Hey Dave,

Based on stuff I've done in the past, I'm getting no spark.
Seems to be a hot start issue.

Thanks,

Dwayne

OK

I would check battery voltage when cranking at hot start. If it gets down to ~9 volts you will have a hard time starting. Also, if you haven't all ready, check and clean all grounds around the battery and coil.

Thanks Dave,

Question...when the starter engages, it cranks as strong as a mule. Wouldn't that indicate the "battery voltage when cranking," is fine?

The starter engaging is strong during a cold or hot start - the only difference is the car is not starting hot.

Thanks again, Dwayne

Just checking the boxes Dwayne. Its very hard to diagnose remotely.

Is your coil getting voltage?

Dave, I appreciate that...I did a few searches and I couldn't find the answer.
How do I determine if voltage is getting to the coil?
Thanks to all.

Never mind, I think I found it, I'll test when I get home - thanks

Ok, started right up this am.
I checked the ignition coil with a circuit tester light prior to the start up and it lit up.
I let the car run for twenty minutes - shut it down, tested with the coil again with the light and it again lit up.
But I was not surprised, the car would not start.
So...thoughts.
I guess the issue would have to be "upstream."
"Upstream" meaning; plugs, wires, rotor and cap?
Wires look fine.
Rotor and cap were just changed. Plugs? I can't see a no start condition for plugs - misfire, yes.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

OK

You have power to the coil. Next check the coil to plug wire. Do you have spark out of the coil wire?

FYI- The wires have resistors in them. Under heat they can short out. So, you can take an OHM and continuity reading on your wires.

What plugs are you running ?

I don't know your model, I have 190e's. Can you put a spark plug in the coil wire to test for spark?

Your new coil could be bad or the wrong one too. Just talking out loud.

There may be an easier way, so maybe someone else will chime in.

There are two situations under which to test for power at the coil (or the diagnostic connector):
1) Key ON, engine not cranking.
2) Key ON and engine cranking.
There should be power at the coil under both conditions. If there is no power at coil when engine warm and cranking (situation 2), look to the key switch as the likely suspect. If, however, there is power when warm & cranking, look to the ignition controller (EZL).

Ok, the car is now starting hot, cold and whenever.
Please chime in to let me know what you think.

I thought it was a spark issue, I was convinced it was, due to my troubleshooting.

Now I'm not sure, but, I'll be the first one to shrug my shoulders and admit I screwed up somewhere.

To recap, I could have sworn there was no spark due to my past trouble shooting...mainly using my timing light and also by holding the spark plug by the exhaust manifold.

Fast forward to this morning...As, stated there was power to the ignition coil this AM with the key "on."

As I'm in the engine bay checking things out and asking my Son to turn the ignition on and off, I hear the Idle Control Valve (ICV) "clicking."

I remove the electrical connection, reconnect it, start the car and it starts right up.

Let the car run for a while...turn the car off, it starts it up immediately. I repeat this numerous times and the car starts again no issues. I'm still thinking - something is wrong here because the ICV leads me to think it's fuel related, not spark/ignition.

So here we are. I'm happy it's starting as it should. I'm assuming it was the ICV. Am I missing something? I was skeptical, but, it's starting and running as it should.

If someone wants to "school" me...please do so.

I wanted to make sure I post the results to help someone else.

Kinda drives me crazy when someone reports an issue, they get alot of help and they don't post the results.

Thanks so much to everyone (Dave, Frank and Diesel) who posted! Dwayne

So you think you had a bad electrical connection of the ICV?

You know Dave, I have no idea.

As I posted earlier, everything led me to a spark problem.
But it can't be a coincidence that after removing the ICV and cleaning it up, the car starts right up.

I guess the valve in the ICV could have been stuck in such a position that the car was having an issue with the amount of air that was getting in there during a hot start, but there should have been spark; but what do I know.

I even double checked for spark with a timing light.

But what I do know is that ICV was making a funky "clicking" sound, as I had my head in the engine bay.

Electrical connection? Not being an electrical guy, there had to be something going on, because it was making a clicking noise. So could the valve have been stuck? I think so, because it was making noise. I did leave out, from my earlier post, that I cleaned the heck out of the ICV with carb cleaner. It was pretty dirty in there.

So in the end, I guess it was the ICV, electrical or a stuck valve - I don't know.