1982 XJ6 Vanden Plas, with no spark to the plugs. I have determined current to the distributor, it stops there. I have been told the problem is with the Ignition Control Module, which i can not locate to remove and replace?? help??

 

If my memory serves me correct I think the ignition box is located on the front of the intake manifold. Will check for you just to be sure. Hope this helps.

 

As mentioned, at the front of the intake manifold. The main component, and what most commonly fails, is the AC Delco igntion module, part number D1906. Easy to replace but you'll need some tiny sockets to open the amplifier housing.

If you have a multimeter here's a CEI (Constant Energy Igntion) checklist for your car"

The test assumes a fully charged battery

1) Measure voltage at coil "+" terminal with key "on". It should be within
one volt of battery voltage. If not suspect a problem with the wiring to the
ignition switch, or the switch itself.

2) Measure voltage at the coil "-" terminal. Result should be the same as at
the "+" terminal. If Ok, go to step 3. If not....
Disconnect the wire from the amplifier from the "-" post of the coil and
measure voltage again. Less than 2 volts means the coil is faulty. More than
2 volts means the amplifier is faulty.

3) Disconnect distributor pickup coil from the amplifier (this is the
harness from the distributor that plugs into the amp). Measure resistance
across the terminals. It should be 2.2k to 4.8k ohms. If Ok, go to step 4.
If not, replace the pickup.

4) Reconnect the pickup to the amplifier. Measure voltage at coil "-" post
while cranking engine. The voltage should drop. If OK, go to step 5. If
not, the amplifier is faulty.

5) Check distributor cap and wires, distributor rotor arm, spark plugs, coil
wire.


Cheers
DD

 

Doug, thanks for the help but i have a problem, i do not know what the amplifier is or the pickup. sorry im so dumb on this. and i don't know what they look like or where they are??

also i found 2 wires coming out of the side of the distributor with a female end for 2 holes for a flat male insert. cant find anything to plug into it???

 

The amplifier is the black box bolted to the front of the intake manifold. Inside is the igntion module. The pick-up is inside the distributor.





No apologies! You're not dumb.





It plugs into the amplifier. It can onyl go in one way so feel around for the slot and plug 'er in.

Then hit the key :-). I'll bet $100 she'll start right up!

Cheers
DD

 

i have not tried it yet, very encouraging. thanks and i will let you know.

 

i think the biggest problem is i cant find the ICM. you say the amplifier which the pick-up plugs into is part of the ICM. i think it was removed by the prior owner. there is a place at the forward end of the intake manifold that presents a platform for something with two apx. 3/8 inch bolt holes to attach to.

The ICM shown on auto zone is a Duralast P# RB165. looks like it has holes for the bolts. two output wires show, where do they connect?? and i presume there is a place to plug the two fem blades from the pick-up into?

auto zone want $240 for this item. ??

 

The ignition amplifier IS the ICM....two names, same part. It looks like this:

Used Ignition Amplifier

It does sound as though yours has been removed. The system was probably changed to Crane or Pertronix ignition. I don't know the diag proceddure for those.

Cheers
DD

 

hi Doug;

again thanks for the help, i am almost there.

I have the ignition amplifier now and am ready to attach it. i presume the two wires from the amplifier go to the ignition coil. on the bottom of the coil are male tabs, one on each side. do they go there? if they do i have a wire attached to the one on right already??

also the bolts that hold it on - do you happen to know the specs on size, length and threads??

thanks
larry

 

White goes to + and white/black goes to - on the coil. The white/black/blue wire on the NEG side of the coil goes to the tachometer.

The bolts on the module/intake are 5/16" coarse thread a few inches long. Hardware store will have them. (or I probably have some)

I am just North of Boyd (just North of you) so if you need some parts I might have some. I have 2 Series III parts cars with a few parts on them.

bob gauff

 

bob,

do you happen to have the clip that holds the rotor cap onto the base of the distributor??

i have one but i unfortunately dropped the other one and can not locate it in the engine area or in the grass under the car .

If you do i could come up tomorrow late am if you are around?

thanks for the help
larry

 

Larry

I have a dist but I don't want to pull the clip off as it's the only one I have left. I use it as a test part for diagnosing ignition faults. I sold all the 4.2 engines I had. I might have a clip somewhere in my hundreds of boxes of parts, but it would take days/weeks to look through all the places it might be. I'll give a quick look around and see if it 'jumps out at me'.

Get a big magnet and pull it through the grass under the car, you might get lucky.
You can still come and look at some parts cars and talk about Jaguars if you want.

bob gauff

 

I just looked at my spare dist and it has the screws to hold the cap on (not the spring clips).

I don't remember when the cap retainers were changed from clips to screws.

bob gauff