Car Died while driving. Just towed, now on the forum on a Friday night.

[CheaCheaBoy]

I was driving fine on the highway doing about 70mph. Then in an instant, I stepped on the gas pedal, but got no reaction. Luckily i was able to use the car's momentum to pull over at an exit. As it happened, I downshifted to see if it would help, but it still died slowly. I put in gas and tried to start it. It would crank, but wouldn't start. I don't have time to check it yet(too dark and tired from waiting for the tow truck guy. The guy called my car a POS and referring it to Civic's with fartcans. Then called me an idiot for not watching where I stood because some car might swipe me. Just a bad day for me overall.), I just want to know if this is a serious problem. People are saying it's my fuel pump, but how do I check it?

Thank You
And I hope none of you guys ever have to go through this on a Friday night.
Andrew

 

[rayrayx411]

check the intercooler piping. sounds like what happened to me when my pipes got disconnected. if not id check your fuel pump.

 

[BlueTurboSpyder]

I know it was dark but did you notice a lot of smoke behind the car. If you blew an intercooler pipe you would have those same symptoms with black smoke coming from the exhaust. Check the easiest things first such as fuses and intercooler pipes that came apart. Then, work your way to more serious problem such as the fuel pump. Honestly, if you turn the key to the one position you should be able to hear the fuel pump if you listen carefully. If you cant hear it, pop your hood with the key in the on position and see if you can feel the fuel flow through the line coming out of your fpr at the end of your fuel rail. Good luck.

 

[DSMcrazy3]

Man, it can be a number of things honestly. Did you notice any weird symptoms before it died? Was the car at normal operating temperature? It could be a sensor, could be timing, could be the fuel pump etc.. First things first, make sure you're getting fuel and spark.

As for the tow truck driver, one thing I've learned over the years is that the majority of them don't really care about their customers, or other civilians on the road. *Not to say all are like that* but clearly the one you dealt with is one of them, and you shouldn't let someone like him get to you. He's obviously brilliant.

 

[CheaCheaBoy]

I know it was dark but did you notice a lot of smoke behind the car. If you blew an intercooler pipe you would have those same symptoms with black smoke coming from the exhaust. Check the easiest things first such as fuses and intercooler pipes that came apart. Then, work your way to more serious problem such as the fuel pump. Honestly, if you turn the key to the one position you should be able to hear the fuel pump if you listen carefully. If you cant hear it, pop your hood with the key in the on position and see if you can feel the fuel flow through the line coming out of your fpr at the end of your fuel rail. Good luck.

I know its not an intercooler pipe because I run into that problem constantly. I checked all the visible fuse, not those big black ones in the engine bay. I'll do this with a voltmeter tomorrow. So if you have it turned to 1, the fuel will be constantly flowing? What is the sound of the fuel pump?

 

[MilitaryTalon]

Any sound coming from the fuel pump is a plus as long as it is not screaming at you. You can just pull the line off your FPR and try to start the car, if there is a puddle on the ground your fuel pump is working. Then check your fuses. I had a similar problem and it was the power transistor. I would check fuel and spark first as mentioned above then start trying to run down an electrical problem. Good luck

 

[my dreamt dsm]

Did you ever think that it was a belt? Chain or something, I forgot what they call it. Last time I was driving on the freeway @65 mph car just died... try starting it to see if it catch but didn't... push start and didn't... came out to be the belt... damn, i forgot what you call it!

 

[rock1t]

Oh, the gorgeous friday nights heading home on a tow truck. we have all been there dude. Just some of our tow truck drivers like mine, stopped by the liquor store for me so I would have an easier night. Which worked out well until I woke up in the morning with a broken talon.

Wish you luck.

 

[CheaCheaBoy]

Man, it can be a number of things honestly. Did you notice any weird symptoms before it died? Was the car at normal operating temperature? It could be a sensor, could be timing, could be the fuel pump etc.. First things first, make sure you're getting fuel and spark.

As for the tow truck driver, one thing I've learned over the years is that the majority of them don't really care about their customers, or other civilians on the road. *Not to say all are like that* but clearly the one you dealt with is one of them, and you shouldn't let someone like him get to you. He's obviously brilliant.

Your right about the tow truck guy, but it just made your night even worse. Because you can't defend your car because the A-hole is towing it. Yeah, he wasn't the smartest guy I met .

 

[CheaCheaBoy]

Oh, the gorgeous friday nights heading home on a tow truck. we have all been there dude. Just some of our tow truck drivers like mine, stopped by the liquor store for me so I would have an easier night. Which worked out well until I woke up in the morning with a broken talon.

Wish you luck.

Haha. The first time mines was towed, the tow truck driver actually let me drink in his car. This time I had no money to do anything. I actually signed up for AAA with no money in my Bank of America account. Probably going to be -$100. Tow was $75. Waking up to my broken car in the driveway PRICELESS! Now I'm going to check out my car. Thanks guys for the online moral support, if you guys weren't there, I might have signed up for match.com.

 

[98DropTop]

Mine died as I was pulling into my buddies driveway last summer.... Turned out being the CAS. Just a thought.

 

[CheaCheaBoy]

So i replaced the fuel pump. Now gas is flowing from the walbro 255. My dad actually did it, when I was sleeping. He did not rewire it though. (anyone can post a diagram so I can do it later). I do have a FPR (B&M), but i have to cut my old one and install this one. Should I risk it?

 

[greenydsm]

why do you have to cut it? fpr's attach onto the end of the fuel rail. with a fuel rail fitting, an fitting with a barb or pushlock fitting. then to your Fpr on the firewall or where ever you have it.

 

[CheaCheaBoy]

why do you have to cut it? fpr's attach onto the end of the fuel rail. with a fuel rail fitting, an fitting with a barb or pushlock fitting. then to your Fpr on the firewall or where ever you have it.

It's the B&M CommandFlo Fuel Pressure Modifier. Just read a thread on it and it has a bad review. I guess you can't lower your settings after you modifiy it.

Also, do you guys think that my timing jumped?
Also we tried checking if there was any spark going through the spark plug,
and there was none.

 

[DSMunknown]

Drew, just give me a call tomorrow.

 

[killer_eclipse]

the first thing i would do is check for fuel and spark you said there is no spark if thats the case it woul;d more then likely be the cas (crank angle sensor) i have had the same issue on 4 out of the 7 eclipse's ive had

 

[ratatack]

believe it or not this happened to me last week and it was my altinator put a brand new one in it.

 

[CheaCheaBoy]

believe it or not this happened to me last week and it was my altinator put a brand new one in it.

When your car died? Did the RPM just shot down to 0. Then when you stepped on the gas pedal there was no reaction. We checked so many sensors and found nothing. I'm about to bring it to the shop, if no one knows.

 

[zhjiln]

mas/maf is loose ?

and maybe bad crank angle sensor

 

[CheaCheaBoy]

mas/maf is loose ?

and maybe bad crank angle sensor

I will check it tomorrow.

When people say the CAS. Are they referring to the sensor where you take one bolt out and the black piece comes off? Or is it the whole piece in this picture?

http://members.shaw.ca/dsm.1000q/Engineprimer/2G/cas.htm

 

[My1GLaser]

Have you check the timing belt yet? Pull the top cover and look at the belt when you turn it over by hand. Do the timing marks line up? Thats the first thing I check on an interference motor that just cuts off...more for peace of mind since it might be fine.

 

[CheaCheaBoy]

Have you check the timing belt yet? Pull the top cover and look at the belt when you turn it over by hand. Do the timing marks line up? Thats the first thing I check on an interference motor that just cuts off...more for peace of mind since it might be fine.

yeah that was the second thing I checked. I thought the timing belt ripped, but its fine for now. When the engine cranks, you can see it rotate. The main problem is that I don't get spark. I did the spark plug test.

 

[My1GLaser]

The main problem is that I don't get spark. I did the spark plug test.

Just curious how you did the spark plug test. Did you leave a plug in the wire and turn it over and see no spark? You have to have the plug grounded for it to fire. I kind of missed that piece of info my first time doing a spark plug test. Not that you did, but sometimes the obvious gets overlooked during a frustrating troubleshooting.

Sometimes its easier to just put a screwdriver in the plug wire and hold it near something and watch the spark jump. Unless of course you have a non-insulated screwdriver. Then it shocks the f_ck out of you.

 

[CheaCheaBoy]

Just curious how you did the spark plug test. Did you leave a plug in the wire and turn it over and see no spark? You have to have the plug grounded for it to fire. I kind of missed that piece of info my first time doing a spark plug test. Not that you did, but sometimes the obvious gets overlooked during a frustrating troubleshooting.

Sometimes its easier to just put a screwdriver in the plug wire and hold it near something and watch the spark jump. Unless of course you have a non-insulated screwdriver. Then it shocks the f_ck out of you.

Yes I did, that is the only spark plug test I know about.

 

[CheaCheaBoy]

I got the car towed to a shop. The guys said it was a CAM sensors. Not the one that is located left of the valve cover, but there is one located within the timing belt section.