Spark Problems

Work through each point below to find your problem.

  1. First ensure that the setup in galaxy is done according to the startup procedure . You came to a point where you want to start and everything is according to the startup procedure but there is no spark or weak spark. The timing bar should read around 10 degrees and there should be no errors.
  2. Ensure that the coils are correctly powered from the ECU relay. Do not connect them from the original vehicle power. This may damage the coils during startup of the ECU.
  3. Coils require a constant battery supply on their positive or supply terminal. This power is switched via a relay so that it is disconnected during an accident or power off condition. To check that this power is present put you multi-meter on DC volts at a scale of 20 or higher. Measure on battery negative pole and the coil positive terminal. Now switch the ignition on. The power relay will come on for 3 seconds then switch of. During this time you must read 12 volt on these points. If there is no volts or less than battery voltage check the wiring for bad connections. This is no load power testing.
  4. If you have dumb coils (coils without drivers) do the same test as above but this time measure on coil negative. You should see 12 volt on this point too. If not it means the coil is dead or open circuit. Replace. Intelligent coils (coils with built in drivers) cannot be tested like this.
  5. Sometimes bad connections will indicate that the power is present but during load conditions the power will drop due to high resistance that is formed by bad connections. So for load testing switch the meter to AC volts and measure at the same points as point 3 above. Crank the engine. During cranking there should be close to zero volts. If there are any volts above 2 it means that the power to the coils is fluctuating which could not happen because it is connected to the battery. This will indicate a bad connection in the power supply line during load conditions. Sometimes a bad fuse connection makes this voltage drop. With the same test procedure it could be tested backwards to the problem source. It could also be due to too thin supply wires that cannot hold the current that flows through them.
  6. The next problem could be in the earth line of the coil current. Normally the driver supply earth to the coil momentarily to charge the coil and then break the earth connection to fire the coil. For dumb coils the earth is switched in the ECU or external coil driver. To test this put the meter on AC volts like above and measure between the ECU earth wire on the chassis or the external coil diver’s earth. Again crank the engine and see if you measure any volts. It should be close to zero volts. Above 2 volts means a bad connection in the negative earth line during load conditions.
  7. Now you have established that power and earth is present at the coil or driver but there is still no spark. This means that the trigger pulse is not coming from the ECU or driver. For dumb coils put the meter on the highest AC volts scale and measure on coil negative and battery negative. Crank the engine. You should read a voltage above 100 volts. This means the driver and primary coil works. If you put a sparkplug on the HT lead and let the plug earth against the engine you should be able to see the spark. If not then the coil secondary is dead or open circuit. If you did not see any volts during cranking it means the ECU driver is dead or it is not pulsed by the ECU for some reason in the setup maybe.
  8. For intelligent coils measure the trigger signal to the driver side. Here you should measure 12 volts meaning that the ECU driver is pulsing the coil. If no spark then the coil driver is dead. If you did not see any volts during cranking it means the ECU driver is dead or it is not pulsed by the ECU for some reason in the setup maybe.
  9. If you use an external driver and dumb coil then measure the trigger signal on the ECU side. Again it should be 12 volt during cranking. If not it means the ECU driver is dead or it is not pulsed by the ECU for some reason in the setup maybe. If there is a pulse measure the coil negative side for the hi-voltage pulse around 100 volt. Remember to put the meter on the higher voltage scale. If there is no pulse it means the driver is dead. Replace.
  10. There may be 2 faults present. So finding one may only then present the other. Test from the beginning again.

 

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