Why am I not getting spark? Scenario: Was driving vehicle on highway the vehicle shut off and has not started since no spark out of coil. Any help would be great--thanks.

Evison: According to DoItYourself.com: " If your vehicle is behaving erratically and you have problems with it running smoothly, it could be showing signs of ignition coil failure. The ignition coil takes power from the generator and relays it to the spark plugs. This ignites the fuel and makes your vehicle run. The severity of the symptoms vary according to which of the ignition coils are failing.
Backfiring If your vehicle is backfiring, this can indicate early symptoms of a failing ignition coil. This occurs when unused fuel is emitted through the exhaust system. If you do not address the issue, you can also do serious damage to your exhaust, resulting in unnecessary and costly repairs. Your exhaust may emit a black smoke and you may even detect the smell of gasoline.
Starting Problems Check your high tension leads (HT Leads). These run between the distributor and spark plugs. Ignition coil failures result in one or more spark plugs not receiving the appropriate amount of charge. If you have trouble starting your vehicle in the cold, this is a good sign of potential ignition coil failure. You can run a simple test on the HT leads to check that there is in fact a spark going from each lead to each spark plug.
Fuel Economy If your vehicle is getting a lot less mileage for the gallon, This can also be a sign of ignition coil failure. When less power is reaching the spark plugs, your vehicle will struggle and use more fuel to compensate for the lack of power transfer.
Engine Misfiring Trying to start your vehicle when the ignition coils fail will result in a rough ride. Your vehicle will cough and splutter regularly and when you drive at higher speeds, your vehicle will jerk and spit. It will also vibrate when you are running idle at a stop sign or intersection.
Vehicle Stalling With ignition coil failure, your vehicle will have irregular sparks emitting to the plugs to keep it running. This will result in stalling. When you bring your vehicle to a stop, it may just shut off totally, thus leaving you needing to restart it.
Coil Failure If your spark plugs are worn out, it forces the ignition coils to operate at a much higher output. Keeping your sparks plug in optimum condition can reduce your chances of having ignition coil problems. Some simple regular maintenance will save you a lot of money in the long run.
If the gap in your spark plug widens due to normal erosion, it leads to an increased voltage being required to create a spark in the chamber. That increased voltage demands more current flow through the primary circuit and this increased current flow can overload the primary transistor. Keeping all these components in good running condition is also a big help towards keeping your coils in a good working condition."

Check the battery and alternator, do your lights come on and radio come on? then check the spark plugs and starter.. is it hard start?

Hi there have you tried the ignition coil as this sounds like the coil is getting hot and creating an open circuit thus no hi tension voltage to the spark plugs,once it has cooled done the car will start again until
it repeatedly gets hot and shuts down very common in pre coil pack vehicles,easy test try a spare coil and drive for same or more distant if not fault them coil is U/S

Starting at the beginning of your story, you listed both the V6 and V8 engines. Either way, they are both carb models so no fuel injection and no electric fuel pump.
There is a pickup coil and a spark module inside the distributor that could be the problem, as well as the coil and other components.
It will be very tough to troubleshoot if it always starts back up.
It the problem was the key switch you would loose warning lights on the dash too.

I follow your story and found it very interesting. Looks like as the vehicle was driven decided to get relaxed. For what you done up to now you spent quite good amount of money with no results. Has at all passed from your mind whether all that cause by means of immobilizer activation or any fuel pump failure? The Knock Sensor want stop deadly the car. It causes misfiring,stalling etc.Hope this help, Good Luck.

if it broke a timing belt or chain it would roll alot faster than normal.. if it just jumped time a notch or two it would still act like it was trying to start.. a chrankshaft sensor is a place to start.. but check to see if its firing first before you replace it because it could be the fuel also.. take a sparkplug out of the car and then plug it on the wire.. take an good insulated pair of pliers and hold the part of the spark plug that your socket goes on against a metal part of your motor.. then have someone roll the vehicle over while you watch the spark plug you can see the spark ti generates if vehicle is firing..if it is firing good then its probably in the fuel system.. hope this helps

here are a few symtoms of a BAD IGNITION COIL. the car will spit and sputter.
If your vehicle is getting a lot less mileage for the gallon, you can also register this as a sign of ignition coil failure. When less power is reaching the spark plugs, your vehicle will struggle and use more fuel to compensate for the lack of power transfer.
Engine Misfiring Trying to start your vehicle when the ignition coils fail will result in a rough ride. Your vehicle will cough and splutter regularly and when you drive at higher speeds, your vehicle will **** and spit. It will also vibrate when you are running idle at a stop sign or intersection.
Vehicle Stalling With ignition coil failure, your vehicle will have irregular sparks emitting to the plugs to keep it running. This will result in stalling. When you bring your vehicle to a stop, it may just shut off totally, thus leaving you needing to restart it.
Coil Failure If your spark plugs are worn out, it forces the ignition coils to operate at a much higher output. Keeping your sparks plug in optimum condition can reduce your chances of having ignition coil problems. Some simple regular maintenance will save you a lot of grief. hope this helps you out !

you need to check this when it does not start fuel pressure at the fuel rail , spark at the plugs, power at the fuel injector wire that will tell you whats wrong . if there is no fuel pressure its a bad fuel pump swap the relay with another one to test it if still no pressure the pump is bad . if you have fuel pressure and wont start spray starting fluid in the throttle body see if it starts this tells you if its spark or fuel if it does not start its spark possible bad distributor or coil if it does start that means you have spark and with fuel it will run meaning your injectors are not firing = no power at injectors = bad crank sensor its 38.00 at auto parts stores driver side top of trans bell housing make sure you push and hold it down when tightening the bolt

Distributor pick up coil has failed ( hal effect ) , remove cap and rotor and you will see it usually under a plastic shield . Just remove and replace .. they are fairly cheap.

If you dont have much money, guessing what parts to change gets expensive. First, you need to verify if it has fuel pressure and spark, that will lead you in the direction to start looking for the problem. Pull 1 spark plug wire off and see if it will jump a 1/2" gap, If so, thats good. If no spark, make sure the cam is turning, you may have a broken timing belt.