Car died, need help ASAP!

[andrewjscott]

So I'm on my way to work, drive about 30 seconds, and the car dies. Tried cranking it over, it cranks, but will not start. Its like I'm out of gas....but I have a full tank. Am I correct in assuming fuel pump or maybe a fuse? I need help as soon as possible as I have no way to get to work after today.

 

[ddavisaf]

Check for spark and fuel, then run a compression test.

 

[ECLIPSE4x4]

Well if it i the FP you should be able to tell by turning on the key and listening for it to come on.

Have you checked to see if you had spark?

Also, when was the last time the fuel filter was changed?

 

[andrewjscott]

fuel filter is old, i tried putting in a new one about a month ago but for some reason, it kept leaking. I think i was missing an O ring. I'll swap that out when I get home again.

I didn't check for spark as I had to run to work. is there any easy way to do that without electrocuting myself?

Checking for ful I can just pull the fuel line off the rail and see if gas comes out...right?

I ran a compression test about 4 days ago and ran 167 across.

 

[chesp1r1t0]

battery and alternator

 

[andrewjscott]

battery and alternator

Uhh, please read my oiginal post. It cranks fine, its just not getting spark or fuel.

 

[Benag]

This happened to me and it was either the CAS or cam sensor. When it goes out it makes the first injector stop working I believe. If you unplug it (it is on the right side of the engine, with one injector wire running to it) and your car starts then it may be going out. Both my #1&2 injectors stopped working because of it. I'm not sure if it is the same problem as yours but it's what happened to me.

 

[andrewjscott]

well, i got back to my car today. Started it up and it flashed right up....my brother figured something froze, but it didn't get below freezing (but came close) Any ideas what went wrong?

 

[ddavisaf]

Highly doubtful.
I live in ND, and my car has hit -60°F without problems.

To check for spark simply ground your #1 plug and watch for sparks.

To check for fuel you can crack open a fuel line into a container and crank it over.
Just make sure your motor is nice a cool first.

 

[andrewjscott]

well, I drove to work fine, but then as I left the parking lot. It happened again. I had a little more time and I do get fuel (pulled the return line and it puked out as I cranked).

So its spark, right? Now how do I check for spark? Just ground a plug wire? And what could it be? Coil or Ignition Power transistor? and how do I test those?

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

Heres's a quick way to identify the area. I have posted this before.

Take some carburetor spray and spray into the intake while cranking. If it tries to start then it's a fuel related problem. If it does not, it's spark related. Fuel can be fuel pump, fuel filter or injector drive circuit. If it comes and goes you can rule out timing belt. When they go you are done. I have had a few that did not bend valves, but damn few. Now, from what I read you have pressure so you can probably rule out fuel pump. Do the carb spray test. This way you won't get electrocuted ;o) Post your findings and we'll go from there.

 

[andrewjscott]

this may be a stupid question, but where should I spray the carb spay into the intake? at the throttle body?

BTW, the car hasn't thrown a CEL....which makes things a lot harder.

 

[oldman]

Three things you need to start the car, fuel, spark and compression. You have fuel and compression so let's focus on confirming you're lacking spark.

1. Pull one wire at a time but not the plug.

2. Attach a spare plug to the wire, hold the wire/plug about 1/2 inch from the intake manifold with a rubber handle plier.

3. Have a friend crank the car while you make sure there is good strong spark.

4. Repeat for all cylinders.

Post back results.

 

[andrewjscott]

Ok, perfect I'll do that tomorrow...assuming I can get the car back home. thanks.

 

[damascus]

So I'm on my way to work, drive about 30 seconds, and the car dies. Tried cranking it over, it cranks, but will not start. Its like I'm out of gas....but I have a full tank. Am I correct in assuming fuel pump or maybe a fuse? I need help as soon as possible as I have no way to get to work after today.

same with mine. Someone said the CAS since it would be stupid to have 2 names for the ECU I'm guessing it's the coils.

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

this may be a stupid question, but where should I spray the carb spay into the intake? at the throttle body?

BTW, the car hasn't thrown a CEL....which makes things a lot harder.

You can loosen a clamp, crack open one of the hoses on the intake side so you can slip the tip of a carb spray can into it. You are merely replacing a fuel charge. This is to isolate if spark is good or not. If engine tries to run then your spark and other things are good. If it doesn't run then spark is bad or possible timing belt way off. If it runs then fuel is not being delivered to the cylinders. Possible fuel pump, filter, injector drive circuit. It's just a quick way to help isolate area of malfunction. One last thing. I have seen completely stopped up cat converters. If you suspect this, remove the o2 sensor and crank over. If it tries to start then, well you get the idea. Good luck

 

[andrewjscott]

Three things you need to start the car, fuel, spark and compression. You have fuel and compression so let's focus on confirming you're lacking spark.

1. Pull one wire at a time but not the plug.

2. Attach a spare plug to the wire, hold the wire/plug about 1/2 inch from the intake manifold with a rubber handle plier.

3. Have a friend crank the car while you make sure there is good strong spark.

4. Repeat for all cylinders.

Post back results.

No spark. I ran ECU codes and came up with constant approx. 10.9 volts......dead ECU right??? well I pulled it apart and saw this (the camera is crappy, i know

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it looks like a small burn.

Well I swapped the ECU with a new one....still didn't fix the issue. what the hell is going on

 

[ndm1]

Have you checked the coil pack?

 

[eclipsh]

If you threw in a new ECU and you still aren't getting spark check your ground wires then test:

1. coil pack
2. power transistor
3. resistance on the spark plug wires

It sounds like you could have a loose ground wire that is just making contact part of the time. Any bump or jerk could be causing it to lose contact and then moving the car and trying to restart it would make contact again. Just a cheap, easy thing to check.

 

[andrewjscott]

Why can't I pull a code. I followed VFAQ, and all i can get is 10.9V . Shouldn't I be somewhere in the 5V range and pulsing?? Its not pulsing at all, but an ECU swap didn't fix the issue.

 

[steve]

In your picture it's clear that the ECU has original caps and at least the one for the 5v rail is leaking.
The output from pin 1 on the DLC is battery voltage and pulses from 0 to battery voltage normally. A constant output indicates the ECU has power but isn't running. Since you getting 10.9v you might want to make sure your measuring the right pins and check your battery voltage.

Steve

 

[andrewjscott]

yes, the ECU caps are original, i'm swapping them out as soon as the new caps arrive. I double checked the pin diagram and I am doing it right. There is no pulsing from the ECU, but even after an ECU swap, it would not start. Perhaps the "new" computer I bought was bad aswell??? I just went outside and fiddled around with the coil pack (trying to test it in car is a bi***...but I started it and it flashed up for a few seconds, and then I heard a buzzing sound, and it died.

Edit: Just went out and flashed the car up again, seems to be running smooth....but for how long. How to I isolate the problem? BTW ran codes and now it seems to be functioning fine. (pulsing - normal state)

 

[Benag]

This sounds close to what happened to me. I wasn't getting a signal from the ecu for #1 and 2 injectors. Shop said it was the ecu so I replaced it and same thing. The cam angle sensor I believe, or the cas... sends a signal to the injector #1 to time everything. If this goes bad then the injector won't get a signal and pulse. If it happens again pull the plug for this and see if it will start. It is located to the right of the timing belt cover and has a wire running to the injectors, shouldn't be hard to find. If it is unplugged the injector will work regardless. Again, this is just what happened to me. (Oh yea and when I got it replaced my timing was off by three notches too.. not sure how that happened.)

 

[andrewjscott]

well, my injectors seem to pulse fine, after trying to start it, i pulled the plugs and they were wet with fuel. But i've been trying all morning, taking it for drives, multiple starts, hot starts, cold starts everything and the issue seems to have disappeared once again....problem with the car running again, is all never figure out what it was until it comes back.