(tech) the jealousy begins

[flaatr at yahoo.com (Euroroc II)]

See comments below...

At 05:42 PM 6/11/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>Well, we all know what happens when one ignores certain Sciroccos/buys "new"
>ones.
>Anyway, went out to drive the headache (miserable bitchy 16V, no Drew, you
>can't have it), and it started, then sputtered, then idled well for a few more
>seconds, and completely died (I thought the key had been turned off, it was
>very sudden). Anyway, the kid had borrowed the battery again, and the cables
>were loose, snugged them down, still no fire. Ground wire from the  coil to
>intake was a bit loose, so it got snugged up, and still nothing. The battery
>has a good charge (12.78V), it's cranking fast enough to do the job. Good gas
>smell from the exhaust. Further inspection revealed no spark from either the
>plug wires, or the one on the centre of the distributor from the coil. I went
>to look at the Bentley at this point, and recalled <ahem> that someone
>borrowed it at Cincy, and will be using the grey MkII one till I get it back.
>So what's the next most likely candidate? The Hall sender is less than a year
>old, but it wouldn't cause the no spark on the centre wire anyway, right?

Oh my yes... The hall sender is what signals the ICM to generate the spark. 
A faulty hall sender or wire could cause your no spark problem. Is your 
hall sender in one piece or is it zip tied after cracking?

>So is the coil a likely candidate? (do they die suddenly or gradually?)It's
>original to the car. And if so, will the one from the poor 80 work? (that car
>starts and runs...)

They can go out without warning but usually start to degrade then get worse 
then die. This is an easy part to test if you have, or can get, access to 
the Bentley. It tells ya what to measure and what resistance to expect 
between terminals.

>The other complicatng factor is it has a Clifford ignition disable, but I
>don't think it would crank at all if it was the problem, somebody familiar
>with auto security can confirm/deny this.

Depends on how it was connected. Most shops will install a starter kill and 
some may put in a fuel pump kill... most will not mess with the ignition. 
With the alarm disarmed check for voltages at the ICM, coil, pump, etc... 
if everything is there then your good to go. If you know the model of the 
alarm I can tell you the wire that would control the kill so you can trace 
it from the alarm module to whatever it is connected to. Also if you put a 
Clifford into "Valet Mode" all cut outs should be disabled. I can't work an 
alarm but I know how to work them  ;-)

>Anyway, I await your input, I really don't have time to dick with it anyway,
>but if it's an easy thing, I'll go try it right now.

Ignition Control Module is always a good suspect... you could try swapping 
it into another car and see if it works. This module is the same on almost 
all 4 cylinder cars including Audi's from the same years... 16V and 8V are 
the same.


>Thanks, Cathy
>1979 green Rocco
>1987 green with jealousy 16V
>etc.

Your Welcome
-Raffi