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No spark at all, I think its about the immobilizer.
About a year ago I picked up a 996 c2 as my first project car thinking it will be a fun project but so far I've been having more fun in calculus than this. I'm pretty sure that the problem is something dealing with the immobilizer and i don't know what to do.
The main problem that I've run into now is that I fixed the only code that was on the DME which was a bad crank sensor and I still have the same issue of no spark at all. I'll list the details below. Right now I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with the immobilizer (alarm 132) sometimes it shows codes other times it says it's happy. So far I've done everything that I can think of (other than the immobilizer) and I'm not too sure if I'm overlooking something or i need a new immobilizer. Right now these are some questions that I need answered.
Questions:
- Alarm 132 (immobilizer) will display errors on Durametric, most of the time it will say its happy. Is this normal?
- Will a dead passenger compartment sensor cause the immobilizer to not allow the car to start? -When I click ready status on the engine, it says "Immobilizer Active", does that mean the immobilizer is stopping the car or just online? -Does the immobilizer allow the starter to crank, but not allow power to the spark plugs Or will the car not crank at all?
-Currently, there is no coolant in the engine, will the coolant sensor prevent the car from starting?
-If I do turn out to have a bad immobilizer, what do I need to do? (simple if possible.)
Symptoms:
- Engine will crank but no spark. (no power to coil)
What I have done, and confirmed:
- I checked the whole engine bay for loose wires (since the previous owner claimed that it was "kinda" taken apart.)
- Cleaned and checked all ground points.
- Got all new plugs, and the coils work.
- The only thing that is missing is the cats but have o2 sensors connected just in case.
- The fuel system is working fine.
- Made sure all relays worked on both under the dash and by the DME.
- Did a compression test on all cylinders and all had around 150+
- Used the Durametric and saw that there is no airbag codes at all.
- There is no power at all going to the coils from the DME.
What I haven't done but planning to do:
- Access the immobilizer since the seat bolt in the front is stripped and it seems to have no intentions of surrendering.
- Check the ignition cylinder (thing the key goes into sorry forgot the word) if it's broken.
- Wire check from the immobilizer to everything else.
Sorry about that, I just read through my post again and I realized that I jumped over some obvious yet important questions. I'm going to list more details bellow.
1. History.
From what the previous owner told me It's been sitting in a pretty leaky barn for the past few years but everything seemed to be there other than the cats which were stolen off the car. It was driven up until 2013 (inspection sticker lines up) before his neighbor died and he bought it from him. He told me his son which is a diesel mechanic put a few of the parts on the car when they got it a few years ago and gave up on the project and parked it in the barn. Move on a few years, barn was broken in and cats were taken, and they're planning to sell the property and listed the car on sale since no one wanted to work on it. I didn't ask many questions (i know stupid me) and bought it because everything mechanical was fine and the only code that I saw was the p0336 crank sensor. That was on Craiglist about a year ago before I had to go to college. the title was clean and the only thing that happened to the car was some small crash in 2005, but the car was running for a long time after that.
2. What happens when I crank.
When I crank the car, the engine cranks but I get no spark at all. After I crank I can smell the fuel since I have the exhaust headers off and the fuel system has pressure. I've fixed the crank sensor (and confirmed that it works), but I still have the same problem.
3. Keys
When I got the car, I only got one key and I'm pretty sure that it is working. I'm planning on pulling out the pill and test the key by itself just to see if it will do anything different, but I don't think that the key is at fault. Also, the lock button works fine.
Sorry about that, I just read through my post again and I realized that I jumped over some obvious yet important questions. I'm going to list more details bellow.
1. History.
From what the previous owner told me It's been sitting in a pretty leaky barn for the past few years but everything seemed to be there other than the cats which were stolen off the car. It was driven up until 2013 (inspection sticker lines up) before his neighbor died and he bought it from him. He told me his son which is a diesel mechanic put a few of the parts on the car when they got it a few years ago and gave up on the project and parked it in the barn. Move on a few years, barn was broken in and cats were taken, and they're planning to sell the property and listed the car on sale since no one wanted to work on it. I didn't ask many questions (i know stupid me) and bought it because everything mechanical was fine and the only code that I saw was the p0336 crank sensor. That was on Craiglist about a year ago before I had to go to college. the title was clean and the only thing that happened to the car was some small crash in 2005, but the car was running for a long time after that.
2. What happens when I crank.
When I crank the car, the engine cranks but I get no spark at all. After I crank I can smell the fuel since I have the exhaust headers off and the fuel system has pressure. I've fixed the crank sensor (and confirmed that it works), but I still have the same problem.
3. Keys
When I got the car, I only got one key and I'm pretty sure that it is working. I'm planning on pulling out the pill and test the key by itself just to see if it will do anything different, but I don't think that the key is at fault. Also, the lock button works fine.
I would start here. How did you confirm the the crank sensor is working?
I don't know what year model you are working on, but on a 99-01 the crank sensor and cam sensor wiring can be accidentally switched, the plugs are close enough to be pluged in and even though they are different colors, I have seen people accidentally switch them.
The way that I confirmed the crank sensor was working with the oscilloscope, I think there was a post about doing it but can't find it right now. It took me a day, but I've made a direct wire from the crank sensor to the dme. The code is gone and the Durametric does show the rpm when cranking (unlike before), but still I'm getting no spark at all.
The way that I confirmed the crank sensor was working with the oscilloscope, I think there was a post about doing it but can't find it right now. It took me a day, but I've made a direct wire from the crank sensor to the dme. The code is gone and the Durametric does show the rpm when cranking (unlike before), but still I'm getting no spark at all.
So, you have by-passed the wiring for the crank sensor?
Have you confirmed you are getting cam sensor bank 1 signal to the DME?
The cam and crank sensors have the same potential and ground sharing but the signal goes to separate pins on the DME.
I still think you should verify that the wiring is not switched.
Also, I still don't know what year model you are working on...
The 996 I have is a 2000 c2 with a 6-speed manual.
Yes, I confirmed that the cam bank 1 sensor is working and there was no code for it.
I haven’t checked the wires from the cam sensor to the DME, ill check it tomorrow, but I know the connectors are not switched.
What I mead bypassed, is running a wire from the crank sensor directly to the DME and fixed the crank shaft sensor issues.
If you are confident that you had a wiring issue that was temporarily fixed by by-passing, I would also check the X59/1 X59/2 connector to make sure they are fully connected and locked. If OK then check for rodent damage on wiring harness on top of engine, also check for 12v at coil packs.
Ok, ill check if the rats attacked the car or not. I know this is a dumb question, but do I need to measure for voltage when I'm starting or can I do it when the key is on the 2nd click?
Ok, ill check if the rats attacked the car or not. I know this is a dumb question, but do I need to measure for voltage when I'm starting or can I do it when the key is on the 2nd click?
Ok, I just did that today and got the 12 v between the brown and black. I also went through my immobilizer and found out the codes were due to me cranking the car to a low battery. Right now the problem is that the ECU is not sending a signal to the coils when I crank them. There are still no ECU codes that popped up yet so I'm a bit lost.
Ok, I just did that today and got the 12 v between the brown and black. I also went through my immobilizer and found out the codes were due to me cranking the car to a low battery. Right now the problem is that the ECU is not sending a signal to the coils when I crank them. There are still no ECU codes that popped up yet so I'm a bit lost.
OK, the immobilizer is not the issue because when you turn the key, the starter engages. If the immobilizer was the problem, the starter would not engage.
To start and run, the DME must "see" signal from crank sensor, and also from bank 1 cam sensor, and at the correct time. (note; the bank 1 and bank 2 cam sensors send a signal over the same wire to DME, the DME determines which is bank 1 by the timing of the signal compared to crankshaft signal)
How did you determine that the cam sensor was functioning/sending a signal?
12-21-2019, 07:45 PM
No spark at all, I think its about the immobilizer.
