2002 KIA SPECTRA GSX NO SPARK?
I have a -
2002 KIA SPECTRA GS/GSX
Body Style: HATCHBACK 4 DR
Engine Type: 1.8L L4 PFI DOHC 16V
I have owned it since 2005. After buying it, I found out that the speedometer stopped working after it warmed up. This wasn't a real issue for me (I could tell how fast I was going by the gear I was in and how high the RPM's were) until 1 1/2 years ago, when it suddenly wouldn't pass emissions due to this problem. I took it to TUNE TECH, a local auto repair chain, where they explained that the sensor that regulated the speedometer was under the transmission and was slipping once hot. This took them several days to figure out, and they said they had to follow the whole electrical system to find the problem. As the cost to repair this problem was higher than the state maximum, I was able to get a waiver on having to fix it. When I got the car back, I found that almost all the fuses were missing (no radio, headlights, blinkers, ect.). I found some of the fuses in the glove box and replaced them accordingly. I called TUNE TECH, and they said it wasn't possible that one of their mechanics had done this...
I let it go until it began to rain, and my wipers didn't work. In addition, the car had run really rough since picking it up. I brought it down and someone replaced all the missing or blown fuses (I didn't know until then that there were additional fuses under the hood). I had my wipers back, and although the car was still gutless (bogging down when starting in 1st, little power, rough low idle, ect.), I went on my merry way.
On December 4th of last year, my son took some of his friends out on the town for his birthday. They had been drinking and are unclear of how they wound up stalled on the side of the freeway. My son says he was shifting to 4th gear when it made a loud noise and died. They coasted to the side of the road where it started once, died, and wouldn't start again. I towed it the following day without problems until I turned onto my street. The wheels locked up (tranny?) and I had to literally drag it to the front of my house.
I have had several people try to help, including my son, who has done alot of research on it. They even went and pulled a tranny at our local "Pull-and-Save".
We also knew there was another problem, as it wouldn't start, and that that had to be fixed first. They discovered it wasn't getting spark. They checked all the obvious possibilities i.e. fuses, battery, ect. and then began replacing things like the coil pack and ECM. They couldn't find the crank sensor, but they did check (by attaching a tachometer??? the cam sensor and believed it to be good. IT DOES TURN OVER!!! It's just not getting spark to the coil packs.
I found out recently that when they replaced the coil packs and ECM, they DID NOT disconnect the battery. Could they have "fried" them in doing so??? Also, does my car have anti-theft mechanisms that have to be reset by the mfg. and could that be part of the problem? After reading all this, what does it sound like to you? I did replace the timing belt and clutch about a year before this happened if it makes a difference. Also, we were able to get it out of gear, so the wheels are moving now. It feels like 3rd and 5th don't go into gear.
YOUR HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!!
KIM
