[RESOLVED] Car Wont Start Just keeps cranking over

[1990talontsi]

so the other day i go out to start my car and it turns over and fires but then dies right away i keep trying to start it and give it gas and if i kept giving it gas off and on it ran then after a little while of doing that it idled fine so i went out and drove it all day and it started fine all day.
the next day i didnt drive it at all and this morning i go out to start it and it just keeps cranking over but not firing
im posting this to see if anyone has an idea on what it is
the ecu is rebuilt by motoguys garage so i dont think its that
any ideas will be appreciated thanks Guys.

 

[92rsAWD4me]

ok ill probably check that tomorrow after work and see what I see.. also do i have to ground the plug when I pull it to see spark? i wasnt doing that.... i know i am super noob at this stuff. There was an extra EFI relay thing in the milk crate of random parts that was in the back of the car when I bought.. should i assume that they changed it to a good one or should i check that just to eliminate it as a problem?

 

[soulweaver]

what you need to do is put a screw driver in the plug and then take another screw driver and touch it to the body and then tap the screw drivers together to see if they spark. PUT ON SOME RUBBER GLOVES OR YOU WILL BE SHOCKED

I really think it's your ECU. You should check that.

 

[92rsAWD4me]

ok so im guessing there is a thread on here somewhere outlining how to check the ecu right? thanks for all of your help.

 

[soulweaver]

look up i explained what to look for for your ecu. It's in post #16

 

[92rsAWD4me]

Ok well im done with finals and am out of school for a little while so all I have is work and .then an x-mas vacation so i will try to pull the ecu out in the next few days and check that, i sprayed started fluid into the intake pipe and not even a hiccup so I don't think it is a fuel issue anymore probably something in the electronics. From what you guys have told me and what I have read I'm guessing it is going to be the ECU. That would explain a lot of the problems and with the complete lack of caring and overall ignorance or the guy i got it from I wouldn't be surprised if it was from a different car somehow.. I will let you guys know how it turns out.

 

[soulweaver]

I hope it's not your ecu. new ther around 300 but the nice thing is there is a core charge so you will get some of your money back.

 

[92rsAWD4me]

I saw on ebay (start sighing here) that they had re manufactured ecu for like 200 with core charge.. should i trust this or if it turns out that it is the ecu should I just buy a brand new one? would I go to a dodge dealer since its a laser or should I go to mitsu dealer and just tell them 92 gsx 5 speed?

 

[soulweaver]

I would buy one from a parts store. I bought mine from Advanced auto parts. I get a discount there caz i spent so much there. I got mine for 150. But they retail for $298.00. I would suggest checking it before replacing it. Your car isnt' the same as mine so your is probably more expensive since it's AWD.

 

[1_2befast]

First of all you can just directly ground the spark plug to anything under the hood that is grounded. As far as an ECU goes, I would just buy a used one off of here for $60-100. It doesn't look like you are needing an EPROM ECU, so it should be cheap and easy to find.

 

[soulweaver]

You gotta remember. 90% of the ecu's in the 1g's burn up. You need to get a new one and not a junk yard or a part out one. If you get a rebuilt one then thats ok caz the ones you get from the parts store are rebuilt any way.

 

[1_2befast]

You gotta remember. 90% of the ecu's in the 1g's burn up. You need to get a new one and not a junk yard or a part out one. If you get a rebuilt one then thats ok caz the ones you get from the parts store are rebuilt any way.

If this is due to the caps, that is an easy check. Also you can get the caps replaced very inexpensively if there is no damage to the board yet. I'm just trying to help the guy save some money.

 

[soulweaver]

yea the capacitors leak into the caps is what i think the guy told me. But the problem is he will still spend 200 on a fixed ecu he might as well get a new one.

 

[e85_4g63]

Any update on this?

 

[habitatguy187]

If you do get a new ECU have someone change the caps or it will just leak again down the road. Might as well buy a rebuilt one off here.

 

[e85_4g63]

Did you end up checking your coil pack before assuming it's the ECU? I have a spare 91 to 94 non eprom ecu that I'd sell cheap if you need one (It's been recapped and cleaned by MotoGuys). I'd check the coil pack first though. It's a simple task with a volt meter.

 

[habitatguy187]

Did you end up checking your coil pack before assuming it's the ECU? I have a spare 91 to 94 non eprom ecu that I'd sell cheap if you need one (It's been recapped and cleaned by MotoGuys). I'd check the coil pack first though. It's a simple task with a volt meter.

Agreed. Definitely check other stuff first, all I was saying is that IF you have to replace the ECU buy one like the guy above me has.

 

[92rsAWD4me]

Thanx guys. I'm at work right now and don't get off until 2pm so about 2 hours or so. When I get home im going to recheck a few things because I am not confident that I did it right the first time. I have also thought of a couple of new things that the guy who sold it to me said and im going to double check to see if his bad wiring came loose on anything.. I will try to post an update later on tonight...

 

[1990talontsi]

no not yet im waiting for the temp sensor from the dealer
i cant find one anywhere but the dealer
and they want 55 bucks so i guess i gotta get it

 

[soulweaver]

Like I told him, check his spark, fuel, and compression. If all of them are ok then check his ecu.

 

[92rsAWD4me]

well sitting here at work thinking about it I have begun to think that I made a super retarded noob mistake while tryin to clean up some of the prevous owners mess... for th fuel pump rewire, there needs to be a pwer cord run from the battery to the pump correct? well it they had a fuel pump kill switch wired in would they also need that power cord to make it work?

 

[92rsAWD4me]

well I fixed it.. at least the not starting part. I decided that instead of going on a wild goose chase and checking everything in sight, I would start by tracing all of the crazy previous owners horrible wiring and either removing or fixing what ever I could.

The first thing I decided to trace was his retarded and unnecessary "kill switch" which he claimed was to prevent theft but it was right next to the shifter in the location of the coin holder and was marked "on" and "off". Wouldn't you know that I found the problem within the first 5 minutes of looking at it.. on of his connections that was going from a 4 gauge wire to what looked kinda like a standard sized harness wire had come loose thus disabling the car.. so I took apart the whole thing (which was literally held together by scotch and duct tape along with some good old crack head ingenuity WTF ) and it fired right up.. I didn't have time to let it warm up and see if his horrible wiring on the ignition system was what was causing the erratic idle or not, I will check that tomorrow as well as try to post a picture or one of his connections for you to all laugh at .

Next step.... figure out how to do a boost leak test and figure out why I hit fuel cut in a stock car at around 3-4k rpm.. Thank you guys for all of your help!