Advice needed: 1979 Buick LeSabre Turbo Sport Coupe - No Spark :(

F

flyfisherwiz

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2010
I have a 1979 Buick Le Sabre Turbo Sport Coupe, Carburated model-4Bbl, Nice car given to me by my Brother in Law (Single owner) Cannot get any spark so I began my quest to get it to fire doing common sense things ... Here is what I have done thus far to attampt to resolve no spark problem:

1: Replaced Coil
2: Replaced Rotor
3: Replaced spark plugs and wires
4: Replaced ignition module & condenser
5: Cleaned all connectors and checked wire continuity

Here is what I know: I have power to BATT terminal, wiring is correct and complete ... checked and re-checked that. Have followed standard ohm-meter testing procedures for all components and everything appears "Normal" and I am at a loss of what to do next ... pickup coil would be on the list but it too tested O.K. or should I replace anyway to eliminate causes?

I do not believe this car had a computer-control, anyone have input on that? If it does, where would it be located? I have seen a reference in another thread about a CCCI fuse and a crank sensor... I have to check that yet, if my car even has either of those for I don't know if they are on my model or if they are items used on later models.

Question: TheTurbo Control Center...is it needed for car to run or not? Do these units go bad? Could it be jumpered out to test ignition sequence?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Have pics posted on my website ... http://www.down4repairs.com/archives/2010/06/entry_19.html.

Thanks!

Peter
 
Interesting. I'm sure once charles or aj see this you should get a solution fairly quickly. I'd definitely like to check this car out.
 
Even though the pick up coil tested good you had to take the plug off the modual to test it. There are three things that will give you a headache. One is something most guys don't think about. Turn the car on and then jump the starter instead of using the key. On a car this old it isn't unsual to have a bad ignition switch that will let it run but not start. If you don't get fire at this point then I'd replace the pick up and see what happens.
 
charlief1 said:
Even though the pick up coil tested good you had to take the plug off the modual to test it. There are three things that will give you a headache. One is something most guys don't think about. Turn the car on and then jump the starter instead of using the key. On a car this old it isn't unsual to have a bad ignition switch that will let it run but not start. If you don't get fire at this point then I'd replace the pick up and see what happens.
Click to expand...

Thanks Charlie, Will check that ... you said 3 things will give me a headache ... what are the other 2?

Peter
 
Hell just rebuild the whole distributor and be done with it;) I had the same problem on my tpi camaro. module tested good. Replaced it with a new one anyway. still didn't work. took an old gm one out of another distributor and the car fired up. Figure that one out.
 
Get a 1979 Buick Shop Manual off ebay. It will probably have a troubleshooting flow chart for 'no spark'. At a minimum, it will expalin how the Turbo Control Center and distributor work together.
 
Are you sure the pickup coil (reluctor assembly) is good ? Sounds like you have check replaced everything else. Did you replace that pickup coil (Not the ignition coil) when you rebuilt the dist ?

Also was this running and then no spark ? or was there no spark after the coil was replaced ? Sometimes the ground connector has been forgotten to be reinstalled . Done it my self a few times.
 
B4Black said: "Get a 1979 Buick Shop Manual off ebay"

Good info .... DONE!

fc227 said: "Are you sure the pickup coil (reluctor assembly) is good ?"

The pickup coil tested good ... now, in my frustration, I am going to replace it anyway in the process of elimination. I'm getting pretty damned good at working on the distributer though! LOL As to spark, car was in indoor storage the last 18 years ... was driven into storage and that was the last time it ran ... so, yeah ... fun times!

Are there any associated relays with the ignition system that I should be looking at? I think I found one mounted behind the dash above the glovebox already ....

Also, I discovered yesterday that the turbo oil line is leaking down where it connects to the block ... will be removing and replacing ... thinking of replacing with flexible braided line if I cannot find the proper OEM line ... anybody ever done that?

Someone mentioned I should check the Ignition fuse ... looked at fuse block, did not even see a fuse labeled as such ... Is there one in this car? If so, where?

Lastly, there is mounted in the engine compartment a relay made by littelfuse...it is mounted on the drivers side below an orange strip that looks like a factory service hookup strip??? Anyway, it has a large gauge purple wire and 2 smaller gauge wires one yellow, one black. the yellow wire connector tab completely broke off this little relay ... anyone know what this relay in the engine compartment does? I know it is NOT the horn relay ... could this be a cause for my no spark quandry? I doubt it really, but I would be curious to know ... found replacement and ordered anyway.

Thank you all for your input so far ... will be trying Charlies Starter / Ignition suggestion today. Will post results when I can.

Peter
 
Have you tried putting the ignition switch in run and shorting the starter yet? It really does sound like the ignition switch is the issue more than the distributor.
 
79 Le Sabre no spark: UPDATE

Whew. Greasy and oily, but satisfied.

Thanks again to everyone for the tips and advice. Tried Charlies idea to turn ignition key on and jump starter and, again, received no spark. I then tried the GM ESC bypass test ... jumper out pin # 2 and pin #4 (green and black wires on harness) and, behold, a beautiful bright spark! That's the good news.

The bad news, I guess, is that it may mean my Turbo Control Center, the ESC, is Ka-Put....so, this brings to mind another question ... is there a way to trouble shoot these things or is it pretty much a brick now?

I did check to see if there is continuity from harness plud back on each of the wires, and there is. Aside from that are there any tests I can do or does it mean I am in the market for a replacement ESC / Turbo Contro Center ... so, yeah, it has been a day of good and bad results, but like I said, satisfying.

Cheers!

Peter
 
Well, if it really does test bad, I'm sure you could get one. I know there's a couple people on the board that have a few extras. Not gonna name names. You're car is a nice original and should try to retain the spark box. Maybe you could work out a trade of your old one and a few bucks for a known good one. I know there is one guy on here that is actually looking for a bad one and has a couple good ones. Maybe he will help:)
 
usetaboost: Thanks ... I think I saw that thread ...the guy wants to reverse engineer the ESC .... good idea. I actually talked to a doctor friend of mine tonight and he said he woulf X-ray it ... that would be handy to determine where the components are laid out and or show the circuit board ... that info could be handy in and of itself!

If anyone has a spare ESC that they can sell me ... let me know guys!

Thanks!

Peter
 
I don't know if I would xray it. If we get someone to tear apart a good one and a bad one, there may be a fix for it. I think its just a matter of what is known to be good and apply those values to compare with a bad one in order to be able to repair them. Unless we can get a parts list and an exploded diagram, which I'm sure that information is long gone.
 
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