility.

Black13B

iTrader: (1)

well ever since i checked the CAS connections (and kinda wiggled them) it hasnt come back.. ever! ive had it out for over 200 kms now after the extra ground was added (yes, i like to just go out and drive ), and it hasnt given me a problem.. it has only stalled a total of 4 or 5 times, before it would stall just about every time i came to a stop.. and remember.. out of 200kms.. theres how many lights and stop signs? its in much better shape and only seems to be getting better as i drive it..

the idle still jumps SOMETIMES from 600 to 800 in that loop.. i got a feeling its from a lack of back pressure.. that sound reasonable? the downpipe to the cat - the gasket isnt sealed very well, and its pretty noisy the way it is now..

anyways ill see if it makes a differece - i got a couple new gaskets to throw on..