Q: Why would one cylinder not get spark on my 1998 Ford Escort

asked by on April 10, 2017

1 cyl '98 ford escort lx no spark. other 3 cylinders fire strong and normal. new plugs and wires-both tested. coil pack tests good. harness plug (to coil pack) ctr pin failed 10 v test has 33 ohms of resistance. the lead goes to the ignition switch and into the plastic housed actual switching mechanism. I suspect this switch mechanism. Can you confirm?

4/11 I've removed the plastic switch mechanism from the ignition lock cylinder and now the spark on #1 cyl is intermittent. My car has 175000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

Hello. If you are getting good spark out of the other 3 wires and not that one in particular then that is typically a coil issue. Your ignition system uses the waste spark method meaning two plugs always fire together, which means if the plug associated with the one that is not firing is firing fine then the coil is usually the issue. It can have an electrical issue associated with this but that would affect the spark on two plugs. If that was the case then you typically have an issue with the vehicles computer.

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