Hi everyone,

I hope you're doing well this holiday season.

Unfortunately our 1992 XJ6 Sovereign (Canadian model) has decided not to start. In the summer, I replaced the battery, spark plugs, and air filter (as routine maintenance hadn't been done for a while), and the car was driving beautifully until last month.
Seemingly out of the blue, I tried to start it up and it cranked, but after several attempts it refused to start. It was having no difficulty starting before, though a while ago there were some issues with fuel contamination. There was weak yellow spark out of the coil lead, which I didn't realise at the time was unsatisfactory, so I thought it was the distributor and replaced the cap and rotor (which is not grounded to the shaft), but no luck. Over the last week, I've tried replacing the ignition module and coil, but now there is no spark at all out of the coil lead (with either the original module and coil, or the new ones). My next thought is that the lead is shot, so I've procured another coil lead and will test that promptly.
The tachometer does read about 200RPM when it is cranked, so I have assumed it isn't the CPS. I've checked the ignition-related fuses in the centre console, and they all look fine (though there is a strange wire coming through the bottom of the cabinet, attached to the leftmost fuse...). I don't have a spark tester, but there is voltage coming out of the ignition coil (my inadequate voltmeter reads something like 0.3V, but the coil does heat up).

I've been scouring the forums but unfortunately, beyond trying another coil lead, I'm at a bit of a loss as for what to do next. Is it possible that some of the wires between the ignition module and the electrical system are shot? Are there other fuses/relays that could have blown?

I'd greatly appreciate any ideas you may have. All the best and Merry Christmas!

 

I suggest that you check the center button inside the cap. I had it happen that I was driving to work one day, went over the usual humped up bridge and the car simply stopped running. I had it towed home (the only time) and found the button had got stuck up out of contact from the rotor (I had been in there messing around so I knew where to start). Im not sure where the voltage was going, but it wasnt where it was supposed to be .I haven't had this happen YET, but I have read several times to carry a spare rotor, which I do. Maybe a bad rotor? Also .3v coming from the center tower on the coil isn't much and -my ignorance here- I dont think a coil is supposed to get hot. Id try a better meter, if its not a bad cap.
Good Luck--

 

Thank you Jerry. I did change the rotor, and I think I've realised what the problem is - before, when I had some spark, the tachometer was reading about 200, but now it's not moving at all. I'll try replacing the crank angle sensor.
Thanks for your help!

 

Alright... so I replaced the crank angle sensor twice, thinking the first one (an x300 sensor soldered to the old connector) was faulty, and we're still getting no movement at all from the tachometer. Does anyone know what that could mean? Perhaps the harness needs replacing?