My 94 Camry has 212,000 miles and until the other day ran perfect.I crossed some rough railroad tracks and it immediately started sputtering. My first order of business was to check the spark plug wires which are a year old. I had another distributor, tried it to no avail. I installed new plugs.Check the ground wires to the engine. Still the same. I drove the car around trying to get it to throw a code. No check engine light and no codes stored, just a blinking 1 pause1 12. I checked every connection, every vacuum line and the exhaust for damage. Now I'm thinking about the fuel system but this is a 94 and doesn't have a shrader valve to check the pressure that I can find and an online manual says to check it at the filter. How? Do they make a banjo for a standard pressure tester? Another thing I noticed is when cold, it will run great for about 30 seconds and the RPM drops and the sputter starts. I think this is due to the cold start injector turning off. It seems to be running worse, the less gas it has in it,(1/4 tank) Or is it just further degrading? Did I knock the sock off of the pump? I wonder. Do I have a loose connector somewhere. I thought about the timing belt only to dismiss it because it does have brief busts of power before sputtering again. Can someone give me some guidance on this?

 

A steady blink every 0.25 seconds when reading codes?

The computer doesn't monitor the fuel system such as pressure. It might detect a problem if it affected the air/fuel ratio enough and thus O2 sensor readings.

No Schrader valve to check pressure. Need to remove banjo fitting above filter, then plumb in another banjo to gauge and use a longer hollow bolt to tighten both up.

They do make this kind of pressure tester.

The 94 has no cold start injector. The engine computer changes the injector operation when engine cold. There is an ECT sensor on engine coolant exit pipe to do this. Sensor has two wires (not one).

The California model has a VSV between the vacuum line of the fuel pressure regulator.

So, runs great for 30 seconds after cold start. Does this include driving the car or just idling engine. After 30 seconds then what? Idles and runs poorly, lack of power, etc.

Might pickup a low cost Haynes service manual.

If you think the engine runs worse with less fuel in tank, investigate the fuel pump itself.

 

Thank you Joey
Yes a steady blinking of the O/D off light and a 1 12 on the Check engine light.
Idles great for 30 or less seconds and then sputters. It almost dies when putting it in gear. RPM drops to about 400 and sounds like running on 2 cyl.
I read that I can access the fuel pump from under the back seat. Is that true for this 94 model? Also I tried listening for the pump through the filler hole when the key is switched on. I hear nothing.
We have a polar blast ready to set in here in South Carolina, so I won't be working on it soon.

Thank you for your knowledgeable help,
Bill

 

A number 12 code is a communication problem between the distributor pickup coils and engine computer. Check wiring and connection at distributor. Or could be bad pickup coil(s).

Is this car California or Federal emissions built? The will be a sticker on the drivers side door or under hood stating to which spec the car was built. If the type of car is known can check the coils for proper resistance.

The fuel pump will only run when the engine is running or cranking. The fuel pump relay can be bypassed. Look under hood for a small plastic box perhaps labeled "diagnostic". Box size perhaps 1.5 inch x 2 inch typically mounted to a strut tower. Inside the box are electrical terminals. Jump the FP and B+ terminals with electrical wire or a paper clip. The pump will now operate when the ign key is on.

Pump is located behind drivers seat, under lower rear seat cushion. Pull up seat from front, then pull seat forward to remove. There will be an oval plate. Remove plate to access top of fuel tank and cover for pump.

 

Wow Joey, That is some great information and will really help me to figure it out when I get back to it. Wondering about something though. Back when I fooled around with OBD1,( GM products) I thought a 12 was telling you you are in diagnostics mode and the codes will follow after 12 is flashed. ( or flash pause flash , flash. With the codes to follow) I didn't know Toyota was different.
I know where the Diagnostics terminal is. I had to jumper it to flash my codes. This is great news.
I assumed my coil resides in my distributor. Which I have changed with the same result. I am not unwilling to check the resistance. Every step is important.

Thank you for opening up my mind to this. I am an electro mechanical tech by trade. I just don't work on cars unless I have to.
Bill

 

Toyota may have developed its own proprietary diagnostic system as this was before any standardization.

For Toyota system, if no codes are stored, the check light will flash at a rate of 0.25 seconds between flashes. If codes are stored, they will be outputted lowest to highest then repeated. Codes are always two numbers. The first number can be as high 4.

For code 12, the output will be 1 flash, pause, 2 flashes, longer pause.

The cruise control has its own diagnostic system using the cruise indicator light on the instrument console.

The Federal emissions built car had the coil built into the distributor, the California car had a remote coil.

For the Federal emissions car:
Primary coil resistance
Cold 0.38–0.550 ohm
Hot 0.45–0.650

Secondary coil resistance
Cold 9.0–15.4k
ohm
Hot 11.4–18.1k


Pickup coil resistance
Cold
G
+ and G 185–2750 ohm
NE+
and NE 370–5500

Hot
G+
and G 240–3250 ohm
NE
+ and NE 475–6500

Beside checking for resistance being in spec. Look for any resistance continuing to increase with time during checking.

With the electrical plug on distributor oriented having the plug locking tabs (tabs molded into plug on long side of plug) facing left. From top to bottom the electrical terminals are NE+, NE-, G-, G+.

Check coil for cracks.
Bad ign wires can cause problems even though they spec out OK at 25K ohms.

The distributor pickup wires run to the ECM. You could check for continuity between ends of wires.

There is no test for the igniter. It either works or doesn't.

See private message for more info.

 

Thank you Joey! I found the problem. I checked the resistance of everything until all that was left were the fairly new plug wires that I was sure wasn't the problem, One of them was the problem and I am still scratching my head over how a hard bump caused this or why it would run right for 30 seconds. (In gear)..The wires were solid in the looms so I was very misled by this problem. The parts store wouldn't honor my lifetime warranty for the wires because I couldn't prove manufacture defect... In the end I got a good tune up and spent $70... I also learned a whole lot about this system....Thanks again Joey for all the great info!
Bill

 

Good job here! Glad to help.

Check those plug wires resistance. Should be no more then 25K ohms.

So much for lifetime warranties. What store was this by the way?

 

[QUOTE=toyomoho;88498]Good job here! Glad to help.

Check those plug wires resistance. Should be no more then 25K ohms.

So much for lifetime warranties. What store was this by the way?

It was Autozone.

 

How did you pay for the defective Autozone plug wires? If by CC or DC then dispute this charge to the card company. State you were sold a defective part and the store refused to replace it. As a result you needed to buy another set of wires. State you want your money back.

On the larger scale have noticed a decline in parts quality at these types of chain stores. I no longer buy from them as a result.