Spark, Fuel, Compression. Still will not start.

[brittcoulson]

Hello

I own a 98 Eclipse GST. I have been searching around for weeks on these forums, and I still cant figure out my problem, so mabe you can help me.

My car will turn over, but not start. I can hear the fuel pump working, the cylinders have compression and spark, but it doesnt even sound like it trying to go.

Also, the starter is engaging and spinning the whole motor.

Any ideas I can try?

Thanks alot, and I love these forums.

Britt Coulson.

 

[Livid]

Can you tell us a few of the things you've checked or tried? There are a number of possible problems. Anything from the battery to the timing belt.

 

[brittcoulson]

Hello

We have checked the spark, compression, fuel, timing. All of those things appear to be good.

Britt

 

[missouri_dsm]

you said you can hear the fuel pump working but that doesnt mean fuel is getting to the injectors or the injectors are working. check to see if injectors are working

 

[brittcoulson]

We checked the fuel at the rail, and it was there, and we put brand new, re-gapped spark plugs in, and they have fuel on them. So the injectors are working.

 

[loweperf]

I hate to disappoint, but if you have spark,fuel,and compression in the cylinder it will run. Seriously it don't sound like your checking injector firing. Also if the plugs are wet I would check fuel pressure. It has to atomizes or it will just wet down the plugs.

 

[brittcoulson]

The spark plugs were not wet, but they smelt of fuel. We checked the fuel at the drivers side of the rail after the FPR and that was good. The spark is strong for each cylinder. What else would you try?

Thanks, Britt

 

[94Jettameowpsst]

are you 100 percent you have good compression in all your cylinders? My friends car has the exact same symptoms.....long story short, its out of time.

 

[ddavisaf]

What are your compression numbers?
How did you test for spark?

 

[brittcoulson]

I will get the exact compression test results tommoro. I cant find the paper. We checked the spark by a test light/spark plug test light, then we held the plugs out, and held them by the valve cover, and the spark was arcing a good distance. That seems to be alright. I have worked around motors quite a bit, and the engine just spins, with no sound of even trying to coem to life. My pocketlogger is late in coming, and will be here on Monday. Hopefully this will be able to help me find out whats wrong.

Britt

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

Did you check the injectors to see if they are actually pulsing? Use a test light and check for 12 volts at the injectors koeo. If you have that, then put the test light ground clamp on the positive cable and crank the engine. If it flickers then the pcm is at least trying to fire the injectors. If you have a flickering test light, take a long screwdriver or in some cases a mechanics stethescope and listen to the injectors while cranking. If they have a sharp metallic click then they are working. If not, well, there you are. Now, if no flicker and no click, you have a potential pcm drive circuit problem. If everything else is there, fuel, compression, and spark at the right time, this is the only thing left. Remember, a fuel pump that is running does not guarantee fuel is getting into the cylinders. The last thing the fuel goes through is the injectors which is pcm controlled.

Good Luck

 

[ForceFedRed]

How old is the fuel. If everything else checks out bad fuel could be the culprit.

Hope this helps

JRM

 

[ivanr4g63]

So... how did this problem started? all of a sudden? or did this started after something you installed? was this same motor runnig before, or is this motor new in your car?

Have you checked your timing marks to be perfectly aligned?
You mentioned you have mechanical knowledge, so im assuming you did this.

Seriously it don't sound like your checking injector firing.

Did you do this?

Firing order is 4-1-2-3, do you have it right?

 

[brittcoulson]

Hey

The fuel is good, drained it and put new stuff in. The timing marks align perfectly, that was the first thing I checked. The fireing order is correct. I bought this car from Washington insurence company, because the car was broken into.

I checked the injector wiring plug with the test light, and it was always on. Was I looking at the wrong thing or is something wrong?

Tommoro I will be able to read the ECU codes with my datalogger, so that should give me some insight.

Britt

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

Yes, you checked the 12 volts on the harness. That's only half of it. Put your test light on the positive cable of the battery, probe the other side of the injector harness and have someone crank the engine over. Does your test light flash or flicker?

 

[brittcoulson]

I did that, and all the lights pulse when the motor turns over. I checked tyhe plugs again, the one closest to the passenger's side is pretty black, all the other ones are good, and smell a lil like fuel. On the black wireloom going along the firewall almost raight behind the throttle body there are 2 plugs sticking out, small ones with nothing plugged into them. Do everyones cars have these and do they need something plugged in? Also, I plugged in my datalogger and the odd time a #3 or #4 cylinder error will come up. What does this mean?

Thanks, Britt

Sorry, Error codes P0203 and P0204. These are not all the time, just sometimes while it is cranking.

 

[Verticaljump1]

I'm having the same problem with my car. I'll try testing the injectors, and my gas is way old. The car has never used a full tank, so the gas probably dates back to late June/July, could I just throw in some fuel stabilizer or do I need to drain my 1/2 tank and refill it? What kind of maf do you have on your car? I've got the MAF-t, and if you don't have an rpm signal then it won't start, I tried putting a 1g maf in but still no results so my maf-t must be good. I didn't mean to hijack your thread, but I'll see if I can get my problem figured out and give you recommendations.

 

[brittcoulson]

My datalogger is getting RPM's. It is usually spinning at 170-200 while it is trying to start. At one point it went up to 380, and almost started, but then didnt.

 

[RoasT BeeF]

Check around for un plugged sensors... IE coolant temp sensor...

 

[02BLUR]

Its time to try anything. Take out the plugs, pour small amounts of fuel directly into the cylinders and see if it runs for a few seconds. Thats what I would do...

Are you sure the plug wires are in the right cylinders? (I've done that before )

 

[Verticaljump1]

Would an unplugged coolant overflow tank do the trick? I'll get to the car tomorrow (too busy today) and see if I can get the problem figured out, and hopefully have some tips for you. Have you checked your maf? IDK if it makes a difference for a stock maf, but the maf-t has to be getting rpm signal. I know this sounds like a no brainer, but you checked your fuses and everything as well.

 

[brittcoulson]

Hello

It looks like I will try the fuel trick after work today, and if that doesnt make it go, I guess I will have to take it down to our nearest mitsu dealer, an hour away. I have checked and re-checked all of the electrical plugs and sensors. One more thing I found tho, is that even tho it hasent started, #1 plug was fouled, like, the tip and stuff that is actually in the motor was all black.

Britt

 

[02BLUR]

So you have spark, compression and (probably) fuel. Ignition timing has got to be off.

 

[brittcoulson]

My timing appears to be ok. The data logger reads 5 degrees, then if I pull out one of the sensors, it will move to 61 degrees, so it looks like the ECU is operating fine.