No power to coils
 

Now, before ya'll all start telling me to search the archives, i have A LOT regarding this and haven't been able to find exactly what im looking for.

I have an 82 stock 12a, stock ignition yada yada...... I was driving down the road the other day and all of the sudden, my engine shut off. Upon checking all of the usual suspects and some unusual ones, i found that my ignition coils were not recieving any power. All fuses are in working order, although i do not believe that matters on my car anyway as the ignition coils are directly powered and not through the engine fuse.

Ok, here's my question: Where do i trace the wiring that goes to the posts on the leading and trailing coils, and what could be causing them to lack power.

Please help, i'm planning to go 2GCDFIS soon, but i want to make sure i do not have any issues with wiring or the rest of the system before i go messing around with it.

Have you checked the fusible links yet?

Yeah, I believe it's the center link that will cause this (located on driver's side strut tower). If the link is bad, you can replace it with a fuse (search fusible link/fuse).

If the links are good, check the cap and rotor.

I think the fusable links are all good, ill have to check again in the morning, but im pretty sure they are all intact.

Troch, just asking, but would a bad cap and/or rotor cause my leading and trailing coil to loose power? I just assumed that since the coils are before both of those components in the ignition system sequence that they would not affect them in such a manner, and the coils should, in fact, have power regardless of whether they are even hooked up to the dizzy and so forth....tell me if I'm wrong in assuming so, I don't want to wrongly rule out possible causes.

Thanks again for the input guys, i appriciate it MUCHO!

Pull the links and do a continuity test, jumpering across the terminals bypasses the link. Electrical is not my strong suit. It's rare that both ignitors would fail at the same time and the coils get thier power from a single wire that wyes off of the harness.

Checked the link, it's fine as are its two buddies.....
everything is all plugged in and connected correctly.....
I don't think the ignitors are out, but i'll look up some tests for them anyway....

I'm thinking maybe it could just be bad wiring..... Where do the wires (black and white/blue and white) that power the coil lead?

Damnit, I hate electrical crap :wallbash: ....gimmee a wrench :icon_tup: and a creeper (well, no creepers on this car lol) and I'm all good, but when the wires and multimeters come into play, BOOOO!!!!!

Ok, last time i'm bringin it to the top, sorry if this is annoying anyone but i've searched and searched, and cant seem to find an answer......

The fuses and fusible links are all good, all plug wires are connected, cap and rotor are ok, ignitors are connected, fuel pump is working and fuel flowing.....
havent gotten around to testing the igniters, going out to do that right now.....

still no voltage to either coil.... :wallbash:

If anyone has had this happen to them personally, please let me know what you did to correct it. I *was* about to put a 2nd gen leading coil pack in and replace the fusible links with a 2nd gen fuse block, but i really want to get it all working propperly first.....plus i need to get it up into the garrage and my driveway is steep as sh** LOL!

If anyone can help me i'd be mucho appriciative, and this will be my last try with this thread........then its gas can and match time for the old 7 (Not really, but sometimes it's tempting....):flamed:

Fusible links can be tricky. They can look like they're fine when they're not. And, the only thing I can think of that would cause no power to either coil is a bad fusible.

I would recommend taking a plain piece of heavy gauge wire and sticking it in in place of the center link, and see if that makes a difference. If it does, then you can look into putting a fuse in there, or buying a new link.

I'm thinking that it could be your ignition switch. Do any of the following work?:

- backup lights
- power windows (if you have them)
- fuel pump

All these guys are on the same circuit. Power goes from the battery -> fusible link -> ignition switch -> 20A engine fuse -> coils/ignitiors.

When you check for power, you are measuring from chassis ground to each post on the coil, right?

Anyway, I've had my switch go bad before too. Mine also was the IGN portion of the switch too. Had to use a jumper wire to keep the car running until I was able to get another switch. lol Anyway, if that is the prob, it is an easy fix. Take off the steering column surround, remove the 1 screw holding the switch to the rest of the key assembly, unplug old igniion switch, plug in new, reassemble. Probably best to get a used switch. Should be easy to come by. You can also look for a new one, but might be too expensive.

EDIT: I see that the '82 does not have a 20A engine fuse. Power goes like this:

battery -> fusible link -> ignition switch -> coils/ignitiors

I guess they were relying on the main fusible link to blow if you were to short out your coils. The circuit does power fuel pump, power windows, and cruise control. The backup lights are on a different circuit.

The large wires that connect to the coils, have you checked them for power? There should be 12V there when the key is on at the very least. If not, trace those wires back to where they connect to the main power. It could be that the wires are broke somewhere.

BTW, a Haynes manual is actually pretty good for figuring out the wiring in these cars. It may not be good for the mechanicals, but their schematics seem to be fairly complete.

Ok, think i've got it figured out. I now have power going to the coils but still no spark, which leads me to believe (considdering that ive tested everything ELSE) that the j109 is bad...both of them in fact....aint that a bitch. i guess ill call up the mitsubishi dealership and see how much a replacement is, but judging by the price of used ones on ebay it's gonna be a bite, o well. Thank's to you guys who chimed in and helped me out, you saved my car from my rage and a firey death at my own hands. Now i'm off to build a little wiring harness and test em to make sure, but that has to be the culprit.

Consider used ignitors. Check the 1st gen classifid section on here. You can usually get them for $20-$25 each. last time that I checked, they were about $200 each new. Also, you can search for the GM HEI ignitor mod on here. The GM ones are often in stock and are about $16-$20 new

HOLY SHEEEZY!!!!! Mazda told me they were $300+ a piece brand new!!!!! guess I'm SOL for now unless i can find some in working order at a junkyard here. How the F***, 300 bucks each?

anyway, thanks again for all the help gang, don't know what i'd do without this forum

Remember the ALAMO!



thanks addict, i will look into that stuff