I will never forget one of the most important pieces of advice that one of my mentors gave me when I first started out in this trade, which was to read everything and anything on the subject. I've taken Mike's advice to heart all of these years with great results. I highly recommend the same approach.
In this article, you have learned what it takes for the ignition coil to produce spark. You've also learned what specific roles the ignition control module (ICM) and the crankshaft position sensor play to get the ignition coil to work. Any failure in any of them and the ignition coil will not spark, causing the vehicle to not start.
Through out this article you've read how easy it is to test the ignition coil. The following links (within this web site) should shed some light into the actual testing of the ignition system of several makes and models:
- No start case study.
- Testing an ignition coil pack.
- Testing a Coil-On-Plug ignition system.
- Case study of a does not crank condition.
- Case study of an ignition misfire diagnostic.
- Testing the ignition system for spark.
- The HEI spark tester.
If this info saved the day, buy me a beer!
