I have owned an 85 4x4 since new. It has a stock 22R which just up and died on me as I was wound up to 3200 rpm in 3rd gear doing about 45mph. This is gonna be long, so please bear with me.

Per the FSM, I've tested the coil. igniter, signal generator, fuses and ignition switch and everything checks out. I'm also getting fuel.

The one FSM procedure I didn't quite understand clearly was where a 1.5 volt battery is used to check the power transistor in the igniter. It says to hook the + side of the battery up to the pink wire (wire originally comes from the signal generator in the distributer) and the - side of the battery to the white wire (also originates from the signal generator). The picture next to this step shows the - side going to a ground though. This seems to contradict what the instructions say. The same check performed on a 22RE though shows it correctly as the directions say. It warns that leaving the battery hooked up for longer than 5 seconds could damage the power transistor. The next step states to use a voltmeter and connect the + probe to the yellow wire going to the igniter and the - probe to ground. Voltage should read between 8-10 V. Given the 5 second time limit, I hooked the volt meter up first, then the 1.5 V battery. I think the FSM is backwards on these two steps. Anyway, per the FSM, the ignition switch is on during this test and all the wiring is hooked up with the exception of the signal generator. Well, I still get 12 V though the yellow wire and I as I said earlier, I don't understand exactly what the purpose of the 1.5 V battery is.

I've since swapped the igniter and coil for another and I'm still not getting any fire through the high-tension wire to the distributor, much less to any of the plug wires. I verified this using a good timing light and there's no flash. I also tested for fire by grounding a plug and looking for spark, but again, nothing.

I replaced the wires, cap, rotor and plugs about six months ago with Toyota parts. About two weeks ago, the engine started missing. I found the #1 wire had a pinhole through the boot and was shooting a spark a half inch or so to the cylinder head. The dealer gave me another wire and now this happened.

The timing chain is fine and the rotor is turning as I crank the engine.

Everything electrical works; only the ignition won't fire and I've hit a brick wall with everything I've tried. Now, I'm to the point of taking it to the dealer and having them find out what's gone wrong. I know I'm gonna kick myself in the hind end when I get their bill and it's something so simple that I may have overlooked.

Would any and all please share their expertise and enlighten me as to what else could have possibly gone wrong? I've never had any problems with my ignition system. Accounting for the 33's I've had on it since the swap from stock tires (77K), the truck now has about 270K miles.

Maybe a broken wire somewhere? What about the wires coming from the signal generator in the distributor to the ignitor? They aren't very well protected, and I know mine on my 84 are pretty brittle, other than that, from your write up I'd have to say check the signal generator again. If you have a known good ignitor/coil in there with proper voltage going to them than it sounds like you aren't getting the signal from the generator in the distributor to fire. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I am having this exact same problem. Crazy...

Buck, how would you recommend checking the pick up coil? If it has the proper resistance and gap what else is there?

If the gap and resistance are correct than I don't know what to tell ya. I had the same problem, but it was with the Jacobs ignition and have since gone back to stock. Jacobs dosn't like you welding on the truck even with everything disconnected, tends to blow em up. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

I had the igniter/coil assy checked by an electronics person and everything is good. I've double & triple checked all fuses, connectors and looked for damaged wiring. I just can't find any problems. Pulled the distributor and took out the signal generator. The resistance range is 140-180 ohms. I'm getting 155 ohms there.

Since I had the distributor out, I disassembled it as far as I could (couldn't figure out how the gear is removed) and cleaned up all the oily soot 270K miles had left inside. When I took the vacuum advancer/signal generator mounting plate out (similar to a Timken bearing in the way that it works), there was all kinds of residue on it also. It's movement, although small when actuated by the vacuum advance, was a bit rough. I took it apart and cleaned up the races and the 45 little ball bearings inside. I could see obvious wear on the races, but upon reassembly, it works much smoother than it did. It isn't a part I felt needed any grease because of its limited travel and I think the grease would only act as a dirt magnet and cause problems with its operation later on.

Anyway, I appreciate your response Buck. I thought I'd have gotten more by now, but I guess that given the info about everything I've checked thus far, this problem has many scratching their heads.

So tomorrow, I've decided to bite the bullet and take the truck to the dealer. I'll keep you all posted as to what they find.

I got my truck from the dealer today, two weeks after taking it to them. I had given them the other ignitor which had been previously checked by an electronics guy and verified to be ok. The toytech insisted that the signal generator was bad and recommended replacement of the whole distributor so I let them.

Well, that didn't work either. Monday, they had another truck (84-88 carbed) come in for service and the toytech decided to try the ignitor from that vehicle on mine. Low and behold, "Houston, we have ignition"!

Even though the ignitor I had checked out "appeared" good, it would not operate under load. I guess a good analogy might be a car battery that shows 12 volts while sitting there, but drops voltage rapidly under load, i.e.-cranking.
Checked around for one. Dealer - $377, Bap Geon - $404, AutoZone - $360. Finally, Advance Auto - $295 with tax. All these units came with a 1 year warranty. When I opened the box of the one I bought, Borg Warner had their warranty listed as 5 year/50K miles. Funny how Advance Auto wouldn't honor it though. If it happens to fail after a year, I gotta send it to BW for replacement.

So, I'm a happy camper leaving the dealer until I go to use my turn signals and they aren't working. Now I start getting pissed. I turned around and went back to them and explained that I've never had any electrical problems and that the signals were working fine when I brought the truck to them. The hazards worked though. Their tech checked the fuses and found no problems, and said that I had power going into the signal switch, but none coming out. Well, that was all I got outta them. I had to troubleshoot the problem myself there at the dealership.

After two hours of checking, I was ready to insist on a new turn signal switch. I talked to the parts guy who said it was $215. You can't buy the switch separate; you had to buy the headlamp, hazard, and wiper switches also!! What a rip off!!!

Then, he suggested that I turn the hazard switch off/on repeatedly a few times to reset some kinda bypass built into the switch. I tried that and walla, I've got turn signals again! Strange, very strange. Oh, and I priced a flasher unit for it too. Friken $53 for that puppy!!

One last thing:

The toytech said he didn't recommend hooking the tach up to the diagnostic service connector on the ignitor saying that it would cause premature failure of the unit. That wire is the same wire which connects to the negative side of the coil. The gauge cluster came from an '86 22re 4x4. I can't see any other place in my factory service manual to make another connection. Personally, I think he's wrong. Ideas or advice anyone?

I've had my tach hooked up to the negative side of the coil for about 6 months and have had NO issues at all. My truck is an 88 with 22RE.