twistedshadows

hey i have a 89 na auto gxl i fixed some vac problems then went for a spirited drive and by the time i got home the car felt like it had NOOOOO power then it just turned off and didnt want to turn on well i used some starting fluid the next day and got it running it wasnt running that rough till i got below 1000 rpm then it would just SHAKE so i set the idle at 1200 and throw my timing light on it i see that the l1 wire isnt sparking then i check the rest and the t1 isnt sparking ether so im like THANK GOD the cars not blown i got new wires today put them on and the car ran smoother but still no power i changed the fuel filter no diffrenece the spark plugs arnt more then a month and a half old so i went and throw my timing light on there and boom theres a random spark on l1 (like spark spark ....... spark ........ spark ........ spark spark) and still no spark on t1

so any ideas on why there would be no spark on t1 and almost no spark on l1

also what do i have to do to see if the coil is still good?

thanks
joe

ps SORRY for the long post

SureShot

First a quick compression test.
Crank the engine & listen carefully to the compression surges in the starter gear noise.

RrRrRrRrR – all even compression surges in the starter gear noise (normal)
rrrrrrrrrrrr - no compression surges (flooded)
RrRrRrrrRrrrR - uneven compression surges (2 of 6) (bad apex seal)
RrrrRrrrRrrr – alternating strong & weak surges (low compression or flooding on one rotor)

About spark.
The leading plugs fire in tandem.
If one chamber is mis-firing, it could be the coil, but it's more likely the wire or plug.

twistedshadows

the car cranks smooth i havent heard any surging but i haven't pulled the plugs and cranked it to see if it really does have good compression its not flooded (i think) because i can get the car started i JUST put new wires on and the plugs are no older then a month and a half it also has a new filter tomorrow im going to try and grab my friends coils off of his rx7 and see if that fixes the problem
thanks tho
joe

NoDOHC

What type of timing light did you use? The battery-powered ones are the only ones that work on a rotary.

If the engine runs, it has spark, ether will substitute for gasoline, but it still needs ignition.

My guess is that your timing light was not capable of seeing the spark, but that it is there (remove a plug, get good contact on the negative battery terminal (my personal favorite) with the plug threads and turn the engine over, you should see spark.)

twistedshadows

i havent done that yet (not enough time rreally i plan on doing it tomorrow) but this is a battary operated 1 and it works just fine a week ago (on this car)