Hello all! I was driving home tonight in a snowstorm with the wife when my engine shut down suddenly without stutter.  I have an 89 sidekick wid the 1.6. My check engine light has been on for quite awhile and I have not been able to reset it or render any code from the ECM. The check engine light went out when the engine died and will not come back on.  The coil will not produce a spark when the I turn the motor over. Did my computer just die or what do ya think? Thanks.

Check all the fuses, there is a wire
on the alternator, that if it wears thru
it blows this fuse and shuts down everything.

Spooky at first, as all is fine and then dead.

Took me like 2 days to figure out what was
wrong, and it happened to me right after I
put the turbo on, so i didn't know what was
the problem, the turbo or

Make sure the wires aren't touching anything
and check that fuse, I don't think it's your ECM

Ohh and mines an 89 Also, so it should be really
close in electrics if not the same

Wild

My 95 had a blown main fuse (Passenger side/ on top of the inner fender)...  

  Their is also a main realy beside the fuel pump relay.  Both of these reside on a bracket beside the ECM.  You should get a click out of each when you flick the key from off to the run position.  


I believe that the most common ECM failure I've seen is to loose fuel signal to injectors or pump.

Also double check your grounds, Being that you were in snow, I'm guessing you might also be driving in salt.

I'll often run around testing with Jumper cables both sides grounded and grounding different things.  

Let us know what you find, And if ya get a chance fill out your profile one of our members might just live next door.

Thanks, that prob didn't occur with me.  I will go out and check the fuses now, and see if the fuel pump is quit.  By the way, when I turn the key to the run position, the Chk Eng light does not come on.  The fuel pump won't cause that, right.
Also, I reside in Willoughby OH, right on the lake.  I will fill out my profile tonight. Thanks!

With the Key on engine off the idiot lights should be on.  Sounds like you have lost connection to the main power.   I'm not as familure with your 89 model.   my 89 samurai had a Fuesable link on the battery (Small wire that sacraficed it's self like a fuse)  my 95 kick has the fuse as described in the post above.

I'm guessing that the main power relay is not clicking when you turn the key.  

Sorry i don't have a FSM to referance,  The Factory service manual is an invaluable tool when it comes to step by step diagnostics.   Some of the Sammy ones can be found on CD, have not found the Track / Kick ones yet.  

Hey, I checked the fuses under the hood, they were fine.  But when I checked the fuses under the dash, the one marked "ignition coil meter" was blown.  The coil does not seem to make a spark when the motor is turned over.  I replaced the fuse and tried it to see what happened, and the check engine light and all worked with the key in the run position this time. But when I turned the engine over, the fuse blew again.  The coil itself looks really bad and is rusted up, so I am going to change it.  But what the hell is an ign coil meter?  Thanks.

Ignition coil meter is just that  
Ignition coil and the Tachometer

Check the wires on the Alternator,
or the wire loom from there, that's
where the wire is that causes this

Wild

 The coil itself looks really bad and is rusted upit.  

Bad earth?

I suppose a bad ground is possible, but will that cause the fuse to blow?  I replaced the coil this morning, and the darn thing started up and ran.  I left it running to warm up, and when I came back, it was dead again.  Now it is back to killing fuses. I did tighten the belt on the alternator Sat afternoon before all this started. But when I took a look at the wiring, I found no probs. It still looks clean and unremarkable.  From the earlier post, which wire specifically causes this problem?  Thanks.

I don't know which wire, but it's
one that comes from the plug on
the back of the Alternator, you got
to insulate both of those, and it sounds
like you got a small hole in the insulation,
you will have to pick up the wires and
make sure they aren't touching any metal,
then try again, if it's not there, look down
the wires and where they go.

I would guess that it's in a spot that rubs
when the engine is running, then as your idling
it will make intermitant contact, blowing the fuse

You could try a 10 amp circuit breaker instead,
it will trip but then it will reset by it's self, about
$5-7 at AutoZone

Follow the wires, it's in there, pay attention to any
spot that is touching or resting on any metal, you
might even just get one of those split wireing looms
and slip the whole Alt wire into it, should stop the
problem if it's in the engine compartment

Wild

I pulled the connector out of the back of the alt and tried a fuse in the fuse box, blew that one too.  The black wire with white stripe make continuity with ground, the white with red stripe does not. I did notice that the white/red wire seemed a little blackened and blistered where it goes into the connector, looks like it was getting hot.  Is it going to be just a short in the wire that is causing this; ie, can I just replace the wires to fix? Is it possible that there is an internal short in the alt itself? And last, is that black/white wire supposed to ground.  I looked at a schematic, and it doesn't look like it. But then I am a truck driver, not an electrical engineer. Thanks.

Went to the zone and got a 20 am circuit breaker (2.99). Put it in the ig coil meter slot and tried to start the motor.  When I turn the key to the run position, I got all my idiot lights as normal, but when I tried to turn the engine, the breaker started tripping as the engine was trying to fire up. With the circuit breaker tripping like mad, the engine mis-fired too much to actually start up.  This makes me think that it is a short somewhere. I'll keep looking.

NO, wire should not ground, so you
have to follow it to the short (worn)
insulation spot, and yes, regular wire
would be fine.

It's FIXED!!!!!!!
The wires were rubbing up against the intake manifold, just under that front engine lift hook.  I turned the key on and gently pressed and wiggled the harness from firewall forward while listening for the relay that I put in place of the fuse to trip.  when i got to the front at that bundle under those red and blue vacuum switches the relay tripped, and i saw a tiny bit of smoke from the short.  I seperated, covered, and re-routed the wires. Now she is is back up again!
YIPPIE!
YIPPIE!
YIPPIE!

Thanks for your help!

 

That circuit breaker is a good idea
for all the fuses, but make sure you
use the right Amperage so you don't
fry wires before it trips

Wild