Truck Repair: 99 GMC Jimmy Quit Running, crankshaft position sensor, gmc jimmy

Question
4.3 litre Engine. Was driving and it just shut off. Won't start. Fuel Pump is running, but there is no spark coming from the distributor. Could this be the Pick Up Coil? What else could it be?

Thanks

Answer
Hello Anthony,
Yes, it COULD be the pickup coil, but before just running out and buying one, there are several other things it could be.
First is to make sure power is getting to the coil, weather fuse, fuse link, wire connection, ignition switch, etc.

It looks like you have narrowed it down to spark, which is the first step.
I would now recommend getting hold of a manual, like a Motors, or Mitchell that gives a step-by-step proceedure for troubleshooting. It will tell you how to test each part in the system, such as the coil itself, the pickup, pole piece, module, crankshaft position sensor, etc.

At the public library, in the refference section, they have full aisles of manuals, and you can copy pages.
Some libraries even allow checking out manuals.

But just going and buying parts gets expensive, frustrating, and the electronic parts are not returnable.

Sometimes a loose wire connection is the culprit, but it is reconnected correctly to a replacement part, and you might think the part was bad, when just the act of reconnecting it might have fixed the problem, so before replacing anything, wiggle connections all over the engine, and if any corrosion is found, fix that first.

Van