re: compression

Thanks. What I should have cleared up was your engine needs three things to run. Fuel (gas, good fuel pump, unrestricted fuel filter and fuel injectors triggered by the computer to squirt fuel into the cylinders at the right time), Spark to set fire to the fuel (good ignition coil, good ignition rotor, distributor cap , good spark plug wires and spark plugs). There are sensors in a Tercel distributor that the fuel injection computer needs to receive a signal from ,to know when to turn on and off each fuel injector,when to allow the fuel pump to run and when to "charge up" the ignition coil to allow the spark necessary to set fire to the gas. The third and vital component needed is compression. The valves and pistons are kept in synchronization by the timing belt. The piston traveling up and down in the bore develops compression. If the timing belt broke the engine would loose compression but not regain it. It is quite possible that you car is loosing spark and preventing your car from starting. The most demand the ignition system (ignition coil) faces is starting from cold, and when the engine is under full load.