Starting issues - No / Doesn't / Won't Start - MERGED

[prodsm]

All "my car won't start" discussion threads are merged HERE. We've basically made it easier for those who insist upon not searching by grouping together all threads from those with similar issues so you can just scroll through and see some possible solutions. To search for info within this thread, use the "Search This Thread" feature in the black bar about 3" above what you're reading right now.

Could be anything from a loose battery terminal to internal engine damage, and literally everything in between which may involve the electrical, fuel, and ignition system...possibly even something that you screwed up while working on the car yourself. While it's unlikely we're going to diagnose and solve your problem over the internet, feel free to discuss any possible solutions.



I live in Canada and right now its not very warm out, about -30c
my car does not have a block heater too keep it warm.

I tryed to start my car this morning and it wouldent start, ive had this problem before but this time, the car doesnt crank at all it just makes a sound that sounds like an electric drill.

Whats wrong.

Thanks

 

[Alxandr]

check your F.A.C.T.S.
Fuel
Air
Compression
Timing
Spark

Sorry i cant be more help. but we need to know if you have all of these. it will help other ppl on the forum who want to help you also

 

[twisted954]

This is true...also, how did you go about wiring your crank position sensor? You mention that you hooked up your CAS, but you need some kind of crank position sensor signal

 

[2g4me]

Yes, F.A.C.T.S would be a good start point, if theres an issue, you'll find it....keep us posted

 

[allenb28]

Have you checked your crank position sensor?

 

[ChiTownHussla]

To be honest bro find a way to diagnose the problem. Dont throw away your time and money. Spend 100 bucks to find the exact problem and fix it. You have spent hundreds of dollars to no avail. dont be a Senior Parts Replacer. Be a Mechanic @!!!!

 

[Iyaoyas]

If you dont allready have one i would pick up a scan tool but make sure it has live data streaming (they are about 200 at parts store) that way you can check to see if your crank senser is bad, plus it is good to have one handy incase you do pop a code. you can also check to see if your coil pack is working and the voltage that is going to your injectors.

 

[ChiTownHussla]

If you dont allready have one i would pick up a scan tool but make sure it has live data streaming (they are about 200 at parts store) that way you can check to see if your crank senser is bad, plus it is good to have one handy incase you do pop a code. you can also check to see if your coil pack is working and the voltage that is going to your injectors.

He has a 1g which cant use ob2 scanners that are bought at auto stores. He needs special logging palm to do this.

 

[Talondvr]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-miscellaneous/217951-how-diagnose-no-start.html

^^might give some ideas.

 

[gst98Tfast]

Not all the time but when i do not drive for a long period of time like a day or so when i start the engine it almost sounds like a loud turbo with more air coming out noise to describe it. Any ideas to what it could be or to check?

 

[black3gks]

have you checked your vacuum lines or intake? also, could you maybe take a video of the sound? that would help out a lot

 

[gst98Tfast]

alright ill try to capture it and put it on here

 

[evo8sty]

Ok so my clutch went a couple weeks back so my car sat for about a month. I put the clutch in a PTT to be specific. Well every thing is bolted up and now she won't start. She cranks over but nothing. The fuel injectors do not click and there is no spark, and the main relay clicks now when turning it over. I don't know where to even start.

 

[92AWDHX40]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-miscellaneous/217951-how-diagnose-no-start.html

 

[razon35]

maybe the person who installed it accidently ### a wire or something check all your wires make sure they r all attached

 

[Nosroxs]

make sure the crank position sensor is plugged in tight and to the right plug in , the crank position sensor and the A/C plug look the same make sure those are fine i had the same problem besides having to change the clutch, but no spark and fuel injectors not opening sounds like the cps to me. id also check the 20 amp engine fuse in the fuse panel under the hood.

 

[Don Lang]

If your battery has a bad cell it will not read over 12 volts. it will read 1.5 volts low even fully charged.
Always cheak basics like posts, clamps, ground connections. Never disconnect your battery with the car running, you could fry your Alt. and ECU. Unless your car is really old and runs a generator!
Use a volt meter to test voltage. cheapo ones are less than 10 bucks look at Napa. You can tell if your charging by looking at your head lights turn them on, see how bright they are, then start the car, are they brighter? then your charging. Hope this helps.

 

[taubrygsx99]

Okay, i have a 1999 Eclipse GSX. i have been reading and researching the forums for over a week now and cannot find an answer that works for me so i am finally posting my own thread.

Last weekend i was re-routing my turbo timer from the top of the steering wheel to below the radio. For the first time in my life i forgot to disconnect the negative battery terminal. i was cutting the green wire on my turbo timer which taps into the ignition switch, the blue double brown wire which taps into accessory at the ignition switch, and i may have also caught the wire for the parking brake.

Anyway, as i snipped the green wire, everything shut off for a moment and then came back on. i was well aware that i must have blown a fuse but thought nothing of it at the time ( it was about 11pm and all the electronics seemed to be fine after a brief check). I then disconnected the battery and finished up. i went out to go to work the next morning and the car would crank, but not turn over. i can move the car if i try to start it with it in gear so that starter is clearly engaging the flywheel as it should.

my friend who also owns a 2g GSX came over and tested the starter relay. the wires going to the relay are good, and the relay itself is good but he says the relay doesn't click and therefore something between where the wire starts and where it meets the relay is the problem, thus preventing the relay itself from receiving power.

Alternator is good, battery is good. connections all seem to be good. starter relay, ignition switch, fuel pump, asd relay, mfi relay all check out. The 20a engine motor fuse, alternator fuse and ignition switch fuse are also good. i have used a multimeter, i have replaced fuses, relays, ignition switch. i swapped in new batteries.. nothing.

Also, although its probably unrelated, now i have to disconnect the small connector under the cup holder that connects the yellow/blk stripe wire from the bundle going to the ecu to the green/pnk stripe wire that goes to the ebrake ground in order for my turbo timer to shut off when i release the ebrake. this is new.

i tried giving power to the fuel pump but i am missing the test connector in the engine bay, i have no way to push start the car. i feel like i have tried everything. i can't get to the starter. i want to check the solenoid but it starts snowing everytime i go to work on it. any other ideas? i just want this damn car to live again. this is my first eclipse but i previously owned a 3kvr4 and that was equally frustrating. if anyone can help, it would be greatly appreciated

 

[dennis-1009]

I think that everything is okay. I finally got my car to start, but then it backfired. Now I cannot get it to stay running. When I am trying to start the vehicle it just backfires very loudly. I did hook up a pontentiometer to the barometric wire, although it did not help. The vehicle would not start with it. After I unwired it, the vehicle started and then backfired.
Also if anyone knows what color wire the barometric wire is for the e-manage system? I hooked it up to the orange wire. The instructions I read, said it should be an orange and white wire and I did not see that color wire. I only had an orange wire, it was in the right spot on the right plug. Thanks. I really need to get this car started and running before the snow really hits me. Thanks again.

 

[19jdmdsm91]

you can start the car, then pull the battery terminals off. by doing this you can tell if the battery is bad, if the car stalls is your alternator and if it keeps running is your battery. hopa that helps

 

[19jdmdsm91]

you can try to jump the solenoid in the starter? if your bendix is rotating, but not engaging then most likely messed up the starter. where your starter would spin, but not engage. Now if your motor is turning and trying to start youll see movement of the belts. if the belts are moving check your F.A.C.T.S and if they are good id try my buddies ecm. other than that i would have to see the car to make a better diagnosis. hope it helps

 

[PFC_CiarlilloM]

Okay so I completely rewired my negative battery terminal and started her up and she turned over just fine. No hesitation. Drove around everything seemed perfect. She started up multiple times and seemed to be back to normal.

Then the next day, I decided to rewire and reroute my positive terminal and did so. I went to go turn over and she started first time no problems. I went to go turn over the car shortly after (two hours tops) for work and when I turned the car over it was trying to start but couldnt and still tried to start with out the key in so I had to remove the negative terminal to stop it. I am unsure why this is still happening. It didnt however blow the engine fuseable link like it was. I have no idea why this is happening. I replaced the battery, positve and negative cables (also re-routed both), terminal post connectors, new starter, have new spark plugs. I have no idea where to start next. I honestly dont think its my alternator shortening out but I guess it wouldnt hurt to check. Maybe replace that. If that doesnt work then try spark plugs and distributer coil? I just check my spark plug wires. Refer to post;http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/maintenance-repairs/418238-spark-plug-resistance.html#post152772170. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jed344]

Had a buddy have the same issue might have messed up the ecu that was his issue but his wiring was all messed up.

 

[UCF201101]

Once you start the car up, pull the battery out. If the car dies, your alternator is bad. If it eventually dies, your battery is not charging. You might have a bad cell. I would recheck the wiring and make sure those terminals are clean of any debris. One quick sugguestion, when you pull the battery out, have someone holding the positive cable. Tell them to not touch anything....Hope this helps

 

[edged1g]

I am sorry about the long post but I want to give as much detail as possible...

I have a 92 talon 6 bolt that I fully rebuilt/restored. I put the stock turbo, injectors, ECU back in for initial startup and break in. The motor modifications are in my sig.

I started the car after getting everything back in and together and after priming the oil system it started right up. I brought it slowly up to 3 grand and then oscillated the RPMs, but I had a problem once it heated up that the fans weren't kicking on. So I had to kill it and get a new temp switch and relay. I changed the oil and the car sat for a week. I got the fans working and then started it again. I took it for a drive once it warmed up and everything seemed to be running great. Oil pressure was good, temps were good. I was driving it down a road doing "break in pulls" and as soon as I finished my last pull I went to do a u-turn, and the car died. Didn't seem to stumble, but I can't be 100% sure. I tried to start it back up but it was VERY sluggish and didn't sound/feel right. It wasn't even trying to fire. I towed it home. Here's what I have checked, but I am not sure what it could be.

Oil level looked fine and perfectly clean
Coolant level was fine
No other leaks I could see, no fluid under the car
Pulled the plugs out, they looked good and cylinders looked ok
Put a bar in the crank and turned it by hand, doesn't seem any harder than before
Brand new optima battery and 90A Mitsubishi alternator
Battery is relocated to trunk
Starter is not new

Please help. Could the starter have died after working just fine? How can I tell if there is major engine damage?

 

[amballer82822]

My battery charger charged the battery to 12 volts and it held the charge when the car wasnt being cranked. When I cranked the car it would'nt start. Re hooked up battery charger and it read a bad cell but still held up to 12 volts untill there was a load on it. New batteries in and were up and running again, alternators good. thanks guys