Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Fathers car having problems

Hey all, My dads car is having a little bit of a problem. I figured I could get a little advice from you guys here since this may just be a minor problem that any vehicle can have. He drives an '89 Toyota Corolla, and it looks like the 4th cylinder isn't igniting. We changed the plugs, the distributor cap, and the distributor coil. I have been told that this is a Carberator engine, so I have no idea where the fuel injection is. If anyone might have any suggestions as to what may be wrong with the fourth cylinder, please let me know. Oh and you can smell gas coming out of the exhaust and when you pull the 4th cylinder plug out, you can see gas on the plug, so I'm also guessing that fuel is being delivered.

I would check to see if you are getting spark at the suspected cylinder.

1) Take the spark plug out.
2) Put the spark plug wire back on the spark plug.
3) Hold the threads of the spark plug against the engine block to provide a proper ground for the spark plug (or use a clip-on ground wire if you want).
4) Turn off your shop light to darken the area.
5) Have someone turn on the ignition and start the car (or turn it over for a moment if it will not start).
6) As the engine is turning over, you will be able to see if that spark plug is producing spark. It should be a nice fat blue spark.

Obvious warnings: when the motor is turning over, hold the spark plug with an insulated tool or you might get the bejeezus shocked out of you. And make sure the person who is starting the car for you follows your instructions and doesn't hit the ignition before you are ready.

I believe the wire is getting a spark. When the car is on, I've pulled the spark plug out and you can hear the sparks against the spark plug hole walls. If you think I should still try that, then I'll try it. I've also tried pulling the plug out and holding a screw close to the end of the plug and got shocked a few times (lol I think that you mentioned that it will shock the bejeezes out of you ) Any other suggestions? Thanks Caltour

Go ahead and try the procedure I posted before. You really need to see if the spark plug is producing a proper spark at the electrode (the "tip" of the spark plug).

The tests you have done already show that you are getting electricity to the spark plug wires, and that you can get a spark to jump from the spark plug to a ground, but you haven't proven to yourself that you are getting proper spark at the electrode of the spark plug.

My mom has a Toyota & had a similar problem after some maintenance was done. Turned out the contact in the plug wire boot had withdrawn a bit & was not getting seated onto the spark plug. I nudged the wire back into the wire boot until I could see the contact, snapped it back on & everything has been fine ever since. She's still driving the car today.

your car's 2 year anniversery is coming up (off topic post) Sorry, I just noticed that...