I am working on my buddys 2000 Xterra, and we've got no spark. Checked all the fuses, checked the timing belt, checked the plugs/ wires, nothing. Checked the battery, tried to jump it off of my truck, nothing. Replaced the cap and rotor thinking that might be it. Nope.

Finally pulled the distributor to see if the shaft possibly broke, as I have read is a possibility. Not it. Looks fine. Where do I go from here? I dont want him to have to buy a new distributor if thats not what's wrong with it.

Any input would be appreciated, as I dont know where to go from here.

Nick

change the dist, my moms went out and i was looking into all that to avoid buying it since it was 350 at my local store, but that ended up being the only solution, sucks but i am pretty sure its a one time fix unless you buy one that isnt compatible

Thanks for getting back to me. Before I went any further I just wanted to double check that I had exhausted all of the other options.

Where does it specify which one I need to pick up? I noticed serial numbers on the distributor, how do those designate which one it is?

I read there's three or so of them out there to chose from/ be confused by.

Nick

when i went to the store they asked for the production date and i guess that specified the one required, some guys go on ebay for a less expensive one but i didnt have that luxury since i needed it that day, when i took out the dist it didnt feel smooth when i turned it, if your getting no spark at all thats most likely the culprit,

unfortunately most of the guys on here are at rausch this weekend so alot fo the techs out east are not gonna be on till late tomorrow

i cant think of much that would cause a no spark situation, according to the service manual they want you to being it to TDC then change it, i just marked the origional dist as a reference, i marked the rotor position and the exact spot the bolt that secures that dist was, thats way i could get it right where it was, you will know if its a tooth off because it will be way too far advanced or retarted

i would give it a whirl man idk much else to check

the timing belt..... did you check it check it..... or just look to see if it was still there?

working on a x before- we though the timing belt was okay....but upon further inspection found that it was still there but stripped on the underside.

Crank but no spark = no fuel. Check the injectors.

Marc

crank but no fuel = bad injectors, spark and fuel are controlled simultaneously but the pcm but are actuated by opposing components, i highly doubt all the injetors would not be firing unless he had a bigger prob,

s2xo1 i didnt evenm think about timing belt, hope thats not the issue tho, i am not sure of the symptoms of a timing belt exactly so i cant comment

Crank but no spark = no fuel. Check the injectors.

Marc

How does that work? If there is no spark there is no fuel?

Next step, pull the distributor cap, and see if the rotor is turning while you crank.

Yes-you need a new distributor, or the distrubutor is not getting the correct voltage (check the plugs)

No-you need a timing belt, or the timing belt is stripped.

What have you done to know that there is no spark?

How does that work? If there is no spark there is no fuel?


I kinda misread his post. Sometimes when the engine is cranking but not starting, fuel is not getting to the engine/spark plugs for ignition.

Still something he might want to check though.

Also, another simple thing to check before continuing with the diagnostics is to make sure the ground wire hasn't snapped off of the fender. The bolt there is very exposed and corrodes quickly.

I had a bad missfire that was being caused just by the rust on the ground bolt. The extra resistance in the system was weakening the spark.

Check the things mentioned above...that the dist. turns while cranking, and that it's bearing isn't blown, but make sure to take a quick look at that ground wire, just to make sure.

I kinda misread his post. Sometimes when the engine is cranking but not starting, fuel is not getting to the engine/spark plugs for ignition.

Still something he might want to check though.

He specifically said that there is no spark though. You can have fuel and no spark, or spark and no fuel, if you do not have both fuel and spark, you will have cranking and not starting in his case. And in his case, he said that there is no spark. That is why I asked him how he KNEW that there is no spark :)

My point is, that spark is not dependent on fuel, and fuel is not dependent on spark. I just wanted you to know that.

On another note, I am not entirely sure that the ground wire for the alternator is absolutely necessary because of the fact that it is bolted to the engine and the engine is grounded to the frame, and the battery is grounded to the engine AND body. I could be wrong about this if there is an actual separate ground feild on the alternator.

Yeah, I'm not 100% sure on the ground wire myself...It just seemed to make a huge difference when I removed the rust and put a new bolt in.

The rotor isnt turning, but the belt seems ok.

Wouldnt the engine internals be banging on each other if the timing belt was broken?

Even if it was stripped, wouldnt the valves be hitting the pistons? or because the belt is stripped, the cam gears arent even turning.

I also was told that it might have been the crank position sensor, so we changed that which was a huge PITA.

I appreciate you guys giving me a hand.

Nick

the timing belt is broke

I popped the cover open and pushed on the belt, it still has tension.

Does that mean it's stripped? And why then wouldnt the internals be making a racket?

The rotor isnt turning, but the belt seems ok.

Wouldnt the engine internals be banging on each other if the timing belt was broken?

Even if it was stripped, wouldnt the valves be hitting the pistons? or because the belt is stripped, the cam gears arent even turning.

I also was told that it might have been the crank position sensor, so we changed that which was a huge PITA.

I appreciate you guys giving me a hand.

Nick

Dejablue is right.

Yeah, you have stripped teeth on the belt. That is the case. If your engine cranks, and the rotor does not turn, and you took the distributor out and it turned by hand, then obviously the timing belt has stripped teeth....right there at the bottom by the crankshaft. I am positive this is the case.

And no, it will not make a racket. You need a new timing belt, do the water pump while you are in there at a minimum, and do the T-stat too. You are going to have an excellent time with this;)

The T-belt still has tension because it has not SNAPPED, just chewed some teeth up.

Just for reference how many miles does your X have and when(if) did you change the timing belt?

I popped the cover open and pushed on the belt, it still has tension.

Does that mean it's stripped? And why then wouldnt the internals be making a racket?

what year is your tuck and how many miles are on it.

I stripped 3 teeth on my belt. it didn't start and the valves luckly didn't hit the pistons. You got lucky!

same thing happened with steeze's truck. belt looked fine........ stripped

Belt was stripped as everyone said from the beginning. Got a new one, tore everything off, replaced it following both directions on the site and the retarded Chiltons guide. Everything back on, we've got spark and fuel now but its not firing. Checked all the connections, and everything is in order. No banging or clanking from the rods hitting the pistons. Sounds just as it did before the belt stripped, just without the sweet sounds of internal combustion. Any suggestions? Would it being out of time be the issue?

the marks are not lined up correctly on the timing belt.

set timing. the mark on the right cam is the only dot that lines up. and once that is set....if it doesn't fire right away....take out the distributor and rotate the rotor EXACTLY 180 degrees

Your distributor is off and that is all that is off. If you set the belt as planned, then you are fine. The Chiltons guide does not take into account that your belt was stripped, nor would it take into account a snapped belt.

Take your crankshaft, and turn it until you are at TDC according to the cover. Remove distributor, and the distributor cap. Find #1 spark plug wire on distributor cap, and rotate the rotor manually as close to that as you can get. Remember that the gear is a helical gear so you may want to overshoot it a tad bit. Replace distributor, and distributor cap.

Start vehicle.

Remember that there are 2 turns to every 1 turn of the camshaft (another way of saying it is that the cam turns at half the speed of the crank.

The reason this is important is because you COULD be at TDC for exhaust instead of compression. You need to be at Compression TDC exhaust or else you are just squirting fuel pointlessly through the exhaust manifold since it is a 4 stroke engine.

If it does not start after what I said in the first paragraph, you are at exhaust TDC instead of compression TDC. In order to fix this:

Pull off your distributor cap.
Crank the engine manually until you are at TDC and then check to see if you are at #1 on the distributor cap.
If you are at about #4, then remove the distributor and then put it on #1.
If you are at #1, then crank the engine over 1 more time so that you are at TDC again, and then put the rotor back to number 1.

your distributor is off and that is all that is off. If you set the belt as planned, then you are fine. The chiltons guide does not take into account that your belt was stripped, nor would it take into account a snapped belt.

Take your crankshaft, and turn it until you are at tdc according to the cover. Remove distributor, and the distributor cap. Find #1 spark plug wire on distributor cap, and rotate the rotor manually as close to that as you can get. Remember that the gear is a helical gear so you may want to overshoot it a tad bit. Replace distributor, and distributor cap.

Start vehicle.

Remember that there are 2 turns to every 1 turn of the camshaft (another way of saying it is that the cam turns at half the speed of the crank.

The reason this is important is because you could be at tdc for exhaust instead of compression. You need to be at compression tdc exhaust or else you are just squirting fuel pointlessly through the exhaust manifold since it is a 4 stroke engine.

If it does not start after what i said in the first paragraph, you are at exhaust tdc instead of compression tdc. In order to fix this:

Pull off your distributor cap.
Crank the engine manually until you are at tdc and then check to see if you are at #1 on the distributor cap.
If you are at about #4, then remove the distributor and then put it on #1.
If you are at #1, then crank the engine over 1 more time so that you are at tdc again, and then put the rotor back to number 1.

x2

Is there any way the timing on the distributor can make the car not start up? I aligned the timing belt to TDC compression and turned my distributor to line up with wire #1. It sounds like it wants to start and rumbles around, but still doesn't turn over. How can I check to see where the piston is supposed to be at TDC looking through the first spark plug hole. Please help. Thanks

yes it has to with in 10o to start . do you think maybe you were on the wrong stroke and are 180 off

yes it has to with in 10o to start . do you think maybe you were on the wrong stroke and are 180 off


That is what I think.

You can check TDC with a brass rod, a drinking straw or a piece of wooden dowel, but do NOT use a screwdriver or anything steel that could scratch the piston, and do not use something short enough that it can fall into the cylinder completely.

Use the probe through the spark plug hole to feel the piston come to the top then fall a bit. Use that to tell when you're at TDC. I'm not sure if you have the room to do it on an Xterra, but you can use the straw to check that the exhaust valve is closed to make sure you're at TDC of the compression stroke.

I got it to start up and run but it bogs down. It idles fine but it bogs down in the mid range. Any suggestions?

Check the voltage at the Thottle position sensor.

i have no spark as well but just replaced the distributor 2 months ago with a brand new one cause it wasnt sendin gas to the num 1 cylinder and ya its 350 bucks for mine as wel ....l i wish i could get a refund or somthin cause these distributers are not worth what they sell for it the burn out this fast and iv exhausted all my efforts and can only see it bein the dist

Most of them have at least a 90 day warranty.. some a 1 year. I'd check on it if yours is done already

Edit: nevermind.. I thought you meant the 2 month old one took a dump

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