[RESOLVED] car won't start. tried EVERYTHING (i think)

[akira235]

new ETS
in time
cas works
getting spark
getting fuel

i'm desperate here, if theres anyone willing to come help I'll pay any reasonable amount of money to have this car running.

 

[eeeewidner]

Did you do a compression check? It should be above 129psi. What about any major intake leaks? Check your coolant temp sensor. If it goes bad then your ecm will flood the engine. etc etc. need more information....

 

[cbr600teardrop]

check coolant temp censer and maf try unplugging them one at a time most ecus return to a safe mod when it cant read a censer it may or may not help but if there bad they could keep it from starting does it turn over good

 

[akira235]

ETS is the coolant sensor, just bought a new battery today and tried cranking it over, every once in a while it would sound like it wanted to start, it actually fired but then it just went back to cranking. is there any way to do a compression test and a boost leak test without any specialty tools or a compressor?

 

[IEdroStarI]

stupid question but do you have gas in the car???? what exactly is the car doing? i doubt a boost leak will keep your car from starting unless you completely have something disconnected

 

[snowborder714]

I'm not sure what you mean by "ETS is the coolant sensor." You need to make sure the coolant sensor in the thermostat housing is plugged in.

 

[->PrOjEcTGS<-]

I'm not sure what you mean by "ETS is the coolant sensor."

Probably meant it as "Electronic Temperature Sensor" but should be CTS for "Coolant Temperature Sensor"

DSMlink is in his wishlist.

Well, you need three things for the engine to run Fuel, Spark, Air. You already said you have both spark and fuel. So, do a compression test to see if you have air.

Did this problem just recently arise?
Is your firing order correct? (did you move the plug wires around?)

Simply we need more info.

Who last drove the car?
When did the problem start?
What is the last thing you did to the car?

Please describe for us the whole situation.

 

[IEdroStarI]

i agree with project 100%...more info needed...

 

[poonman]

i think the most easy way to figure out whats going on is to get a code reader and tell us what codes your getting, ( im pretty sure you have a check engine light on)

 

[akira235]

meant it as Engine Temp Sensor, just used to it being called that, sorry for any confusion.

it was last driven I'd say around a year ago, by a complete moron, who took the engine/trans out and threw ALL the bolts all over his garage floor. I've spent the last 9 months of my life hunting parts and putting the car together.

firing order is correct, checked it about 10 times.

there's not a whole lot more information I have right now, going to do a compression check tomorrow if I can, and will update when I have. In the mean time, the car is at someones shop across town, are there any other things i should do while i'm over there? as far as tests, information, things of that nature

 

[akira235]

shockingly, with the key in the ON position the check engine light comes on for a second and goes back off.

 

[blackrosenova40]

Try this, if your temp sensor is bad and is flooding it, unplug your fuel pump, get in the car and start cranking with WOT. If it fires after a little bit of cranking you flooded it.

 

[poonman]

ok so this sounds super simple but you may have just blew your auto shut down relay.

 

[akira235]

i blew what? I don't think i've ever heard of that before...

 

[poonman]

you should have an Auto shut down relay on your firewall under the hood mine is on drivers side above clutch fluid container. not sure of location on turbo. but the only two things that will make it shut down is The ECU or just bad relay. you can pop the relay off of the wire harness and bypass it to check but dont let it run long just incase your ECU is telling it to shut down.. I had the same problem with my car one time when i would drive sometimes my car would just shut down for no reason and i could not start it but the strange thing is i would get gas and spark great compression just would NOT start. i changed the relay it fired right up worked for a month and then the car shut down on me at 70 mph when i was on a bridge and i had to push my car 2 miles to get off the bridge before i got hit. came to find out My ECU was bad. but maybe just simple as bad ASD relay.

 

[poonman]

also some times its called the alarm start relay

 

[gofastforfun]

dang im haveing the same problem i know i have 150 comp across the board. also it idles better and longer with the maf unpluged, cant fibure it out i think im goinv to pull the motor and go through it cus same as him i bought the car not running and have been trying for 4 months to get this thing going

 

[juanpac0]

^ Stop triple posting and get another MAF.

 

[streetillEagle]

Whenever dealing with a car that has been modded/rebuilt or in your case bolts thrown everywhere in someones garage. If all your mechanical parts check out okay (Spark, fuel, compression. and timing) then you have an electrical problem. Now you have a tedious chore of literally going threw every single plug/connector/wire/fuse on the car. It sucks, but unfortunately that's how it goes with a hacked car and an electrical problem.

 

[fran_drivertsi]

is your fuel pump working? Open a gas cap and listen closely for a fuel pump to come on when somebody cranks the motor.

You said you are getting fuel though? Which way did you verify that? Do you have good gas in the tank? After a year of sitting it could be bad or contain other liquids.

Also, I would try different ECU and see if that solves it, but I think its the fuel issue.

 

[1991TurboTalon]

Are your plugs flooded? I had a similar issue when I dropped my new motor in. My wires that go to my CTS were on a bind and broke. I got a new CTS and put some spades on the end of both wires rather than using the stock plug. My starting problem was solved. You may want to inspect your plug.

 

[akira235]

so heres a little bit of new information, the car will run with starter fluid being sprayed into the intake.

I KNOW i have fuel to the rail, I can hear the pump and it came out of the line with the rail disconnected. I'm going to check on the return side to see if maybe the rail is clogged, i doubt it but i can dream right. assuming that the rail is fine, how should i test the injector wires? noid light? also going to do a compression check later today if i can get my hands on a gauge.

 

[akira235]

1-135
2-140
3-145
4-145

not that bad right?

also, tried switching the fpr, nothing

 

[akira235]

new info. its a 91+ harness, dunno if its a 90 ecu, could that be the problem? i know it should still start with the wrong ecu but if its been sitting so long i think it might be a possibility

 

[poonman]

dont forget the obvious of fuel pressure regulator, check your vac hoses and clean your injectors.