97 Voyager...
Changed plugs, rotor, wires, cap today... wouldn't start.
It cranks for a second, hesitates, cranks again, hesitates...
The check engine light goes off like it should.

I checked the wire assignments, reseated the wires at both ends, put back the original cap & rotor, no change.

.044 gap (1.1 mm) gap.

I'm in big trouble. I may be sleeping on the couch tonight.

Help!

1-800-PEP-BOYS comes to mind...At least what I have been hearing (from the GF) since my car troubles started... :frown:

1-800-PEP-BOYS comes to mind...At least what I have been hearing (from the GF) since my car troubles started... :frown:

Thanks fer nothin'

Verify you're not getting spark at the plugs to make sure you've got a no spark starting issue. Sometimes the obvious isn't the problem. Put the old coil wire back and/or check the new one for continuity. You'll get some resistance but, you don't want infinite resistance.

Verify you're not getting spark at the plugs to make sure you've got a no spark starting issue. Sometimes the obvious isn't the problem. Put the old coil wire back and/or check the new one for continuity. You'll get some resistance but, you don't want infinite resistance.


I put the old coil wire back on and there was no change in symptoms.

I did notice this; the coil wire plugs into a device on the back of the throttle body - on the other side of that device is a pluggable connector. When I remove that plug I can crank the engine forever. Obviously it won't start. When I replace that plug I can hold the key to the crank position but it will only crank for a brief period before hesitating , then it will crank very briefly again, hesitate, repeat...

It Might Be The Starter

OK, I fixed it mostly. The front 3 cylinders, closest to the radiator, have a short aluminium shelf under them. On the shelf, under each of the 3 plugs, is a number. The numbers under those 3 front plugs are 5-3-1 from left to right (from distributor cap accross to battery). So, naturally, we assumed that those corresponded to wire numbers for those plugs. not. Those are the numbers for the 3 plugs on the other side of the engine. Arrgh. What sense does that make?

It's running now but it's got a lot of valve clatter and it reeks of gasoline. Hopefully that's from all the cranking I've been doing all day. Tomorrow we will see.

By the way, the rotor and cap I bought from Advance Auto Parts behaved strangely; the rotor cut a deep swath out of one of the contacts in the cap. Only one. The inside of the cap is littered with bits of metal. Has anyone else seen that?

Have fun tonight - off the couch!

You need a new cap and rotor and I think they may have given you the wrong one or a defective one. This is probably why the engine isn't running right. Take the one back that you purchased and show them what happened as they may replace it free. Also make sure the plugs are gapped properly and check your wiring again as you may have a plug wire on wrong.

Always a good idea to do 1 plug wire at a time then you will never get them mixed up . I agree with the other assessment , I would get the rotor cap and rotor replaced again , I assume this is the 3.0 motor if you have a standard rotor and cap setup..

If your engine still reeks of gasoline while running the motor or after shutting it off, better get your fuel rails and/or other system components checked out. Stories abound about minivans burning to the ground. There is a recall for certain years of minivan fuel rails, I believe.