Hi all...I am working on a 1994 Mazda Protege LX. Checked and had no fire coming from coil....primary had the reccomended ohm range...the secondary had no circuit at all. I ordered and installed a new coil...checked the ohms on both primary and secondary....they were in good range....tried to start the car....no go...checked and had no spark from the coil...again!!.....did the ohm test...and the primary was good....checked the secondary....and again...no circuit...what the heck is going on here?.....and what do I do now?......[:@]

 

I'm probably stating the obvious, but need to find out what is before the secondary coil in the circuit that is causing it to blow. If you do a google search for "1994 Mazda protege wiring diagrams" You will see a few options for getting one online for about $10. Also, check all your grounds, harness, and cables for possible shorts. Wish I could be of more help but I don't have alot of documentation for the series 1.

You should search this forum for the issue you are having. There may be help in an older post.

 

Thanks ES....I'll check around....this problem is driving me a little crazy. Started out as a fuel pump issue...supposedly.....but I found the fuel pump to be good and was not firing...located a no fire condition at the coil...and did a coil test and figured...oh...easy fix....never say that!......installed the new one last night and boom...no fire and got the same reading on the new coil...no circuit on the secondary...I took the part back...and ordered a new one AND an igniton module(igniter)....I just wish I knew what could cause the coil to blow like that....I have checked all the affected connections....that I see...but I will check online for a wiring diagram like you suggested....my daughters boyfriend tried to jump start the car after it would not crank...mind you the engine was still turning over ...just not cranking....now I am wondering if he cross arched the cables or something and caused me lots of head aches....anyone else with any advice would be appreciated.....and thank you ES for your reply

 

The fuel pump will not run without the ECU seeing spark so if you have no spark or fuel go after the spark issue first. The way coils work is voltage is applied to a coil and the distributor makes/breaks contact on the ground side of the coil to charge/discharge it. Coils put out up to 40k volts so they require charging of the windings to achieve that. If your coil is going bad then it is staying in a state of charge which overheats it. The most likely cause is the distributor pickup coil/ignitor.

 

The old daughter's boyfriend trick!!! If he did cross arc the connections the 2 most likely candidates are the ingnition module or the ECU. Have you checked the fuseblock for blown fuses??? Also the underhood fuses... Wait a minute, if it wasn't to impress girls, would we have learned to fix anything when we were 17????

 

Hixx....thank you for your explanation of how the coil operates....it does help me understand the process a little better...and understanding what I am trying to do...makes me feel a little better.......doesn't mean I am any smarter...........again many thanks!

 

ES.....thanks again for your reply.....and yeah...I hear you about the boy friend...but that's a whole other deal......and yes...did check for blown fuses...ect...everything there is ok.......so I ordered a new coil and igniter last night....but is there any way to check the ECU to make sure I don't fry this coil too.....what about anything to check in the distributor??....When I put this new coil in last night...I only turned the engine over a few times....when it did not start...I checked for spark at the coil...had no spark there and did an ohms test and realized that coil was fried too.....it happened in seconds.....if the problem is in the ECU...and I replace the igniter and the coil.....will it fry both of them.....I think this is where you want to choke the boy friend.....LOL............

 

I have seen this a few times. It has always been the distributor. You can buy a used or rebuilt distributor for less than the new parts usually.

 

did we ever find out what happened here? my car is doing the same thing. i'm not getting any spark from the coil. any way to check the ecu or afm to make sure they are good? i already replaced my distributor