General Information; Diagnosis And Testing - Chrysler 1998 Voyager Service Manual

8D - 8 IGNITION SYSTEM
GENERAL INFORMATION (Continued)
NOTE: Over or under tightening effects knock sen-
sor performance, possibly causing improper spark
control.

DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING

TESTING FOR SPARK AT COIL—2.4/3.3/3.8L
ENGINES
WARNING: THE DIRECT IGNITION SYSTEMS GEN-
ERATES APPROXIMATELY 40,000 VOLTS. PER-
SONAL INJURY COULD RESULT FROM CONTACT
WITH THIS SYSTEM.
The coil pack contains independent coils. Each coil
must be checked individually.
CAUTION: Spark plug wire damage may occur if
the spark plug is moved more than 1/4 inch away
from the engine ground.
CAUTION: Do not leave any one spark plug cable
disconnected any longer than 30 seconds or possi-
ble heat damage to catalytic converter will occur.
CAUTION: Test must be performed at idle and in
park only with the parking brake on.
Use a new spark plug and spark plug cable
for the following test.
(1) Insert a new spark plug into the new spark
plug boot. Ground the plug to the engine (Fig. 15).
Do not hold with your hand.
Fig. 15 Testing For Spark
(2) Starting with coil insulator #1, remove it from
the DIS coil.
(3) Plug the test spark plug cable onto #1 coil
tower. Make sure a good connection is made; there
should be a click sound.
(4) Crank the engine and look for spark across the
electrodes of the spark plug.
CAUTION: Always install the cable back on the coil
tower after testing to avoid damage to the coil and
catalytic converter.
(5) Repeat the above test for the remaining coils. If
there is no spark during all cylinder tests, proceed to
the Failure To Start Test.
(6) If one or more tests indicate irregular, weak, or
no spark, proceed to Check Coil Test.
TESTING FOR SPARK AT COIL—3.0L
WARNING: APPLY
BLOCK THE WHEELS BEFORE PERFORMING ANY
TEST WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING.
CAUTION: Spark plug cables may be damaged if
this test is performed with more than 1/4 inch clear-
ance between the cable and engine ground.
Remove the coil secondary cable from the distribu-
tor cap. Hold the end of cable about 6 mm (1/4-inch)
away from a good engine ground using non-conduc-
tive ignition pliers (Fig. 16). Crank the engine and
inspect for spark at the coil secondary cable.
Fig. 16 Checking for Spark
There must be a constant spark at the coil second-
ary cable. If spark is not constant or there is no
spark, proceed to the failure to start test. If the
spark is constant, continue to crank engine and,
while slowly moving coil secondary cable away from
ground, look for arcing at the coil tower. If arcing
occurs at the tower, replace the coil.
If a constant spark is present and no arcing occurs
at the coil tower, the ignition system is producing the
necessary high secondary voltage. However, make
PARKING BRAKE AND/OR
NS