No Spark, No start - Help!

Gatster

The old reliable Ford Puma suddenly stalled coming into our road, so I managed to get it on the drive and checked everything I could before it got towed to the mechanic round the corner.

There was no warning lights, no fluid leaks and it had been running fine. The engine turns over and all electrical systems work but the mechanic has told me there is no spark to fire the engine, even though the coil and plugs are fine.

So it's either wiring or the ECU. It has a cobra alarm that was fitted when new and after going through a car wash last week this did start to play up a bit but had fixed itself by the time the car stopped. Any suggestions, has anyone used this crowd - www.AutoKey.ie for ECU stuff?

Ask your mechanic to recommed a good auto spark, or else tell us where you are and hopefully someone here can

Anan1

Hamiltons just off Camden St are good, and not too expensive. Do you have AA cover or the like to get the car there? Might be included with your insurance?

stevenmu

Another +1 for hamiltons, very professional and courteous, great at what they do and very good value.

JabbaTheHut

Worth taking a look at the alarm before getting an ecu. It's designed to disable the engine, often by stopping the spark.

Gatster

Cheers for the replies. Camden St. is a bit far for me to tow the car to, I'm getting it back tomorrow so will start on the alarm checks...the mechanic said that there is no signal being recieved by the coil from the ECU but the other two wires (+ and earth) are Ok.

If I can bypass the aftermarket alarm, we may be onto something

Halfshaft

The alarm is the first thing to be looked at alright, then the wiring. Could be a possible P.C.M failure too. I've changed a couple of them on early model Focus's.

Gatster

Anyone know an Auto electrician around Swords/Northside, or even better that could call out to me?

Gatster

So the helpful chap from Aviva came round a couple of weeks ago and spent a good while checking various things, then phoned his manager who used to work for Ford. Basically the guy said the coil pack had 'spiked' the ECU, and that he'd seen it before.

So I removed the ECU, sent it off to ECU Testing in the UK who confirmed the coil pack issue and repaired it. I bought a new coil pack, refitted everything and hey presto, off we go. Before I did all this I phoned round 'Auto Electricians' near me, none of which would even look at it, apart from to tell me if it was the ECU it was beyond repair anyway :rolleyes:. In fairness, Hamiltons would have taken it in but fair play to the Aviva bloke for an accurate diagnosis.