Questions and Answers
No Spark Hot
Q. I have a 1986 Ford Tempo with a 2.3L. It has throttle body fuel injection , p/s ,a/c , auto trans, with about 70,000 miles. My problem is this , I can start the car when it is cold . It will run as long as I let it but when I shut it off it will not start back up. It seems as though the computer is not allowing the plugs to fire because I will get fuel but no spark when it is hot. I have changed the throttle body, fuel injector, distributor, alternator, plugs and plug wires, ignition coil, throttle position sensor, choke sensor, computer, fuel filter, and have checked fuel pressure all with no luck. When I ran a diagnostic check it came up with a bad water temp sensor. Could this be the problem or is there something else I could have possibly missed?
Rich
A. Wow!! You near about rebuilt the whole engine electrical system. While the bad water temp sensor could create a no-start condition, it would not shut off the spark. Usually a hot, no-spark condition would send me to either the ignition module or coil power transistor. If you replaced the coil, that should have come with a new power transistor. That leaves the ignition module. Since the process of elimination works quite well, I'd guess once you replace it, you will have fixed the problem.
The only other thing that comes to mind is a loose connection. Ford has there world famous "wiggle" test. That is to let the engine run and play with the connections until one makes the engine crap out. Other than that, unless I can see the car, I'm afraid I can't offer you too much more help.
