Car won't start...

[stratt134]

I haven't started the car in a few weeks. I went to crank it over, went to fire as normal, heard a pop-ish sound, and died - never idled or fired really.

Now it just cranks over and never tries to start - never firing or attempting to start.

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OK so I pulled the timing belt cover and cranked it over. Belt spins so I guess it's not the starter...

I pulled a plug wire and put a different spark plug into it, cranked the engine over... no spark. Does the plug have to be resting against something metal?? I hope I'm doing something wrong... what would "pop" then make the car have no spark yet still crank over?

One other thing... if I pull the 20amp Engine fuse will that reset the ECU? Reason I ask.. I grabbed the little OBII thing and for some reason 5 of the sensors haven't reset yet... only thing is i didn't reset anything recently. I hope that pop noise wasn't the ECU... ??

help is greatly appreciated....

 

[spyderturbo007]

I haven't started the car in a few weeks. I went to crank it over, went to fire as normal, heard a pop-ish sound, and died - never idled or fired really.

Now it just cranks over and never tries to start - never firing or attempting to start.

-------------------------------------

OK so I pulled the timing belt cover and cranked it over. Belt spins so I guess it's not the starter...

I pulled a plug wire and put a different spark plug into it, cranked the engine over... no spark. Does the plug have to be resting against something metal?? I hope I'm doing something wrong... what would "pop" then make the car have no spark yet still crank over?

One other thing... if I pull the 20amp Engine fuse will that reset the ECU? Reason I ask.. I grabbed the little OBII thing and for some reason 5 of the sensors haven't reset yet... only thing is i didn't reset anything recently. I hope that pop noise wasn't the ECU... ??

help is greatly appreciated....

Yes the plug has to be touching something metal or there will be no ground. Pulling the 20amp Engine fuse will not reset the ECU, only keep it from firing. You can reset the ECU by disconnecting the negative battery cable for 30 seconds or so.

See if you have spark and then post back. Are you getting fuel?

 

[stratt134]

I placed the spark plug tip on the head... no spark. Will it spark if grounded to aluminum?

 

[stratt134]

I just remembered that it made that weird sound when I tried to start it the first time... is there anything mechanical in the motor that drives the spark or anything?

If the ECU is bad, how can I tell besides pulling it apart and checking the board?

Thanks,
Sean

 

[turbosax2]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217951&highlight=diagnose+no+start

 

[stratt134]

Wow thank you so much!!

I figured out I do have spark....

Now to move on to the fuel issues....

I have a quick question thought: if the timing belt did jump a tooth or something, how would I go about finding that out? I have no idea where to find any markings or anything...


Thank you again for that link, it really helped.

 

[stratt134]

OUCH....

Compression test from passenger side to drivers side:

85psi
120psi
50psi
60psi


Timing belt is very tight though... so did it jump a tooth or do you think the head gasket blew?

 

[brandonzero0]

Pull the timing cover off and see if it jumped timing we cant really tell you what we think and be correct. Also chek your oil and coolant see if they mixed some times the oil will be a light milky borwn, check for any blow by around the the block and cylinder head, It is possible that you jumped timing and bent some valves which leads to the valves not seating properly.

 

[stratt134]

Pull the timing cover off and see if it jumped timing

The cover is off... where do I look/how do I tell if it jumped timing?

I checked the alignment of the gears and noticed that the intake side is rotated 1 or 2 teeth more counterclockwise than the the exhaust cam gear's location. It is easy to tell by the notches on the gears, as well as the 4-spoke design on the gears is slightly off.

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What I think is the really really bad news, which I don't exactly understand, is when I did the comp test on the #1 cyl, it was at like 85psi.... then I did the other 3. Came back for a re-test, #1 was at max 50psi... did I bend the valves worse by cranking it over to test the other cylinders?

How hard is it to releive tension on the belt to get the cams re-aligned in an effort to see if it starts or if the valves are bent...

Thanks,
Sean

 

[99GSTChic]

Welcome to the world of bent valves. My timing belt broke the other night, so I know how you feel. You and I have the same engine... 4g63. My compression tests before my valves were bent were 180 up to 187 across the board. Your compression should be much better than 50 or so. Take the head off and get it to a machine shop ASAP and I wouldn't keep trying to start it. Also check the tops of your pistons to make sure they aren't damaged. Good luck!!!

 

[stratt134]

** Update:

When I put tension on the belt, between the 2 cam gears, the belt does have a lot of slack in it, and more importantly, I notice that the gear for the intake side rotates a little... VERY easily... is this a sign of anything else i need to know of?