Engine Mechanical problem
1992 Toyota Celica 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 216000 miles
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Hi, I have been having problem with my car as I drive down the road it will occassionally start jerking and the engine light will come on and the rpm needle will move erratic. I first notice this in like 2005 anyway in Nov of 2006 someone suggested an ignition coil, so I had one put on, and the problem went away for appx a year and some months then the same thing happen again so i had another one put on like Feb. of this year the problem went away again, until appx 3 weeks ago. It seems it only does it when the car have been driven awhile(like when it gets hot) because It had never done it on the way to work in the morning, only when I'm on the way home from work after running several errands. It doesn't do it everyday but when it does sometime it cut off and it is kinda of hard to start back up. Could you please tell me any kind of suggestion that will help me. Thanking you in advance for your help.

First thing is to see if there are any codes stored in the computer.Thisis done with asmall jumper wire inserted between 2 terminals int he diagnostic connector located under the hood (see pic)




Turn key on and count the flashes of the check engine light,teh light will flash with short intervals then long ones, with 21/2 second intervals between codes (see pic)



Did you use Toyota coils when you replaced them before? Toy's are kinda strange about OEM parts lasting longer for some reason.

Hi, No I didn't get the original Toyota Coil. The 2 that I had put on came from Advance Auto Parts Store. Okay, now I have a question. What is a Jumper Wire? And where do I get it from?

BabyD wrote:

Hi, No I didn't get the original Toyota Coil. The 2 that I had put on came from Advance Auto Parts Store. Okay, now I have a question. What is a Jumper Wire? And where do I get it from?

You can use a paper clip bent to a "U" shape, or a short piece of wire with some small spade terminals crimped at both ends. You want to short the diagnostic terminals to put the ECM in field service mode. This will display the error codes, and it is also used to set the mechanical timing, since it removes all computer advance from the ECM.