<VV> What causes a dead cylinder?

[Chris & Bill Strickland]

There was a nice long list of items posted on this -- many, if not most, 
which could be tested for and detected by very simple means, were one to 
use their powers of observation and deduction -- you know, scientific 
method and Ben Franklin and the kite, like they started teaching in 
what, third grade?  Carbon tracked caps leave a carbon track. Do you 
have fire? Check the coil output visually -- a nice blue spark that 
jumps a half inch plus gap is nice, a fat yellow one barely jumping a 
quarter inch is less so.  If the coil wire fires to the cap contact, 
that is good, as long as there is spark coming out, too -- you need to 
check - in this case, specifically the #1 plug wire output at  the plug 
end and input at the cap end.  if you put your hand on the top of the 
cap with the engine running and you get bit, you need to replace your 
cap and wires -- Seth (Silicone Wire Systems) sells pretty good wires at 
a very fair price.  Pull a plug and look at it -- if you don't know what 
you are looking at, compare it to pictures in old repair books with 
pictures of fouled plugs. And so on.

Crank it over with the coil wire grounded. does it crank steady, or does 
it go rrr, rrr, rrr, RRR, rrr, rrr?  quick compression check, nearly as 
meaningful as a screw in gauge, but not a leak down.

This is a 140 isn't it?  Is the (stock) right secondary fully closed at 
idle?  If not, that is a big vacuum leak, especially for #1.

Loved it when life was so simple -- wife's 2001 Alero is getting 
obstinately tricky to start, so had to go get a newfangled fuel pressure 
gauge for injectors (I've been trying not to get one, but knew it was 
going to be in the cards. Hate moving into this modern automotive era.) 
-- fuel pressure comes up after several tries but not always at the same 
time the car starts -- bad connection between key and computer output is 
likely, I think.  FPR and fuses are good.  No, it is not the Passlock 
II, & it runs great, once it is started.

Bill Strickland