Intermittent spark

Tiny
MICHAEL LYNCH2
  • MEMBER
  • 2001 FORD LASER
  • 1.6L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 70,000 MILES
Hi, I washed the engine bay down to clean it. Was running fine beforehand. Since then it is not running. I have cleaned every wiring joint and also sprayed them with a water dispenser it has also now been three days and everything is thoroughly dry. The car turns over on the starter and sometimes will fire very briefly but not start. I have now replaced the crank sensor thinking it was that but it made no difference. I also replaced the coil packs and leads I got from another wrecked one and that made no difference. If I take a spark plug out earth it and turn the car over it will spark very occasionally which is inline with the car firing occasionally but not starting. I must have a loose connection somewhere but just cannot find it. Tearing my hair out now. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
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Wednesday, May 10th, 2017 AT 11:41 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 12,883 POSTS
Water under pressure can do damage depending on where it gets. Probably the fastest test would be to put a scan tool on it and read the live data information and see what is missing. I have seen a hairline crack in a TPS do this as well as the water getting into an ECM that had corrosion at the seals. The live data feed or testing the components should point out where the problem is.
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Thursday, May 11th, 2017 AT 5:13 AM
Tiny
MICHAEL LYNCH2
  • MEMBER
  • 23 POSTS
Hi thanks for the response The ECM is under the centre consul inside the car. No water can get into it. The other issue I have is this car (Ford Laser 2001 1.6L) Does not seem to have a OBD Plug anywhere cant find one under the dash near steering wheel and cant find one in the fusebox under the hood? (Australian Version) So I cant connect a scan tool.
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Thursday, May 11th, 2017 AT 9:17 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 12,883 POSTS
You need the Mazda scan tool that has a special connector to fit the ADL plug. Your car is basically a Mazda 323 and as a 2001 model it doesn't have OBD II because they only made US and Canadian export versions of vehicles meet the standard. Europe and Oceania went OBD II on all models in 2001.

Your connector will look like one of these. It's normally under the hood, either near or in the fuse panel or on one of the strut towers.
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Friday, May 12th, 2017 AT 12:28 AM

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