Contactless ignition system — troubleshooting (Opel Ascona C)

Symptom/Cause(s)

The starter turns but the engine does not start/

• The plug under the coil cover came out and the insulating material leaked out of the coil*
• Poor contact on the wires going from the ignition switch to the control unit (terminal 2 or 4)
• Poor contact on the wire going from the ignition switch to terminal (15) of the ignition coil, or the wire going from terminal (1) to the control unit plug, or the ground wire of terminal (2).

The engine runs, but "shoots"/

• The spark plugs or wires are faulty
• The ignition coil is faulty
• The ignition timing is incorrectly adjusted
• The control unit is faulty.

* If this happens, both the coil and the control unit will need to be replaced.

In principle, it is possible for the entire ignition system to fail when the car is near a strong source of short waves (this can only happen with early-type systems that have a gray-black control unit. With later systems that have a black control unit this is not possible.