Sentra With No Spark....

[DiamanteV6]

my g/f's 1999 Sentra I4 1.6L (GXE, 33,000 miles) isnt sending a spark to the plugs. i've replaced the plugs, plug wires, distributor cap and rotor. has this happened to anyone before? and what was the problem.

the dealer wants $800 for a new distributor, so i'm trying to avoid that at all costs. my hunch is that its the coil.

is the distributor/coil different in this car? is it one piece instead of two, b/c i cant find the wire that connects the 2. hell, i cant even find the coil. any help would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. the starter is working fine, and the engine is getting gas. i know there is no spark b/c i pulled a plug out of the engine, attached it to a plug wire and had my girl turn the key....no spark what-so-ever.

thanks a ton.

EDIT: Where is a good place to get a coil or distributor online? i checked out http://www.kragen.com, but they list 4 coils that would fit her car. the local shop said that they would install the part if i bought it elsewhere. now i just need to know where to get it. and http://www.carparts.com didnt have the right part either.

[drjohn]

This model has the coil in the dist. Check the engine control fuse in the fuse panel and the connector at the dist. for broken wires by slightly pulling on each wire. We have found the wires broken inside the insulation on some vehicles.

[EZcheese15]

When you go to buy the part, it will only be one part. Like Dr. John said, the coil is in the distributor. It is all one piece. That little hump on the distrubutor is actually an integrated coil.

[DiamanteV6]

interesting, i've never seen a coil/distributor as one piece in any car before.

where might i find this part? is it unique to Nissan, or could i get it elsewhere?

thanks for the help, by the way! :ylsuper

[EZcheese15]

interesting, i've never seen a coil/distributor as one piece in any car before.

where might i find this part? is it unique to Nissan, or could i get it elsewhere?

thanks for the help, by the way! :ylsuper

Anyone who carries Distrubutors should be able to get it. However, I would do like Dr. John suggested first and check the engine control fuse (if you haven't already). A fuse is a LOT cheaper than a new distributor.

Also, FYI, the integrated-coil-distributor design is not original to Nissan. Many manufactuers use a similar setup.

[DiamanteV6]

where might the engine control fuse be? or the fuse box for that matter.

sorry, the questions might be dumb but i've never worked on her car before, or any 4-banger for that matter. the compactness of everything scares me, to be honest :eyecrazy

[EZcheese15]

where might the engine control fuse be? or the fuse box for that matter.

sorry, the questions might be dumb but i've never worked on her car before, or any 4-banger for that matter. the compactness of everything scares me, to be honest :eyecrazy

There is 2 fuse boxes. One is located inside the car, left of the steering column. There is a plastic panel that pops off, and the fuse box is right behind that. The other is in the engine bay. Right next to the battery.

I'm not sure which one your engine control fuse is in, but I would guess it would be in the one by the battery.

[DiamanteV6]

cool, thanks. i'll give that a shot.

i've called nearly every shop in this town and none of them have the distributor for her car. this is really getting annoying. i may have to pay the $550 that Nissan wants for it.

[EZcheese15]

cool, thanks. i'll give that a shot.

i've called nearly every shop in this town and none of them have the distributor for her car. this is really getting annoying. i may have to pay the $550 that Nissan wants for it.

I believe your distributor only came on the 98 and 99 models. The dealer might be the only place to find a replacement, unfortunatly. I may be wrong though, you never know.

[DiamanteV6]

damn, thats exactly the news i didnt want to hear.