CIS Help Needed.......loooong reply

[Kent McLean]

Bob Gregory wrote:
>       OK, I've got to come clean here.  This whole
> mess started when I put in new plugs (NGK), cap/rotor
> (Bosch OEM), and wires (Kingsborne).   The car ran
> fine before these new parts, hasn't started since. 
> Unknown to me at the time, somehow stupidly I put in
> the wires so that the firing order was correct, but
> only if the distributor rotated counterclock-wise!   
...
> p.s. Altho the above confessional could have been
> theraputic/cathartic, it wasn't - I still feel like an idiot!

We were all idiots, or rather ignorant of the subject matter,
at one time.  Take your dealer; "hydrolocking" would kill
the engine in an expensive way.  Hydrolock occurs when a
liquid is pulled into the cylinder on the downstroke of the
piston (for example, when you drive into a deep puddle and
the intake is low enough, or the spray full and high enough,
for the intake to ingest the water). When the piston tries
to compress that fluid, it can't and rods bend or blocks
get holes. Since it is not your job to educate the dealer,
avoid them.

If I were you, I'd pull the plugs to make sure they are still
clean. Clean if needed and re-install. You can get an inexpensive
(~$5) spark tester at your local FLAPS, or just pull one plug,
insert it into the plug wire, hold the threaded end against
a ground (like the engine block) using an insulated pair of
pliers, then have someone crank the engine. You should see a
bright spark.  If so, it confirms your coil(s) is OK, but does
not mean the firing order is right. :)  If no spark, then the
coil or rotor/cap/wire/plug is bad.

If you get a good spark, confirm that the wires are in the
correct order and that they go to the correct spark plugs.
If you did not muck with the fuel injection, it should start.
If not, spray some ether (starting fluid) into the intake to
see if it will catch. If it runs on ether, then you have a
fuel problem.

Let us know how it goes.

-- 
Kent McLean, still learning
'94 100 S Avant, "Moody"
'89 200 TQ, "Bad Puppy" up in smoke