How to fabricate a spark tester for checking the ignition sistem

First thing I would do is make sure it is getting a good spark and fuel. Since you already checked compression, the only other engine mechanical problem I can think of is a wiped camlobe. After confirming spark and fuel remove the valve cover and either measure the cam lift or start it up and watch the rocker arms and make sure they are moving as much as the others. To check for spark I would make a test plug. You may also want to make a cylinder balance tester and also you may want to purchase a noid light kit to make sure the injector is getting a signal.

Test Plug
You can make a test plug with a new spark plug and some wire, a mini hose clamp and an alligator clip. First open the spark plug gap to around 0.075" and strip both ends of a 16 gauge wire about 4 foot in length. Attach the mini hose clamp around the threads of the spark plug cause that is a ground and secure it with the mini hose clamp with the bare wire end in between to make a good connection. Next, take the other end of wire and secure to an alligator clip.

Now, you have a test plug. Remove any spark plug boot you want and insert your test plug onto the spark plug wire end you just pulled off and ground the alligator clip. Lay the spark plug in some shade somewhere under that hood and then crank the engine and look for spark. It should crackle with sound and should be blue but red is ok, orange is a little weak. If it can jump that 0.075" gap you should have no problem igniting an engine.

You can also use that to check coils on some vehicles.

Cylinder Balance Test
First of all you will need a 12-volt test light and about 8-12 inches of neoprene vacuum hose. The vacuum hose will conduct electricity cause it is carbon based, use an ohmmeter if you aren't sure and see if the vacuum hose you have will conduct.

Now, cut off the same # XXXXX cylinders you have in small equal lengths of the vacuum hose. 2-3 inches will do fine. The small diameter kind like to carburetors, etc will work as long as they fit over the distributor cap tower connection.

Now, mark all your spark plug wires at the cap or coil pack and remove them all. Put those short pieces of vacuum hose on the distributor cap or coil pack connections and shove the other end of the vacuum hose into the spark plug wire boot until it makes a good connection.

Now connect your 12 volt test ground clip to a ground and start the vehicle. With the engine running touch the 12 volt test light to each of the vacuum hose 1 at a time and listen for the cylinder to short out and die and drop in r.p.m. They should all be about equal. If 1 or a few don't drop or do anything than you have your dead cylinder there.

Hope this helps; also keep in mind that your feedback is important and I`ll appreciate your time and consideration if you leave some testimonial comment about this answer.

Thank you for using FixYa, have a nice day.

Tools you will need before you start1. 1/4" ratchet2. 1/4" extention3. 10 mm socket, 1/4" drive4. small flat bladed screwdriver5. 3/8" ratchet6. 3/8" long extention7. 5/8" spark plug socket, 3/8 " drive8. air compressor with blow gun or can of compressed air9. long needle nose pliers10. 1/4" internal diameter rubber hose 8 inches long11. wire coat hanger12. neverseez lubricantProcedure1. Remove the two 10 mm cap nuts on the top plastic housing over the engine2. Remove the two fasteners on the back of the housing and remove the plastic cover3. You will see four plastic blocks with four wire clips on each block. These blocks are individual coils for each sparkplug.4. Use compressed air to blow out debris around the blocks5. Use the small flat bladed screwdriver to carefully lift up on the tab that holds the electrical connector onto the block and slide the wire clip off the block.6. Remove the 10 mm bolt that holds the plastic block onto the engine. Use the needle pliers to firmly grasp the plastic screw and pull straight up to remove it
7. Loosen the 10 mm nut on end of the plastic rail that holds the wiring harness for the blocks so that the round plastic washer on the bottom of the block will not break when you pull off the block8. Carefully pull the plastic block out of the engine. There is a 4 inch tube attached to the block that extends into the engine to the spark plug. It will take some twisting and pulling but you must be careful not to catch the back part of the round plastic washer that you cannot see, on the bottom of the plastic wiring harness.9. The spark plug is at the bottom of the 4 inch hole.10. Blow compressed air down the hole to remove debris11. Use a 5/8 sparkplug socket with a rubber collar on the 3/8" extention to remove the spark plug. The rubber collar will hold onto the spark plug as it is removed.12. The NGK website recommends making sure the spark plugs have the correct gap .044 but the spark plug box says not to adust the gap because you might damage the needle point iridium tip. The new spark plug has a protective cardboard tube that is removed.13. Spark plugs can stick inside aluminum heads and break off when you try remove them, leaving only the threads of the plug inside the engine which will necessitate removing the head to remove broken spark plug. Putting neverseez on the threads of the new spark plug will prevent that in future spark plug changes14. Now comes an interesting choice. You can use the rubber tube over the neck of the spark plug to slowly drop it down the hole and hand tighten it or you can use the spark plug socket with the rubber collar. If you use the spark plug socket, the rubber collar will stick to the plug and you will pull off the extention, leaving the socket in the hole. A pair of long needlenose pliers will reach into the hole and remove the socket, but the rubber collar may remain on the plug and you will have to bend a piece of coathanger with a short 90 degree tip to reach into the hole and pull out the rubber collar. The rubber collar is there to prevent you from cocking a regular 5/8" deep socket at an angle which will break off the neck of the sparkplug, necessitating another 10 dollars and another trip to the auto parts store.15. After the spark plug is hand tight, give it 1/2 turn more.16. Replace the square block, being sure that the black silicone gasket on the bottom of the round plastic washer does not get bound up on the engine post where the 10 mm bolt goes. Tighten the bolt17. replace the electrical clip.18. Go to the next spark plug and repeat the procedure.19. After the last spark plug is done, be sure to retighten the 10 mm nut on the wiring harness rail20. Replace the plastic cover over the engine and you are done

sounds like the breather on cap is faulty , replace cap

the stopping is most likly a coil going open circuit when hot
and is not producing spark

best way to test is to place a home made tester in line with the h t cap and the spark plug and re run and see if spark fails when hot - then retry cold if spark returned - faulty coil is confirmed

to make a tester

cut a hole of 20 - 30 mm in diameter in a 2 " square piece of wood - drill a hole ( using 3.5 mm drill bit ) in opposite sides all the way through to the centre - then fit a nail that has been sharpened to a point into each hole you drilled
now push the nail points together in the centre of the large hole you cut so that the pointed ends are no closer than 5.00 mm
apart ( you may need to cut the nail heads off )

fit this in between the ht lead and the plug tip
and you might need to tape the unit up so that it stays in place
while you test

try making tester because you can use it on other things as well

cheers

Here are a couple of things that could be causing your problem. 1. Bad ignition coil or ignition module 2. Clogged fuel filter 3. Clogged air filter 4. Clogged fuel injectors 5. Bad spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and /or rotor. 6. Broken timing chain/belt. Here are a few things you can try to verify that you have a good spark. 1. Remove the distributor cap and crank the car. If the rotor turned you're ok. If it doesn't turn then that's you're problem and you will probably need to change a timing belt/chain. 2. Check the spark from the ignition coil by pulling the coil wire from the center of the distributor. Use an alligator clip to attach a short wire to the coil wire contact. Bare the other end of this short wire and set it up so it's sitting very close to the engine block. Turn off the lights and try to start the car. You should see a spark jump from this wire to the block. If you don't see a spark it's likely your ignition module or ignition coil is bad. 3. If you have a spark maybe it's not getting to the plugs. You may need to replace the distributor cap and rotor. You can test if the plugs are sparking by pulling one, re-attaching the spark plug wire and seeing if you get a spark when you try to start the engine in the dark. Please note, the metal threads of the spark plug need to be shorted to the engine block to complete the circuit during this test.

Possibly the crank sensor.