Ford Mondeo II (1996 - 2000) - 00 1.8 Engine cut out - no spark !

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Wed 25 Nov 2009 20:18
00 1.8 Engine cut out - no spark ! - RubberduckRubberduck
Hi there

My Mondeo Mk2 (2000) is giving me a bit a grief so hopefully somebody on here can help.
On Sunday night, I had travelled about 4 miles, I was quite close to home when the engine (1.8L) cut-out and refused to start again. I have had no problems before that. The engine turns over but won?t fire

This is what I have done so far:
Checked the fuel pump, it is priming
Checked there is fuel getting into the cylinders (wet plugs and vapour when plugs are out)
There is no spark (plugs out and earthed, cranked engine)
I checked the coil and it had no continuity between 1 and 4, 2 and 3 are ok, so I?ve replace the coil. Still nothing
I have checked all the fuses, they?re fine
The alarm/immobiliser seems to be behaving itself. Red light flashes as it states in the handbook when arming / disarming
I?ve checked the crank sensor, resistance as per manual, and it increases when cranking. I?ve also checking continuity back to the ECU connector
I?ve checked the feed to the coil (3 wire connector). With ignition on, its 12v on the centre cable and 0v on the outer ones. When cranking the centre cable drops to 9.5v but still nothing on the outer 2. So it looks like it isn?t getting a signal from the ECU. I have checked the continuity back to the ECU connector and that?s ok for both the outer cables
I have now drawn a blank. What do I check / do next?
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Wed 25 Nov 2009 21:40
00 1.8 Engine cut out - no spark ! - perro
Could be the ecu coil drivers comrade, have a word with these folk ~ ATP electronics 01543427900
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Thu 26 Nov 2009 19:57
00 1.8 Engine cut out - no spark ! - RubberduckRubberduck
oh dear, that sound expensive, thanks for the contact details
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Thu 26 Nov 2009 20:12
00 1.8 Engine cut out - no spark ! - elekie&a/c doctor
Coil failure on Zetec engine Fords is a very common issue and can unfortunately damage the coil driver devices in the engine control unit.However to have no spark on both pairs of coil outputs is very unlucky and I wonder if the fault is elsewhere.I see you have done a check of the tdc/crank sensor resistance but this does not represent an accurate test .A better test would be to get an oscilloscope on the sensor output to check the pattern and tdc reference "spike".Try removing the tdc sensor from the engine and check if there is any contact damage on the tip.hth
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Thu 26 Nov 2009 20:16
00 1.8 Engine cut out - no spark ! - bell boy
ive seen duff brand new coils direct from the factor so dont rule this out either
i reckon its down to copy parts but thats another story
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Thu 26 Nov 2009 20:37
00 1.8 Engine cut out - no spark ! - RubberduckRubberduck
I've been told on another forum that the way I've checked the signal to the coil is wrong. I need to check dwell or frequency but I'm not sure how. I have an automotive mulitimeter

I don't have access to an oscilloscope but I'll do as visual check

Bell boy - I've read that to, I've all tried one from the scrappy but then that can't be guaranteed either
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Wed 2 Dec 2009 20:51
00 1.8 Engine cut out - no spark ! - RubberduckRubberduck
I've checked the frequency of the 2 outer (trigger) wires when cranking and I'm getting 0.5 kHz so it looks like the ECU is sending a signal? Could it be the new coil. Its not a dealer part?
I've also checked for fault codes but there is nothing stored.

I've checking the tip of the crank sensor - theres no damage, but if the crank sensor was the problem then I wouldn't be getting fuel injected?
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Wed 2 Dec 2009 22:24
00 1.8 Engine cut out - no spark ! - elekie&a/c doctor
The only sure way to check the switching of the coil from the ecu is with a scope.It does look like the ecu is in trouble.Coupled with the coil switching devices in the ecu,is a protection circuit if the coil goes faulty .Unfortunately this can fail and knock out both coil switching paths.hth
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Thu 10 Dec 2009 11:08
00 1.8 Engine cut out - no spark ! - eddiemax28
i have the same problem on my mondeo 1.8 16v blacktop zetec, i checked evary thing and still no spark
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