Starting issues - No / Doesn't / Won't Start - MERGED

[prodsm]

All "my car won't start" discussion threads are merged HERE. We've basically made it easier for those who insist upon not searching by grouping together all threads from those with similar issues so you can just scroll through and see some possible solutions. To search for info within this thread, use the "Search This Thread" feature in the black bar about 3" above what you're reading right now.

Could be anything from a loose battery terminal to internal engine damage, and literally everything in between which may involve the electrical, fuel, and ignition system...possibly even something that you screwed up while working on the car yourself. While it's unlikely we're going to diagnose and solve your problem over the internet, feel free to discuss any possible solutions.



I live in Canada and right now its not very warm out, about -30c
my car does not have a block heater too keep it warm.

I tryed to start my car this morning and it wouldent start, ive had this problem before but this time, the car doesnt crank at all it just makes a sound that sounds like an electric drill.

Whats wrong.

Thanks

 

[dsm92talonboost]

white smoke is coolant.. do a clt (cylinder leak down test) as long as a compression test to make sure you do not have a blown head gasket.

 

[missing floaty]

ok so finally i got the thing running turns out it was the head. So now i have a problenm getting it running right so here are the symptoms. it idles rough and smells rich and when i disconnect my idle switch it has no effect also when i try adjusting my biss it also has no effect.When i drive the car if try driving it in low rpms (no muffler) it surges almost like im in a gear too low. I have cel also. Oh and my cooling fan does not come on by itself i have to jump the relay to get working whats not telling my fan to come on? i know o took forever to get back on this post and thanks. cheers

 

[Spoolin92GSX]

ok so finally i got the thing running turns out it was the head. So now i have a problenm getting it running right so here are the symptoms. it idles rough and smells rich and when i disconnect my idle switch it has no effect also when i try adjusting my biss it also has no effect.When i drive the car if try driving it in low rpms (no muffler) it surges almost like im in a gear too low. I have cel also. Oh and my cooling fan does not come on by itself i have to jump the relay to get working whats not telling my fan to come on? i know o took forever to get back on this post and thanks. cheers

Adjusting the BISS won't smooth your idle, and you need to adjust it with the plug grounded (check on VFAQ for the exact procedure). Pull the trouble code, that will probably help diagnose your issues. The rough/surging idle is more than likely either a boost leak, or a bad/disconnected MAF sensor. Do a boost leak test, and an easy way to check your MAF is to unplug it while the car is idling (DO NOT DRIVE WITH NO MAF) and see if the idle smooths out at all.

 

[STI EATER]

Sounds like alot of problems. You should try disconnecting the IAC and see if the idle changes. Do you have any sort of logger? It's a 1g with stock maf? Check to see if the previous owner messed with the screw on the inside and clean the inside with some sensor safe spray. A bad o2 can cause these kind of problems too.

 

[levendy12dsm]

i have 125 across the board compression. it seems as if i increase the throttle slowly it doesnt boost choppy but still wont reach full power untill i mat it to the floor. i have been told that this might be the TPS and i am working on getting a multi meter over to my house so i can set it correctly. also havent mentioned yet that i have like 6 decent cracks in the valve cover(not spewing oil or anything but leaking it a good deal). which is also in line to be replaced as soon as funds are available. any and all feedback/advice is greatly appriciated and thank you for your time and energy.

 

[Arcangel2501]

did you compression test the engine cold or hot they will give two diff. numbers if so you need to do it with the engine at operation temp. then check it nd like other have said 255 on 450cc injetors and no tune will make to much psi for the car and have you check your timing and made sure its still tdc and not out a tooth or 2 and if you unplug your mas. dose the car stay runing or die ?

crack in manifold mean boost leak it wont run right unless you fix all of them and boost leak test it

check you spark plugs to with that 255 fuel pump you might have flood them out

 

[STI EATER]

did you compression test the engine cold or hot they will give two diff. numbers if so you need to do it with the engine at operation temp. then check it nd like other have said 255 on 450cc injetors and no tune will make to much psi for the car and have you check your timing and made sure its still tdc and not out a tooth or 2 and if you unplug your mas. dose the car stay runing or die ?

crack in manifold mean boost leak it wont run right unless you fix all of them and boost leak test it

check you spark plugs to with that 255 fuel pump you might have flood them out

He's right! Do a boost leak too. I do one first off whenever i'm having any lagging or stalling issues.

My friend I like the fuel pump you went with but you may need to go with bigger than stock fuel injectors because your pump is a good size bigger than stock so its sending alot of fuel up to the injectors and it might not be distributing the fuel correctly mabye it sends it back to the pump and not to the injectors fully.

That makes no sense. Even if he had bigger injectors they will still alow the same amount of fuel in at idle (If tuned). It's the higher fuel pressure causing an over run on the stock regulator. Do not use a cheap FPR!

 

[levendy12dsm]

Wow guys thanks for all the very usefull info. starting from the top i will definitely recheck the timing to makse sure i havent jumped as it has definitely happened to me in the past. though i will say that i replaced the timing belt when i got the car and made double triple sure that all marks were DEAD ON, i also replaced tensioner so the belt runs nice and tight all the time. I will also do the compression test today with the car at operating temp and see what i get.(fingers are crossed) as for the valve cover if i will see if there is one on cragslist today as well. now this might sound funny but to do a boost leak test do you just do the soapy water trick? never done one i just went around and made sure all connections were snug. i also switched out the MAF for one from a running car to mke sure that wasnt part of the problem though i will unplug it and see if it keeps running. i replaced the spark plugs day before yesterday so they should be great, the car starts up and runs like a champ currently so i dont think they could be fouling too badly yet. Thanks sooo much again for all of the VERY HELPFUL info, It has helped out a lot as i am still pretty newb at this.

 

[cheapracer]

no ideas? anybody? anybody?

 

[Cdc1221]

It wont run without the mas plugged in, and you NEED a afpr. That 255 is overrunning your stock fpr an shooting too much fuel into the engine.

 

[92PandaTalonTSI]

Maybe the injectors are bad/clogged. 3 of mine were clogged and my car was running (barely) on one cylinder. Pull them out, push the pin in, in try to blow through it. Yes you will taste a little fuel (suck it up your a man), but if you can't blow through the injector when the pin is pushed in you have a clogged injector. If clogged search youtube for an at home cleaning method. Did it to mine and the car started right up on all four cylinders. It's a possiblitity because the car may have been sitting a while (either when you did the work or the previous owner) and may have either got sediment in the tank or in the lines somewhere. I had to get my tank relined and had to run all -6AN line to my rail to replace the decaying fuel setup. Guy at the Radiator Shop (relined the tank) said he see's cars from the 40's with a cleaner tank than mine was.

Just a different perspective!

 

[GsxAZman]

CAS maybe? Try unbolting the CAS and turning it manually with it still connected to your harness and key on the on position. You should hear the injectors clicking and spark as well. Make sure you pull your plug wires so your car doesn't start on you or unplug coilpack but then you cant listen for spark. You can also unbolt your incoming fuel line to rail and see if fuel is coming out, maybe a clogged fuel filter. You should also hear your fuel pump activate when you turn your CAS manually. I had a similar problem and all 4 of my injectors had clogged from sitting for a few years. Swapped them out and car started. My car was a 6 bolt swapped 2g with a green and then a black top CAS for your reference not a 1g but I believe you can still do this on a 1g.

 

[cheapracer]

panda - i turned the engine over with the fuel rail unbolted and i witnessed the injectors spraying. appeared to be a fine, even spray. that was before the intake swap a month or two ago. when i do the same thing now, no spray. i will check again for thoroughness. the fuel rail is connected to fuel and power, but sitting on top of the motor. can i just push the pin in with the injectors still on the rail and see if fuel comes out?

GsxAZman - interesting technique. i will definately try this when i get home tonight. similar question as above, if i do the cas manual turning thing with the fuel rail supplied with power and fuel but unbolted and sitting on top of the motor i should see fuel spray, yes?

 

[levendy12dsm]

yeah i bought a mallory adjustable FPR i just dont have a gauge atm and need to run a tap in my fuelrail so i can -4an fitting out of it to the regulator. but atm money is an issue. tapped myself out fixing the other problems hahaha. couple weeks though and everyting will be in order.

 

[Tyeler18]

Put the stock FPR back in. The bigger pump doesn't do shit to anything other than allow higher pressures and more stable flow as long as its at the same base pressure the stock FPR is (37psi for a 1g). Check your coolant temp sensor. Sounds like its going out. As far as it not idling with the 90 ecu its because the 90 iac is wired opposite the 91, when the ecu tells the iac to open it will actually close and vice versa if you're using a 91+ iac in a 90 ecu or 90 iac on 91+ ecu.

 

[GsxAZman]

panda - i turned the engine over with the fuel rail unbolted and i witnessed the injectors spraying. appeared to be a fine, even spray. that was before the intake swap a month or two ago. when i do the same thing now, no spray. i will check again for thoroughness. the fuel rail is connected to fuel and power, but sitting on top of the motor. can i just push the pin in with the injectors still on the rail and see if fuel comes out?

GsxAZman - interesting technique. i will definately try this when i get home tonight. similar question as above, if i do the cas manual turning thing with the fuel rail supplied with power and fuel but unbolted and sitting on top of the motor i should see fuel spray, yes?

You should see spray but if your injectors are clogged completely and you keep turning your fuel pressure will probably shoot your injectors out and youll have a nice fuel mess. I would just unbolt the line that goes into the rail, rule that out, and if it gets good flow then attempt what you said. So if it does have fuel you can at least put the line in a small container and fuel will flow into there. Thats what I did but I never tried the injectors and rail unbolted because I didnt want a mess. Either the injectors turn on and you spray everywhere or you shoot your injectors out and spray everywhere. Still get same results if your fuel makes it to the rail.

 

[92PandaTalonTSI]

panda - i turned the engine over with the fuel rail unbolted and i witnessed the injectors spraying. appeared to be a fine, even spray. that was before the intake swap a month or two ago. when i do the same thing now, no spray. i will check again for thoroughness. the fuel rail is connected to fuel and power, but sitting on top of the motor. can i just push the pin in with the injectors still on the rail and see if fuel comes out?

Pull the injectors out of the rail to try and blow through them. Even if it worked 3 days ago, one set of sediment in the llines could clog it up. My car literally ran fine one minute, turned it off and restarted it and the injectors were clogged. Because I didn't know anything about cars then I rebuilt the whole engine thinking it was internal, and $3500 later, all I had to do was clean out the gunked injectors. It doesn't hurt to try. Like I said, pull them out of the rail, puch the pin on the bottom in, and blow through the side that the fuel goes into. If its restricted at all, theres your problem. The pin pulls in with the injector getting power, so you can try it, but as long as your getting power from the CAS and to the injector its already releasing the pin. The easiest way to check is to just remove it from the rail and use the above technique.

 

[cheapracer]

ok, i will try these things tonight as suggested.
thanks guys!

OK, I verified that the injectors are NOT plugged.

i removed the CAS and spun it with the key on. the fuel pump activates/delivers fuel to the rail. there is no clicking in the injectors. there are not firing.

PS: is it possible to re-install the CAS 180* out? i didn't put it back on, yet. it looks like it might go back in either way.

 

[sk8mystery4lfe]

when you would start my car up, the rpms would go to 2500 until it warmed up then it would drop to 1200-1500. everyone was telling me to change the tps so i did and now it wont run. it will start up and shoot up to 3500 rpms then the fuel will cut off.

any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Dsmkauai]

Sounds like it was a isc problem not tps. Might wanna check this out
http://www.dsm.org/how-tos/tttt/tttt3.html

 

[drmuelr]

Hey guys. I've got a '97 TSi FWD, almost bone stock (save for a lightweight flywheel, and K&N air filter, if that even counts). She's been sitting for about 10 months, and I just finished doing a complete bottom-end overhaul after a balance shaft belt failure.

Here's my issue: I can NOT start the car off of the starter alone. It cranks and everything, and she sounds like she's trying to fire, but it won't start. The only way I've gotten a successful start out of her is by popping the clutch, and this works beautifully. After it IS started, she won't hold idle on her own. I have to keep my foot on the gas or she'll just sputter and stall. Hot or cold makes no difference. After I try to start with the starter, I can smell fuel on the 2 inner spark plugs, and the outside 2 are hot, with no fuel odor.

She also runs pretty poorly (seems to misfire) below 1500 rpm (Moreso when closer to 500-1000 rpm). Anywhere 2000+ she's fine. Same goes for power delivery.

I've put about 120 miles on the rebuild. Here's what I've done related to the idle issue. If any of these made any difference, it was negligible:

New spark plugs (Replacements weren't iridium, but standard plugs)
New plug wires
New fuel filter
New gas
Coil packs confirmed good

As for the rest of the engine; like I said, the bottom end is completely rebuilt, and nothing is leaking. The complete head I bought used off of ebay and installed as-is (save for cleaning off mating surfaces, of course). The previous owner of the head claims it came off a running car that was wrecked after an accident. I watched every single valve operate after I put the timing belt on with the engine still pulled, and they all open and close best I can tell with no oil pressure. I also cranked the engine a LOT to double, triple, and quadruple check my timing before putting the engine back in.

So, any ideas?

 

[c2ypt1c]

Search is your friend:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-miscellaneous/217951-how-diagnose-no-start.html

 

[TSI_93]

Is it getting good compression?

Sounds like a MAF or Coolant Temp Sensor issue. My first dsm had the same issue and it was a bad coolant temp sensor. Wouldn't crank for shit, had to get a tow, spent weeks changing parts.

 

[drmuelr]

Is it getting good compression?

Sounds like a MAF or Coolant Temp Sensor issue. My first dsm had the same issue and it was a bad coolant temp sensor. Wouldn't crank for shit, had to get a tow, spent weeks changing parts.

I'd like to avoid dropping $60 on a compression tester, so I'd like to hold off on that unless as a last-resort. (And I JUST rebuilt the dang thing; if I have low compression, I'm going to be VERY upset).

I'll check the resistance across the coolant temp sensor, and see what I can do to check the MAF sensor. Is the coolant temp sensor the same one that reports engine temp on the instrument cluster? If so, then it's working.

 

[92PandaTalonTSI]

ok, i will try these things tonight as suggested.
thanks guys!

OK, I verified that the injectors are NOT plugged.

i removed the CAS and spun it with the key on. the fuel pump activates/delivers fuel to the rail. there is no clicking in the injectors. there are not firing.

PS: is it possible to re-install the CAS 180* out? i didn't put it back on, yet. it looks like it might go back in either way.

Ok you check the resistor box wiring? Check the wiring that goes from the resistor box to the injector harness. That could cause no injector fire. Its a box located on the firewall. It basically makes the Low Impedence Injectors turn to High Impedence to work the right way. You probably had to remove it to pull the intake manifold out. I might have a pic of it.

And yes the CAS can be installed the wrong way by 180 degrees. there are timing marks. Set the car to TDC and insert the CAS with the timing marks lined up, then time the car with a gun after install.