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2002 Pontiac Bonneville SE 4dr Sedan

2002 Pontiac Bonneville
Trim Info:
Front Wheel Drive, 4 Door Sedan, Large
20 mpg city / 29 mpg hwy
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January 30, 2013, 7:58 am

Chris S
 

Question: No spark on '76 Bonneville w/400cid

I just took ownership of my grandfather's garage kept 1976 Bonneville Brougham w/ 37,000 original miles on it. It was running great. My wife went to the store and when she came back out to come home, it wouldn't start. I took the fuel line off and turned it over, it's getting fuel and the accelerator pump is working on the 2B carb. I'm just not getting any fire now. I removed the coil and the ignition module. The coil is within ohm specs and the ignition module passed at least a dozen tests because I know that they sometimes work when cold but fail when they get hot. The red wire going to the distributor has power. The ignition fuse under the steering column is good. My question is: Are there any fusible links anywhere on the car? If not, what else can I check or test? I'm not a novice. I have a multimeter and a garage full of tools. Please help.


February 10, 2013, 9:43 am

Ron W
Expert Mechanic

With everything hooked back up, put a test light on the neg terminal of the coil and have someone crank the motor.

If the light flickers, the module and pick up coil (not the ignition coil) work fine and either the distributor cap, rotor or coil secondary windings are the most probable cause.

If it doesn't flicker, and is lit up, the primary switching device (module or pick up coil) is the problem.

If it is off, move to the pos terminal of the coil. If it lights up, the ignition coil primary windings are the issue.

If it doesn't light up, you have no ignition feed to the distributor.


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February 10, 2013, 12:49 pm

Chris S
 

I fixed it. I got a bad reman dizzy from O'Reilly's. They replaced it, I threw it in and it fired right up. She liked 36* of total timing and she's running perfectly. Thanks.


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