No Sparks... No Idea what to do... Topic is solved

[abscate]

Waiting waiting waiting .....

[Dmck]

Dmck, if the OPs car doesn't fire up, would you be willing to test voltage of your coil while cranking. I think the 11V is too high. Even if rotor is on wrong, the voltage should have been correct. Of course, it might be my senility acting up again. I'd try it regardless out of curiosity, but my cars are too new... ie. 2000 No longer have central ignition coil.

The only thing that I think would be possible in this situation with too high of voltage would be the electricity creating a new path away from the distributor.

I had a car once do this to me when driving for too long going 120mph in Arizona. The electricity burned a new path into the distributors plastic and became the new path for the electricity. Im guessing it was because the speed of the rotors spin managed to not give it time to cool down after contact, so it was almost like it was taking just a steady stream of electricity into the contact points.

If it didn't start I would plug the coil wire into the distributor, with the distributor still off the engine. Then test the center metal pin inside the distributor to make sure the volts are getting to the rotor. Then I would pull the coil wire from the distributor insert a piece of metal and touch it to the center of the rotor and test that the spark is flowing to the rotors arm. Then do each contact point inside the distributor. Then each spark plug wire.

Honestly if I didn't mess with / replace / remove the coil I wouldn't worry about it. It would be much easier just replacing the part that the possible higher voltage coil may eventually create a path through or pull a coil off a junker.

A minimal higher voltage spark if it is reaching the plugs wouldn't change an engine fire I don't think.

If there was some parasitic drain, or battery was dying then maybe I would wonder if that was involved and start messing with it.

Honestly I don't think any of this is needed though and this car will fire up.

My only fear is that somehow it managed to drive for a while like that and the cylinders were firing at some screwy timing and bent/burnt valves... hurt the rings or some other chaotic situation. This would be paranoia though while I was putting the car back together.

But my optimism believes It should just fire right up, since I have done this same thing myself. (Mine wouldn't run though when I did it.. but just tiny degree change in someones timing may change their outcome with something like this)

[Dmck]

Also I have had the 10mm bolt under the rotor come lose on me and cause a no start after removing the rotor base for a timing job. So I would make sure to check that to be snug. When mine came loose it was days later and I was so stumped for a little while!

[shihabafi]

Just put everything back in nice and snug to the best of my abilities. Even got the other 2 head bolts to go in.

But still. No. Sparks.

What now?

If anyone wants to check my work, \/

[Dmck]

How disappointing....

Take a picture of cam sensor cover post pic here. Double check it's plugged in

Remove a sparkplug, remove a sparkplug wire from distributor. disconnect fuel injector from the open cylinder you removed the sparkplug from for safety. Plug the sparkplug wire directly into the coil and connect the sparkplug into the end of the sparkplug wire. Are you getting a spark on the sparkplug?

[abscate]

Wait

If you have 12V or battery voltage on the SECONDARY side of the coil on the thick wire, it is shorted to battery voltage and won't work.

Try a NEW coil - not one from a junkyard. If your money has been stolen by my generation and Wells Fargo, lets finds someone nearby with a KNOWN good one.

[Dmck]

Also it looks like you haven't plugged in the fuel rails vacuum hose yet. I think I see it resting there on the intake manifold next to vacuum tree

Take pic of vacuum tree too

[Dmck]

Wait

If you have 12V or battery voltage on the SECONDARY side of the coil on the thick wire, it is shorted to battery voltage and won't work.

Try a NEW coil - not one from a junkyard. If your money has been stolen by my generation and Wells Fargo, lets finds someone nearby with a KNOWN good one.

These are the occasions when I love having two working 1995 850s

[shihabafi]

Cam sensor cover: (note that the bottom screw is missing, this is noted, but it also shouldn't stop the car from getting sparks, seeing as we removed it thinking it was the cause of the no-spark and thus had to grind the screw off)(Plus, the top screw is tight, I tried wiggling the sensor around, it's not going anywhere)

Unfortunately, my wallet doesn't allow me to buy a new coil, and nobody around me has a Volvo... (just a side note, you guys do know that I'm 17, right?)

Fuel rail vacuum is plugged in, I just tried to hide it to make it look nice :'(

[Dmck]

Place that sparkplug on a towel or something off of the metal. Did you see it spark on a crank?