Car won't start. Please help.

[Flipz]

Hi,

My Eclipse GS Spyder 96 NT just died on me again. I went bowling and the car ran absolutely fine. I come out of the bowling area, enter the car and try to start it but it does not want to. I thought that the battery has been drained (even though I didn't leave the lights on) but when I called a friend and we tried to jump it, the battery was fine and all electrical components in the interior were working. It does go through the starter with the rrrrrrrrrr sound we usually get when we start it up but that is all. Does anyone have had the same experience or could you hint me on where the problem might be. My friend told me that it could be the carburator and that it does not give fuel mixture to the spark from the plugs and that's why the engine could not start but I do not know if this could be the problem.

Please help me if you know what could be causing the problem.

Thank you in advance,

Svetlin

 

[hystericfox]

Your car is fuel injected, and doesn't have a carbuerator. A carb mixes fuel and air before it goes through the intake manifold. With fuel injection, the air is drawn in, and fuel is injected just before the intake valves. The fuel/air mixture is ignited by the spark plugs, which are the last point in the ignition system. (But you knew that already, I hope.) First check to make sure you are getting fuel and spark. It's probably just not getting either of those two things. First, check all of the fuses. If one is blown, try and figure out why it went (short circuits). Then, check to make sure your fuel pump is working, turn on the key and listen for the pump to pressurize the fuel system. Check the fuel filter, it may be clogged. There are a ton of things, but start with fuel and spark. If neither one is causing the problem, come back and ask. Hope that is helpful.

 

[Flipz]

Hi,

To be honest I didn't know about the fuel injection. I know how the ignition works but I have read it in general online and not specifically for the car and from what we saw yesterday in the car it was something to do with the delivery of fuel to the engine so I thought it could be a carborator which my car obviously do not have. I will check the fuses. Could you please advise me on how to check the spark plugs in the car, do I just take them out or how do I check them? Also could you point me out on where in the car I could locate the fuel filter - is it somewhere under the hood or I need special tools to access it under the car?

Thank you so much for the help.

Regards,

Svetlin

 

[hystericfox]

Fuel filter will be on the fuel send line, not sure if it's under the hood on N/Ts or near the gas tank. No special tools necessary. Take the plugs out to check them.

 

[VerbalKint]

Not sure on the 2G's, but on my 1G NT, its on the firewall, right above and a little to the right of the charcoal canister.

Just follow the fuel line from your fuel rail down. Should go right to the filter.

 

[Flipz]

Does anyone knows any trick to just start it up temporarily to get it to a mechanic or I will have to tow it there? A friend of mine told me to constantly press the gas pedal while having the key in one which will force fuel through the pump and increase the pressure so it could start up. I tried that last night but it didn't work. I will go check in a few hours if I could do something else or I will have to tow it directly to a service (good that the car is in a legal parking otherwise I would have got a ticket so far . Someone mentioned about the MPI replay and blow fuses as possible problems. Do you know where these things are - are they on the right side of the console just under the radio or is it only for the 1G DSMs?

Thank you very much for the help, I really appreciate it.

Regards,

Svetlin

 

[VerbalKint]

Look in the Engine Fusebox.. Should be a fuse labeled MFI (Multiport Fuel Injection) or Engine.

Should be 20Amp.

Check that fuse.

I don't believe the 2G's have the same setup as the 1G's, where the MPI Relay and Fuse are right off of the positive battery terminal.

 

[Flipz]

Hi,

Thanks for the advice. I haven't seen any relay or fuse boxes under the hood except for the big black on by the battery and one under the driver's side under the dash by the ECU. I will check both of them and see if this could fix the problem. I guess if it is just a fuse I could remove it and put the one from the horn which I could do without temporarity until the car starts. But if the relay is bad is it possible to change it on place - should I stop at Autozone and get one before I go to the car or I will need a specific Eclipse one for that?

Thanks,

Svetlin

 

[oldman]

I'm not trying to put you down but from the follow up questions you have asked, I really don't think you have the tools and know how for this. It's best that you call the tow truck, every dsmer should invest in AAA. If you want to prove me wrong then this is what you need to do,

1. Check for fuel: pull the fuel return line off the rail (driver side), crank the car and see if fuel shoots out of the rail.

2. Check for sparkull one plug wire at a time and attach a spare plug to it, hold it with plier with rubber handle close to the intake manifold, have some one crank it and see if you see spark.

This is probably what a mechanic would do if you would to tow the car to them. If you feel you're up to this, come back and tell us what you find. Good luck.

 

[Flipz]

Hi,

Actually you are so right, I am a total beginner in all this but I just wanted to learn by experience. I tried most of the things - the ones that I could handle without tools but it didn't work so I towed it with AAA to a mechanic. The problem is that there is no spark coming out. They are still trying to figure what the problem could be, OBDII didn't return any error codes, wires are ok, plugs are ok. I guess I will check on thread about no sparks in the forum to see if it would help these guys because they tried for an hour and couldn't figure out what is wrong with the car

Thanks for the help.

Svetlin

 

[oldman]

You're welcome. I don't know that much about the 420a but on a 1g 4g63 they should check the coil packs, cas and the ECU next.

 

[realhp=turbo]

Does the motor actually turn over when you turn the key or does it just make a noise and there's no movement. Im not talking about actually firing up when I say turn over I just mean the starter spinning. If not then I would be apt to suggest the starter is the cuprit. They do have a tendancy to just die with no precursers to their failure.
mike

 

[Flipz]

Hi,

Yes, the engine turns over and when they remove one of the spark plugs and we look inside the engine, the pistons or whatever is visible there are moving, it is just that there is no sparks. I was advised to check ignition coils and cam sensors. I left the cars with the mechanics, I hope they figure it out because they were scratching their heads yesterday for almost an hour and couldn't figure what the problem was, OBDII does not return any error codes - does this eliminate the cam sensor?

Thanks,

Svetlin

 

[Flipz]

They found the problem - it is the distributer. They asked for $280 for a new one, do you think this is a good price for that component?

Thanks,

Svetlin

 

[ChicksDigBoost]

I pretty sure the 420A engine does not have a distributer! I've worked on a 97 and it had coilpacks. These mechanics don't seem very smart. If there using a scanner have them look at the rpm when cranking the motor. If it reads 0 you need a new CAS or the wire to the ECU is open. If its okay check the coil pack. I know for a fact that car should have a code for a bad ignition coil if its not working.

I would do a little investigation!

 

[Flipz]

Hi,

My engine is not the 2.0L most Eclipses have. I have a Eclipse GS Spyder which is with 2.4L 4G64 engine. Maybe this is the difference. I was advised on checking the coil packs as well but these guys told me it is the distributer. I really have no idea what it could be but I hope they make it work. After all this distributer or whatever it is costs 280 bucks

Regards,

Svetlin

 

[realhp=turbo]

I have a feeling they were trying to simplify for you. Yes technicaly the coil pack distrbutes the charge for the spark plug but it is still called a coil pack because it does not have the customary cap and rotor.
mike

 

[Flipz]

Hi,

But do you think that whether being coil packs or distributer the price for it - 280 is fair, I couldn't find it on eBay so I do not know how much does this part usually cost but I think it is a bit too much, I might be wrong, has anyone changed that and knows exactly how much it costs?

Thanks,

Svetlin

 

[hystericfox]

Considering a front o2 sensor for mine was $140 from the stealership, that sounds about accurate. Parts for these things are expensive, you'll have to get used to it. I'm just curious, but wouldn't the ECU only be able to throw a code while the engine is running and able to go through its diagnostics?

 

[Flipz]

Hi,

Actually $140 you paid was a bit too high. Ironically, I had to change my front O2 sensor with a stock one here in California and the cost was $75 plus $40 for labor. In Autozone the sensor from Bosch is 80 bucks. Prices fluctuate so much that one could always get it cheaper but the problem is that without the coil packs or that distributer the car won't run and I had to tow it to a service so I had no choice but go with their price even if it has been 400 bucks

Thanks for all your help.

Regards,

Svetlin

 

[realhp=turbo]

So u got it fixed then?

 

[Flipz]

Actually not. The part still hasn't arrived at the service. We ordered it on Friday but it seems to be a rare one and they have to import it so it should be here tomorrow and I will get the car up and running.

 

[realhp=turbo]

Aint that a bi***.