no spark after hg change

[esndin]

sigh, i bought a 97 talon esi with the 420a engine in it, after about 500miles blew a headgasket, ive readup on these and heard the composite ones were junky replaced it with a 3ply metal gasket, now here is the trickypart, i have compression 180-180-170-180lbs i have plenty of cranking power but no spark...ive read through the manual and i cant for the life of me understand how to check if im getting voltage to the coils etc etc or check the cam/crank pos sensors...oh yea the timing is spot on lines up everytime ive went through it 3 times just to make sure, ive heard the ect sensor can go bad after a massive overheating but would this cause the car not to send spark? i ran the engine codes and pulled p0118 or ect sensor levels to high, i cleared the code and it hasent returned..im at a dead end seems my Vr4 is much easier to troubleshoot

 

[just-build-it]

to check if your getting power to the plugs.

Check primary of coils (resitance is between .51 and.61 ohms)
Check the wires that run to the coils, find the common wire, and test for resistance between pistons 1 and 4, then 2 and 3.

Secondary of coils. (between 11,500 and 13,500)
Label your wires if you do not know where they go, then check resistance by placing the ohm meter between 1 and 4, and 2 and 3.

If all checks out, then check your power transistor, or your relay.

Hope this helps.

 

[BLINKY619]

check that everything is pluged in all the way, also check your fuses. they tend to blow out when wires touch upon repair.... check resistance

 

[esndin]

thanks for the info, heres what i have found so far, coil has 12.80 resistance on post 1/4 and 2/3 which seems good my msi? and asd? relays have .71 and .69 resistance which checks ok according the the manual, but the primary power line leading to the coilpack im getting no voltage with the key on acc or even cranking, the cam pos sensor and cps both read resistance and voltage hitting them i have fuel but just no spark... im kinda pulling my hair out on this, could it possibly be the pcm ? and horribly bad timing for it to fail? they arent that cheap so if anyone has any other ideas? oh and no blown fuses, car was operational and driving fine overheated and now no spark... ive looked for a broken wire and cant find any either weirdest thing ive seen, and would pics help? i can take some and post if needed

voltage is hitting the cam pos sens at 11.4 and the crank at 11.3 manual says between 9-12 your good, i also have plenty of fuel

 

[just-build-it]

Well you need to check primary resistance, what car is it exactly???
If your coil packs check out i would check the power transitor next. The manual should have the illustration to show you how to check it. If not let me know and ill post the details.

 

[esndin]

its a 97 talon esi with the 420a motor in it, ive checked the coil for resistance already and the manual calls for 11.80-13, im sitting at 12.80 so i think the coilpack is good but the lead wire that powers the coilpack isnt getting any voltage to it cranking or static on acc, im getting voltage to the cps and cam pos sensor, as far as i know there is not a power transistor on this car?