'94 Geo Prizm (Corolla) won't start.

E36 M3!!! Just bought this '94 Prizm last week and haven't even driven it yet, except for bringing it home from it's previous owner. Went to move it this morning and it won't start. My luck.... It's the 1.6 engine, I think it's the 4A-GE, yes??

Forgive the dumb questions, but I'm new at fixing things. It cranks very well and I have a receipt for a new starter a few months ago. After trying to crank it for 15 seconds or so, I'm pretty sure I smelled fuel. So I'm guessing the fuel pump is working. How could I tell if it wasn't? I'd guess it's not getting spark. What's the easiest way for me to tell if it is or isn't getting spark? Once I figure that out, I can go from there...ignition coil? Distributor?

EDIT: One potential clue. It's not raining out this morning, but it's foggy and humid. My old Protege had a problem when it was raining or wet...it had a cracked coil pack and water got in. The car would run, but very rough because one of the two packs wasn't working. This engine doesn't have multiple packs. Any way to tell if this is the issue?

http://www.drhess.net/Clip_n_Saves.htm#Cranks%20but%20won't%20start

It's probably a 4AFE, BTW, but I've heard of a few 4AGE Prizms.

4age prisms are BOATLOADS of fun.

You probably don't have spark and your dizzy is screwed up somewhere. Probably cap/rotor.

Dr. Hess wrote: http://www.drhess.net/Clip_n_Saves.htm#Cranks%20but%20won't%20start It's probably a 4AFE, BTW, but I've heard of a few 4AGE Prizms.

You're right, I mistyped. It is a 4AFE. Thanks for the link. I think maybe I'll try the spark test first. What do you use for the ground when testing?

If it is a wet issue, try this. Get a can of WD40 and spray it liberally under the hood. Spray and coat the spark plug wires, rotor cap especially. Don't worry, you can not use too much and it safe for everything including paint. If you have water issues the WD40 will displace the water and the car will start.

You just hold the screwdriver near any part of the motor. With the tip in the plug wire, if any part of the rest of the screw driver gets near any metal part of the motor, a spark will jump. Just make sure you use a plastic handle screwdriver and only touch the plastic part. Of course, if you're knocked across the garage, that means you have spark too, so that's also a useful test.

Dr. Hess wrote: You just hold the screwdriver near any part of the motor. With the tip in the plug wire, if any part of the rest of the screw driver gets near any metal part of the motor, a spark will jump. Just make sure you use a plastic handle screwdriver and only touch the plastic part. Of course, if you're knocked across the garage, that means you have spark too, so that's also a useful test.

Guess it's better than licking the plug wires....

Well, I think it's definitely electrical. The fog burned off here and the sun came out. I tried to start it about one hour after the sun came out. It sputtered a tiny bit and then fired right up. Running fine now that it's sunny. So moisture is getting somewhere. How should I go about finding out where?

In a dark place let car run while you spray a mist of water from something like a windex bottle. Since it is dark you will see sparks and little flashes come from the trouble spot

pull off the distributor cap and see what it looks like under there.. people don't tend to properly maintain "throwaway" cars like those, so it might need cap, rotor, plugs, and wires. i'd think $50 should cover it..