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

 

[Black-Out]

I switched the ECU pin call outs so now my MAP is reading from the factory BARO (pin 16) and the IAP is still at the factory Intake Temp. pin. I removed the plugs, which were soaked, and cleaned them up but I'm still having problems getting the car to start. Now I realize that the car is more then likely flooded so I'm working with that situation. Any other ideas or do you think once its dried up it should start up fine?

If your plugs were completely soaked and had been bathing in raw fuel repeatedly for any length of time then they're trash regardless of condition (yes even if they're new...)

Spark plugs are porous at the firing end where the ceramic riser is around the center electrode....If repeatedly exposed to raw hydrocarbons (fuel) then good plugs will turn bad very quickly.

The resistive conductor within the plugs will deteriorate away and what you end up with is a giant open circuit that will not transfer spark energy within the plug....
If you tried cranking the car over for extended periods of time with out allowing the plugs to be dried out after the first few attemps then replace them and try to start your car after you have corrected your cold start mixture other wise your gonna be at it for a while and your gonna be wasting a fair amount of cash along the way......

 

[SkyGrowsCold]

Makes sense to me, now that you mention it I remember back when I raced motocross I had a bike that was notorious for fouling plugs on start up so I would swap them out and it would start. I'll put my new plugs in today when I'm done with work and give it a go. Thanks pointing out my oversight, again that why these forums are great I'm so focused on what wrong with my settings I completely forgot about something simple like plugs until it was mentioned. As for settings if anyone has a suggestion I'm game.

Thanks again.

 

[Black-Out]

Anytime sir......

 

[SkyGrowsCold]

Put in the new plugs this evening with high hopes and still nothing. Just cranking over although it did struggle to stay running for a bit longer this time but only with the pedal to the floor. I'm back to square one. Any other suggestions?

Attached it my latest attempt.

 

[gofer]

You've got a Walbro 255 and, from the looks of your profiles modifications list, no adjustable fuel pressure regulator (AFPR). The stock fpr will be overrun by the 255 and you'll be flooding the cylinders with fuel because it can't maintain the base fuel pressure at idle.

You can either...

A. Check your fuel pressure using a fuel pressure checker that you can rent from a local car parts store.
B. Just replace the stock fpr with an adjustable one that can handle the flow of the 255 fuel pump you've got.​

-------------------------- EDIT --------------------------​

My bad, I just saw the A1000 there at the end. Whats the gauge on your AFPR show your base fuel pressure is? You can check it by just turning the key to the "ON" position and connecting with link. Go to the Misc tab and select the "enable fuel pump" option, then check your fuel pressure.

 

[SkyGrowsCold]

Set the fuel pressure to the stock 37psi when I installed the FPR and it's still there. Good looking out.

 

[gofer]

Your injectors are malfunctioning below 1k RPM, which is shown by the 0041 DTC shown in the DTC tab. This can be thrown because you unplugged an injector while the car was trying to idle or because theres an open between the ECU and the injectors (no 12v). Make sure everything is plugged in correctly, including the injector resistor pack (sometimes this connector gets confused with the ISC because the plugs look similar).

If everythings plugged in then check out some noid lights from AZ or similar car parts store. Put the noid lights on the 12v signal from the ECU to the injector, wires 51 52 60 & 61, and see if it blinks while its cranking.

1g ECU pin out

 

[SkyGrowsCold]

The injector malfunction was tripped previously before installing the new spark plugs. I had removed the injector plugs prior to installing the new spark plugs and cranked the car over a few times to ensure if there was any chance of extra fuel that it would be burned off before trying the new plugs. I had forgotten to clear the CEL before running the log. I have a set of 550cc injectors I may try just to rule out any possible injector problems although pre SD install the car did in fact start up and drive without any major problems.

 

[SkyGrowsCold]

It finally started! I'm very happy about the car firing up its been a while since I heard it. It's running really rough but regardless it's running so I now have something to tune around. The problem was it was getting to much fuel so I removed quite a bit and it started up. Its running really rough and won't rev much past about 2k but at least it runs and I'll just have to work with numbers to get it going.

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions and things to look for I really appreciate all the help. This forum is truly like a tight knit family. Attached is my rough but running log in all its glory and as usual I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Black-Out]

It finally started! I'm very happy about the car firing up its been a while since I heard it. It's running really rough but regardless it's running so I now have something to tune around. The problem was it was getting to much fuel so I removed quite a bit and it started up. Its running really rough and won't rev much past about 2k but at least it runs and I'll just have to work with numbers to get it going.

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions and things to look for I really appreciate all the help. This forum is truly like a tight knit family. Attached is my rough but running log in all its glory and as usual I'm open to suggestions.

Congrats bro glad to hear it......

 

[snowborder714]

Your front o2 doesn't look like it's functioning properly.

 

[SkyGrowsCold]

I will check into the O2 sensor and see what's going on. During earlier logs (before my recent down time) it appeared the sensor was working properly. Is there a possibility it may have just been loaded up with deposits from the car running poorly and just needs a good run to burn them off? Only reason I ask is the sensor is relativity new but if need be I will pick up a new one.

 

[awd95dsm]

I have searched several threads but have not found anything that has solved my problem yet. A couple of weeks ago I was driving my car all day and it was driving fine. After sitting for about ten minutes turned off, I went back in the car and started to back out of the driveway when the car died. I started it back up and it ran for about 2 seconds before dying on me again. I checked all fuses and they are fine. I am getting spark, 50 psi fuel pressure to the fpr(also pulled off the fuel line to double check and plenty of fuel), compression is fine and so is timing. When pulling the plugs after cranking they are dry. My problem is that the injectors are not firing despite the engine trying to crank over. I have replaced the mpi, resistor pack, and cas with known working ones and still no fix. Checking the voltage at the injectors and I am reading 12 volts on all four injectors. However, I am getting 12 volts on both wires to each injector. From what I know there should be a 12 volt constant and a ground that the ecu uses to fire the injector at the right time. Could this be a wire issue somewhere in the harness? Also I have hooked up a couple different scanners and they both say they cannot connect to the ecu. I pulled out the ecu and everything looks perfect no leaking, bad smells, or any other visible problems. I'm running out of ideas and could use some input. I don't have a spare ecu but I'm starting to think this is the last option to try and fix it. I believe the injectors not firing and scanner not finding the ecu have to be connected to the same problem since the scanner worked fine about a month ago when diagnosing a sensor heater not working in first o2 sensor(Never changed the sensor since it still ran fine for weeks until this problem and from what I understand the sensor could be completely dead and still run.).
Cars been down for a couple weeks now and I really need to get it back up and running. Thanks

 

[jb2zero0six5]

I would try the ecu and get back to us. Check the FPR selenoid, also, this help with "vapor-locking" or hot-starts. Also, base fuel pressure needs to be around 43 psi on a 2g with-out the vacuum line hooked up. Don't 95's have crank position and cam position sensors? That still doesn't explain why your getting spark but injectors aren't firing, though.

 

[luv2rallye]

A bad first O2 will make it run in open loop mode which will get bad gas mileage and not run optimum but it will run. The injectors will probably read +12v on both sides because the ECU grounds one side for only a few ms and so a voltmeter probably won't detect that short of a pulse. If you put a noid light across them it should blink. The CAS controls injectors so that would be the first thing to check. Next probably the ECU since you are getting +12v at them.

 

[jmitch]

Like Luv2rallye said CAS would be the first to check since the injectors isnt firing then ECU.

 

[jb2zero0six5]

He said he tried a different CAS I believe.

 

[awd95dsm]

I have a 6 bolt engine in the car so I only have the cas. And yes I have tried another cas that worked in another car, although this worked in that car months ago, and still same problem. I can try another cas but I still am confused with the scanner not finding the ecu. When I connect it to the obd2 port it searched for vehicle response for about a minute then says unable to locate vehicle. This happened with two diferent scanners so it is definately a problem w the car and not the scanner. This is why I am starting to learn towards the ecu or maybe a relay somewhere? Has anyone come across a similar problem to this or have a reason why this would occur?
Thanks again for the help

 

[awd95dsm]

Finally got that new ecu. Put it in and kept cranking it until she finally turned over. Got a new check engine light of bad coolant sensor though. Also rough idle, stalling when stopping, and exhaust smells terrible but hoping that will all go away when I run the car a little longer. It's been sitting about a month... But anyway new ecu fixed the problem. Thanks for the help.

 

[Geier]

A bad coolant temp sensor will cause the car to not start/run poorly. Resolve this issue as well.

 

[Pffsst96gsx]

Im having the same kind of starter / grinding problem I just took out the tranny to replace my snapped clutch fork an I got everything back together an now when I the start the car I get a grinding noise I'm not sure what it is but Ive got some searching todo

 

[bradselph]

Installed new clutch and fuel filter while i could get to it saturday.

Drove car about 25 or so miles around to make sure everything was good ran perfect.

Parked it and got up this morning it wont start....

Cranks over real good, Fuel pump kicks on, Ecu should be good, I have spark on all 4 plugs but noticed 1 and 2 were soaked with fuel while 3 and 4 were dry.

the car will hit about every 3rd turn but wont start

possible bad gas as i filled up before i did those 25 miles?

 

[artsvetkov]

I have been searching around the web and could not find any solutions.

I have 91 GSX Auto, the car wont start on cold(let engine cool to 60* F) due to not enough fuel, if you spray starting fluid it will fire right up. once warms up it starts up fine. I have checked coolant sensor(was replaced recently), I get close to 5v from ECU to sensor and IAT sensor in MAF checks out too. No boost leaks, the car is mostly stock.

From my research the problem is very common for 1g dsm but no one has posted any solutions.

If it wasn't for awd dyno tune, I would of swapped in my megasquirt, thats how bad this thing is pissing me off.

 

[g4ebguy90]

I think you have a bad coil, or a bad transister. *that little black box that goes to the coil*

 

[DSM915RIDER]

i agree could be a bad coil not sending spark into does two cylinders so it wount burn the fuel thts y they are wet.