90 Legend dies while driving, won't start

LegendL · 02-04-13, 08:56 AM

My Legend had been driving fine until a couple of days ago. I was cruising at round 70 mph when the it suddenly died on me. Luckily I was able to pull over safely and the car just wouldn't start. One minute or so before it died, the oil light was blinking then the check engine light came on. I had it towed home and checked the ECU, which showed code 2 (rear oxygen sensor). I reset the ECU but the car never starts again. I changed the main relay, desoldered then resolder one of them. I changed the ignition module (I had three from my previous junk yard collection). Nothing worked. I tested the spark plug coil but had no sparks. I opened up the distributor cap and found the original rotor melted. The rotor was replaced but again, no sparks, no start. Fuel pump works fine as I could hear it buzz and fuel squirting out from fuel line off the fuel filter, which was replaced 4 years ago. After the car died, the engine was able to crank but after changing the relays and ignition module, it didn't turn over or crank anymore. All it does now when I turn the key is making tick, tick, tick sound with all the lights on the dash board and clock flashing.

My search over the last couple days showed some threads saying the Radio Noise Condenser could be the culprit. I can't find its location under the hood.

Some comments on other threads about a similar car mentioned that the engine could be toasted. Is it true?

I can't let this girl go so soon.

Any help is appreciated.

l4zy415 · 02-06-13, 01:27 AM

Have you checked the fuses in the engine bay? And since the battery isn't getting charged and you're just cranking it, you have drained the battery. So either charge the battery or buy a new one. But definitely check the fuses.

misterOG704 · 02-06-13, 03:36 PM

yes this definitely sounds like a charging and starting issue. are your headlights extremely dim?

LegendL · 02-08-13, 11:37 AM

Indeed, it was the battery being drained after so many cranks. I had the battery recharged and the Legend is up and running now.

But I still want to know what caused the rotor to melt in the first place. Now when the Legend starts I could hear a chirping/squeaking sound coming from the engine while the gear was in Park. I can't tell exactly where it's from. After driving for a few minutes the noise is gone even when it's in Park. Is it the bearing in the distributor, camshaft or something else? Is it a sign of something major is going to fail soon? I don't want the rotor to melt and the Legend dies while driving again.

l4zy415 · 02-09-13, 02:08 AM

There's a port on the back of the distributor that oil goes in. I guess the old distributor was clogged up, which wasn't allowing oil to go in to lubricate the bearings.

LegendL · 02-12-13, 11:44 AM

After a few days, the squealing sound got louder and I finally could localize it to the distributor. Took it out, tried to replace the bearing as it was bone-dry and the shaft couldn't be spinned half a turn by hand. After an hour or so searching for the bearing with no results, I gave up and bought a reman one. The Legend is up and running really smooth now.

l4zy415 · 02-12-13, 05:03 PM

Very nice. Ya, theres no point in rebuilding the distributor. Its better to buy a reman and not have to worry about it for a long time.