Hi---

My 94 started stumbling while driving the other day. It would only do it when I was trying to hold a constant speed. When I get on the gas it would accelerate normally. So, the day after this started, I had some time so I went to work on it. Swapped the fuel filter, but the old one was not clogged. Looked everything over and found nothing out of place, so I went for a drive to see if the fuel filter had any effect on the problem. Well, I got about two miles and the engine died. No sputtering, it just died. Now, it will turn over all day long but it wont start. This whole time there was no CEL. But I scanned it anyway and pulled the following codes, obviously these are KOEO codes since it wont start:

211--Profile Ignition Pickup failure
543--Fuel Pump circuit open

Now, a little background--a few months ago, the same thing was wrong. I checked every sensor I could get my hands on. Pulled the ICM and had it tested, and it was fine. It turned out to be the hall effect sensor inside the distributor...well, a combination of that and the relay under the hood for the fuel pump. So, in the last few months, the truck has gotten these parts changed:

distributor(with new pickup coil sensor)
cap and rotor
plugs and wires
fuel pump relay
fuel filter
fuel pressure regulator

The FPR was done just yesterday, and when I took the old one off there was fuel at the rail so I know it's getting gas.

OK, guys, help me get this thing back on the road! Any thoughts are appreciated! My first move today will be to yank the ICM again and have it tested. And while I am there I am picking up a new relay for it just because they are so cheap. Any other ideas??

 

The distributor is a brand new unit from advance auto

The funny thing is this--this is the exact same thing the truck did last time. I was certain back then that the ICM went bad, but I had it tested and it passed. Then, when we put in the new distributor and changed the relay it fired right up. I drove it like that for a few months until this past week, with no problems. I just dont get it. I know it's getting fuel, and all of the components to get spark are brand new.

It's being towed back to my house as we speak, it will be here in like 10 minutes. So, I will be tearing into it then. I will check to see if it's getting spark then and let you know, but I suspect that it is. I still dont understand the 543 code--do you know what that means? I have an Actron scanner and the book says this:

543--Fuel Pump circuit open connection-Electronic Control Assembly to battery

What does that mean, exactly?

 

Ditto, I thought they were reman's.
I would see if they can test or warranty the distributor.
What about the TFI module on the radiator support? Has that been changes of tested?

 

But thats the thing--the fuel pump IS working. I knwo this because I depressurized the system the other day, to swap in a new fuel filter. Then, after that, there was gas at the fpr when I changed it yesterday. The gas would not have gotten to the fuel rail if the pump wasnt coming on. just to be safe I will depressurize it again and then see if fuel gets to the rail. But thats why it didnt make any sense to me.

Also, the distributor isnt the problem--the sensor itself is what would cause this. And that was a brand new piece that was installed on the distributor before we put it in. The pickup coil is separate, and a press is needed to remove the stator so you can get to it. And man, it's a pain in the back side too....

I am going to check the fuel situation right now, and I will get back to you when I get it done. It just doesnt make sense to me. Also, last time the relay would open but not close all the time so we replaced it. What would cause a relay to open but not close like that? Is that a signal that comes from the ICM or the computer??

 

yeah, fred, it was tested a few months back when this all happened before. I am already planning on getting it out to have it tested again. It was tested four times last time and it passed each time. That honestly was what I thought it was back then, but that wasnt broken. I am hoping that it isnt the computer....

oh, and my bad guys, it is a reman, with a lifetime warranty. but again, the distributor itself isnt the problem. It is something electrical because of the codes it is throwing. A bad distributor will not send a code that the PIP is receiving or sending bad signals, or that the fuel pump isnt getting any power.

 

OK....it is getting fuel, no question. youre right about the spark--I even attached a spark plug to the wire off the coil and got no spark....

My next move is to remove the ICM and go have it tested. That would be my first guess, because the coil, distributor, and pickup coil are all new. The ICM is the only part that has not been changed at this point. If they test it and say its good, how accurate can that be, does anyone know? I am referring to autozone's testing. Other than that I dont know how to test one, but being that it's only $50 I will probably just end up buying the part and putting it in there, it certainly couldnt hurt anything. I just dont understand why this problem came back, or if the ICM is bad, why the truck drove fine this whole time over the last few months.

 

Here's the latest...

I took the ICM to be tested and it was dead. So, got a replacement....all happy because I thought we had the problem solved. Then, come home, install it, and nothing changed. It still isnt getting any spark. I even tried hooking up a different coil, no good.

At this point all of the components have been replaced:

pickup coil
ICM
cap and rotor
plugs and wires
distributor

And still no spark. If the computer itself was bad, how would I know? What else can it possibly be? What else would cause this code 211? The distributor wouldnt do it, nor would the cap and rotor cause a code like this. At this point, I am just confused and dont have any idea what else to check.

 

And your sure you have 12v at the coil and dist Red/lt green power feed wires?

 

I am wondering that too, but how would that cause a code to be thrown from the computer? Plus, I dont have access to a voltmeter right now, so no I havent checked that out.

I am trying to figure out what would cause the codes to show up. Last time, we replaced the pickup coil/distributor, and it still wouldnt start. just to check everything my brother in law replaced the fuel pump relay with another one and it fired up--now, I dont know if that was pure coincidence but it seems wierd to me that I would get engine codes from the ignition system if the fp relay is not working....there are separate codes for the fuel pump relay circuit and we didnt get that code when we scanned it last time. I didnt get it this time either.