the rotor should have a D shape dole in the bottom it only fits one way

 

as its running pull the plug wire off the plugs one at a time, if it runs the same that cyl isnt firing

 

I pulled each wire and each showed the same power drop.

 

then Im still looking at firing order or faulty replacement/incorrectly installed parts as your problem

 

The firing order exactly matches the picture in the post above. Could the ignition module be the culprit? I was under the impression that if it works at all it must work.

Are these the symptoms of a faulty ignition coil? I've tried replacing it with no change. Maybe something could be killing the coils power?

Each wire can jump the spark 1in to a screwdriver one by one.
The rotor/cap only fit on there one way so installation should be fine. The 2 wires inside the distributor that connect to the ignition module look pretty worn but they must be making contact since the car runs right?

 

do they look like this? and is your rotor pointing at #6 in this pic?

1-5-3-6-2-4


(edit: lolz just noticed i got a new user title too)

 

The wires are exactly the same as that picture (1-5-3-6-2-4 anti-clockwise with #1 right above the left dizzy cap snap-on thing.)

The rotor points towards #1 / # 6 on TDC (depending on stroke).

I'll get some pics of the rotor @ TDC and a video of the engine running later tonight.

 

Here are some pics of the spark wire order on the cap, the rotor orientation at TDC, and the notch on the crank pulley aligned with 0 (TDC).

Here is a 10 second video of the car running at full throttle until I let go and it dies on me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkX6dZv0tMU There is an exhaust leak in the middle of the headers so it may be hard to pinpoint any sounds heh.

 

Was the car running like this before you changed the cap and rotor?

Sounds like you are only running on a few cylinders. and was the tapping noise your exhaust leak? [My speakers at work suck :/]

 

The car was running very smooth before all of this. The ignition module / cap / rotor / coil were replaced when it was parked. It has never moved or run properly since. The cap, coil, module and rotor exactly match the stock ones. The tapping noise is the exhaust leak.

As for running on only a few cyls -- pulling each wire drops the power the same amount. So all cyls are providing the same small amt of power.

 

Have you tried putting the old Ignition module back in?

The cap and rotor just pop off and nothing should have messed that up.

Hmmmm Have you made sure your Neg and Pos wires are wired up properly on the coil? Can't hurt to switch them and see what happens.

 

agreed, it deff sounds like its running on a few cyl but you said nothing changes when you pull the plug wires and there all sparking so its gotta be the ignition timing/order. the dizzy looks all right so my next thing on the list would be to check all the wiring you touched and triple check that its back on right. double check all your sensors and stuff are plugged in snug too just to make sure

if its not wiring the only other thing i can think of is that your dizzy could be 180deg off

lol fixing that exhaust leak wouldnt hurt either, I had a nasty one on my old N/A motor that ended up blowing the gasket out and you could fit a flat screw driver head in the gap (missing stud)

 

Do you know how much voltage the coil outputs? I have some HV probes that go to 40k V - The coil is aftermarket so I'm not sure what the resistance specs should be to check from terminal to terminal.

 

I've attached a picture of the spark from one of the plugs (about 1cm jump max). I've also attached a link to a video w/ the spark from the coil (looks pretty strong).

Do these look like enough juice?

Coil Spark: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_SVRu3GHQs

Plug Spark:

 

just out of curiosity, since i cant see that plug spark picture, are you sparking the plug wire or looking at the spark on the plug itself?


Coil looks good tho

 

There's a screwdriver in the plug - it's sparking 1 centimeter to the bolt below (red arrow). Thnx for the reply.

 

have you checked the spark of the actual spark plugs themselves?

 

What would be the best way?

 

just pull the plug and plug it into the wire, touch the end to a ground and watch for spark

 

I tested all plugs and they all have a good spark. I'm thinking that apart from damaged engine internals this problem (retarded timing) can only be caused by a couple of bad sensors or sensor connections. Am I right?

Maybe the CPS or something of the like? (short of a banana stuck in the tailpipe )

 

ya its down to electrical or the dizzy 180deg off on my list

 

Did you try to switch the wires?

 

I just changed the plugs, wires, and the coil. There was a small improvement but the timing is still very retarded. This is getting crazy!

What are the symptoms of a faulty ignition module?

 

not sure Iv never had one in mt EFI system

what are the numbers on your EIM? Iv got one laying around here if you need one