No spark...elbow deep in parts replaced, looking for ideas on the problem

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frozenjoker

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Alright, so I have the 84 iron duke. Great car till it broke down last November. Its been sitting since with minimal work. Now I'm trying my hardest to revive it. So here is the lowdown. I was driving back home when the car just died out of nowhere. I towed it home and noticed no spark. I stuck it in the garage due to having other working vehicles. Now I have time and money for it, so back out it comes. Lol. I figured no spark, must be ICM right? They burn up rather easy. Still no spark, from the ignition coil mind you.

So then I pulled the distributor and checked out the pickup coil. Looked like total crap. So I replaced it, to no avail. I rechecked ICM at store multiple times, fully functional. Pickup coil test was also good. Tested and replaced multiple Ignition coils. Even went so far as creating new hookups to the coil, oil build up. I replaced the cap, rotor, pickup coil, wires, plugs, ICM, new wires on parts, and even replaced the tach filter with a spare.

I still have zero spark coming from the ignition coil. I'm completely stumped. All numbers read right and I keep coming to the conclusion, as per my handy dandy service manual, that the ignition coil or ICM is the culprit. But I am on my 6th replacement IC and my 5th replaced ICM. Help? Lol.
 
Okay so, been tinkering with it all day. Pickup coil tested good. The ICM or the IC is bad. But I've replaced each multiple times. When I hook up to the the coil to test for resistance it passes the primary. But I get zero reading for the secondary. I keep wanting to point at the coil, but seeing as this is the 6th replacement...I doubt it could be that many coincidences. I have traced all the wiring and found no bad spots. I recreated the connector for the ignition coil as 4 solo connectors. I have them marked and I am pretty sure I put them all in the right spot. Anyone have any specifics on that?

Ecm is ruled out because the ecm doesn't take over the firing until after its started, or so I read. Lol. I've replaced absolutely every piece of ignition on there and still can't figure it out. I'm needing some help pretty bad here.
 
I noticed this and hope to learn some stuff from them. Lol. I'm hanging in there, just getting aggravated at the problem. Lol. Nothing can be simple.

As for feeding too much power, didn't think I could. But I am sure its possible. And yes that is the coil I'm using, minus the brand. I'm a personal fan of duralast as I've never run into problems with those parts.
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Update: I have redone tests and I may have a bad module ground possibly. As per the service manual at least. I get to the testing of C terminal while the pickup coil is unplugged. You are supposed to watch the voltmeter as you apply a direct 12v to P terminal. I may have to try it again with an extra pair of hands, but so far the voltage stays the same, it even goes up just a bit. Which the book says bad module ground. Where exactly would this ground be?
 
No spark

Hey I'm Claudio
I'm in south Florida
I have an 88 fiero formula
Ok do you know if the distributor is spinning......?
Let me know what you find
Tex me 772 828 one zero nine eight
 
Hey Claudio. Yes, distributor is spinning as well as internals. Pulled cam at start to check it and it was fine.

I was doing research earlier and I couldn't help but notice the whole type of part I'm using. I noticed people saying stuff that for this car it should be ACDelco or OEM for the coil. Is this true?
 
this happend to me yesterday. did all new plugs and wires and distubution cap and even a new battery. the final part i replaced was my ignition coil pack... that was all it was. no starts right up.
 
same thing happen to me a couple weeks back. coil ignition is all it took to get it up again.
 
All parts have been replaced numerous times. As well as tested. So they are not the problem. However does anyone know what the fuse/capacitor deal is inside the distributor underneath the pickup coil is? It has a wire that goes to the ICM.
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I have done an entire upper end on it now. As I sit I have replaced gaskets from head up, rebuilt throttle body, replaced a couple nasty looking wires in the harness, added grounds, moved battery ground, replaced plugs, replaced wires, replaced ignition coil, replaced cap, replaced rotor, cleaned all grounds, replaced ICM, replaced pickup coil, and I've tidied the engine up. Cannot post pics. But it looks great!!

Yet I sit where I started...no spark from the coil whatsoever. Not even a flicker.

So my last thing I can possibly think of is whatever that capacitor is in the distributor...
 
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