P1300...But with a twist.

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Alright guys I'm new on the forum, but nowhere near new to 4Runners and anything mechanical.

Recently I replaced the timing belt, water pump, tensioner, and idler pulleys. The project seemed to go extraordinarily well. The truck fired up and ran perfectly for twenty minutes. Just as I got in to pull it down off of the rack I saw the tach start to jump, and then the engine stumbled and died. I tried to restart, and it fired right up and ran fine for another twenty seconds. Then the tach started to twitch again and then it died. When I turned the ignition back on again I could hear electrical arcing, but was unable to pinpoint where. We swapped coils, measured resistance, and tested for open and grounded wires with no luck. Once the engine cooled down it started up and ran like a charm. I still ended up replacing the plug wires just as a precaution. I made it three weeks without one issue. I even drove from St. Louis to Indianapolis and back TWICE without a single hiccup.

Now as of this morning I started the truck, and let it run for five minutes, and then once again the tach started twitching, and the truck died. I let it sit for eight hours, and it fired right up, but once again when it warms up the issue resurfaces. I am getting a P1300 code with no other codes present or stored. It is a 97 Limited 3.4 with no mods, 198,298 miles, good compression, new wires and stock plugs. I haven't taken the dive into breaking out the multi-meter yet again in hopes that someone else has had a similar issue.

Any advice that you could give would certainly help me out. I have read through nearly all of the posts on T4R forum that have anything to do with this issue, and most seem to fizzle out without the findings being posted to the forum. Let me hear what you guys think about this. This is my daily driver, so I NEED to get it fixed quickly. Thanks for your help guys!
 
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From FSM: P1300 = Ignition system, Open or short in IGF and IGT circuits from igniter to ECM, Igniter, Ignition coil and/or ECM.

Background: A Direct Ignition System (DIS) has been adopted. The DIS improves the ignition timing accuracy, reduces high-voltage loss, and enhances the overall reliability of the ignition system by eliminating the distributor. The DIS is a 2-cylinder simultaneous ignition system which ignites 2 cylinders simultaneously with one ignition coil. In the 2-cylinder simultaneous ignition system, each of the 2 spark plugs is connected to the end of the secondary winding. High voltage generated in the secondary winding is applied directly to the spark plugs. The sparks of the 2 spark plugs pass simultaneously from the center electrode to the ground electrode.
The ECM determines ignition timing end outputs the ignition signals (IGT) for each cylinder. Based on IGT signals, the igniter controls the primary ignition signals (IGC) for all ignition coils. At the same time, the igniter also sends an ignition confirmation signal (IGF) as a fail-safe measure to the ECM.

DTC Detecting Condition: Condition (a) is repeated 3 times consecutively during 6 consecutively IGT signals while engine is running (a) IGF signal is
not input to ECM for 2 or more ignitions.

So 1) check plugs/condition, 2) check for open and short in harness and connector in IGF signal circuit between ECM and igniter. 3) Disconnect igniter connector and check voltage between terminal IGF of ECM connector and body ground. s/b 4.5-5.5volts. See pages 309-312 of FSM for lots more details on how and what to check. Luck.
 
It's fairly unlikely, but have you checked the cam position sensor? You may have not placed the wiring back in place completely when you did the TB and WP and it might have frayed the wiring and it may be arching, causing a bad reading..? Just maybe?
 
From FSM: P1300 = Ignition system, Open or short in IGF and IGT circuits from igniter to ECM, Igniter, Ignition coil and/or ECM.

Background: A Direct Ignition System (DIS) has been adopted. The DIS improves the ignition timing accuracy, reduces high-voltage loss, and enhances the overall reliability of the ignition system by eliminating the distributor. The DIS is a 2-cylinder simultaneous ignition system which ignites 2 cylinders simultaneously with one ignition coil. In the 2-cylinder simultaneous ignition system, each of the 2 spark plugs is connected to the end of the secondary winding. High voltage generated in the secondary winding is applied directly to the spark plugs. The sparks of the 2 spark plugs pass simultaneously from the center electrode to the ground electrode.
The ECM determines ignition timing end outputs the ignition signals (IGT) for each cylinder. Based on IGT signals, the igniter controls the primary ignition signals (IGC) for all ignition coils. At the same time, the igniter also sends an ignition confirmation signal (IGF) as a fail-safe measure to the ECM.

DTC Detecting Condition: Condition (a) is repeated 3 times consecutively during 6 consecutively IGT signals while engine is running (a) IGF signal is
not input to ECM for 2 or more ignitions.

So 1) check plugs/condition, 2) check for open and short in harness and connector in IGF signal circuit between ECM and igniter. 3) Disconnect igniter connector and check voltage between terminal IGF of ECM connector and body ground. s/b 4.5-5.5volts. See pages 309-312 of FSM for lots more details on how and what to check. Luck.

Spark plugs were all in good condition, and the wires are brand new. No open short in the harness between the ECM and Igniter on the IGF wire. The voltage from the ECM was 5.1 volts, so the FSM says to replace the igniter. There was a shop that said they could test the Igniter, so I took it to them. As luck would have it they were not able to test the Igniter, and the tech sccidentally dropped the Igniter while he was trying to hand it to me. He apologized, and I told him it was no big deal. Thinking the FSM was right I banged it on the counter at home a few times in a frustrated moment. I took it back out to the truck and plugged it up. Cranked the truck and it ran like a champ. Cranked it up this morning and the CEL was gone! I drove it to work and back without a single issue! While I am happy the issue has gone into hiding I have also ordered a new igniter knowing the big bang fix is not going to be permanent. I will post any additional findings as they come up.
 
It's fairly unlikely, but have you checked the cam position sensor? You may have not placed the wiring back in place completely when you did the TB and WP and it might have frayed the wiring and it may be arching, causing a bad reading..? Just maybe?

I appreciate the suggestion, but that is exactly what we checked right after it had this problem the first time. We even went s s far as taking the wire out of the plastic harness to confirm its condition. We also checked the crank sensor and all of the coil wires too!
 
I appreciate the suggestion, but that is exactly what we checked right after it had this problem the first time. We even went s s far as taking the wire out of the plastic harness to confirm its condition. We also checked the crank sensor and all of the coil wires too!

Did you ever solve this problem? I have been troubleshooting this code for weeks with no end in sight. Here is a link to my thread if you are curious: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/222495-ever-popular-p1300-cel-2.html#post2461706
 

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