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

 

[Cdc1221]

Need a little more info. As in did you diagnose that the battery is good? How are the batt wires? Have you pulled the starter and had it tested? These 3 things should be done first

 

[GODofWARREN]

the battery was on a charger so its probably its old, no idea on the wires or starter yet...

Batt wires and starter seem to be fine, but i had the battery hooked to a charger today and put it on the "boost" charge setting let it sit a minute and it still wouldnt even try to turn over, just slow starter clicking...

 

[geno414]

well i dumped cold water on my fuel rail and it did not solve anything . I tried to start my car yesterday and she would not start up at all just like a back fire and that was it.

 

[geno414]

I all ways post back in my threads so i do not know what you are talking about, i put a new power tr unit on so there is no need to test it and i made this thread because i thought it would help me all i am trying to do is get my car to drive since it is my only car and i work full time and i am tired f car pooling!

 

[fourgsixthree33]

no start - How to diagnos a hot start problem

 

[geno414]

no start - How to diagnos a hot start problem

ok i did most of those thing . but i will go buy new spark plugs and i am trying to get a new cas to see if that is the problem i will look over my vac lines and my tb is nice and clean and my ic is two but that right up has a lot of good info i will do everything i haven't

so far new parts installed new cts oem works great logs are right on money

new power tr unit

new 1650cc fic injectors

new fuel filter

and my old cas that i bought new with around 2000k miles on it.

ebay 255 fuel pump but i can hear it kick on still

but today the car would not start at all just cranks yesterday i had it run for 5 sec and then a back fire and shut right off i don't know if that info would help any one with my problem but if it did let me know .

also i am getting blue spark and 2 of my plugs keep getting wet with gas but the other 2 are fine. i looked at my ecu and nothing burnt or broken.

 

[camas90gsx]

I made the mistake of making a trip 90 miles each way without tools. Anyways,my car got 65 miles and died. It would turn over with no spark,it was getting fuel,oil pressure good normal temps. After sitting for 20 minutes it cranked over and ran for 2 miles and when it got to normal operating temp it died again and wouldnt start. When i crank it it turns,but no spark comes from the plug wires? But it keeps repeating,it will idle great with good afr's,good oil pressure and fuel pressure is great until it gets to normal temp and dies and will turn and turn but not start until its cold. The only thing ive done with it recently was put in new cams 350 miles ago. Im just not sure if it is a cas,coil pack,ptu,ecu or fuel pressure relay. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ExtremeTurboSystems]

Could be the ignitor pack/transistor pack (people call it different things). It is the little box that hangs on the coil bracket with the coil or the coil. its more than likely one of those two things.

 

[camas90gsx]

Could be the ignitor pack/transistor pack (people call it different things). It is the little box that hangs on the coil bracket with the coil or the coil. its more than likely one of those two things.

I was thinking that,or coil pack. I have a spare transistor unit in my garage I'll try,but not an extra coil pack. i didn't have tools or an ohmeter with me. The Tow truck just dropped it in my driveway right now,300$ later,. I'll start checking it out now. What about coolant temp sensor? I just picked up a new one incase. Or maybe cas?

 

[eclipsyco]

I'm pretty sure coilpack has nothing to do with temps on your car I would definitely check coolant related issues like the sensors, ECU even the CAS for being right on the block.

 

[camas90gsx]

Could be the ignitor pack/transistor pack (people call it different things). It is the little box that hangs on the coil bracket with the coil or the coil. its more than likely one of those two things.

+1 for ETS!!!! I slapped a different transistor in and wala!!! If I go between the two power transistors,it runs with the new one and won't with the old one. I let it idle for 15 minutes and it stayed running with good afr,fuel pressure,and oil pressure. It warmed up to normal temp and stayed there. Before it would die out before the fan would kick on. I'm a little afraid to take it outside a drive just yet.

I have a question,is there an easy way to get the old transistor out. You can't get to the rear bolt with the lower timing cover on. Also,does it need to be mounted on the transistor bracket? I'm not sure if it matters. I will mount it when I can get the old one off,but I would like to test drive it to see if it will hold up. I don't know if the mounting bracket is a ground source,since the back of the transistor is metal. It's a noob question I know,but I don't wanna fry this new transistor as we'll.

 

[clipto]

Dang you beat me to it I was going to say power transistor. Glad it's fixed those cams sound sick for the 5 mins it ran while I was there . To get the transistor out there is a small metal ring holding it that you just get a screw driver in there and pop it off. Also there is 2 little screws but one of them is like behind the lower timing belt cover have fun with that. Glad it's working now.

 

[Black-Out]

the battery was on a charger so its probably its old, no idea on the wires or starter yet...

I'm not sure of your technical back ground so this will be rather long winded, but then again I'm sure most can attest that my posts usually are bare with me, please......

For starters, as previously mentioned check the power cables to the battery and starter, and especially all of your ground cables......These cars are a bit notorious for grounding issues sense they get modded so often before they land in the hands of their second or third, hell, even forth or fifth owners. You'd be surprised how 1 bad ground can cause you a world of issues when it just comes to getting your car to turn over let alone run......

You may want to have the battery load checked to see if it has the capacity to do it's job, you can take it to auto zone and they'll at least be able to help you with that for nothing. If you need another go ahead and pick one up- If you have a battery that needs to be saved, zap a 12volt 40 amp charge into it for about an hour then kick the amperage on your charger down to about 10 amps for the next 3 hours....shut off the charger and let the battery cool back down for a minimum of about 2 hours and then trickle charge it at 2 amps for a few more hours, every two or three days or so if you haven't got it up and running.....The reason for this is the battery will get a minimum electrical reaction which will keep the electrolyte and the plates within the lead cell active, which will keep the capacity of the battery healthy and minimize the chances of the of the cells becoming non productive reducing the capacity (and cranking ability) of your battery. Batteries may be sealed and non serviceable from an electrolyte stand point but the service of the charge rates are still very much relevant.


Hopefully you've already replaced the cam sensor, if not, and you're positive it's the problem knock it out- From there though you need to do the preliminary service checks the car requires for a clean bill of health. You've probably heard this 1,000 times so lets make it 1,001.......Start by cleaning out the Mass air sensor..........This can cause all kinds of issues with the ignition timing and fuel delivery as the ecu will determine the correct ignition timing by air flow, air temp, and density, which are relayed to the ecu by the M.A.S. This alone can keep your ride from starting. Also check the timing belt and seals- if they haven't definitively been serviced- replace em, along with your water pump and balance shaft belt. Check your plugs and wires, No good? swap em' out for new units, check the air filter, if it's dirty and a K&N clean and service it ......if it's a paper unit replace it, don't even check the fuel filter, just replace it if the previous owner hadn't done it already within the last year or so. The fuel filter is the single most neglected part on your car.


The relevance is pretty obvious......any one of the service items above can negatively effect the way your car runs let alone starts. eliminating these from a comprehensive to do list will help get rid of possible ignition issues caused by poor spark from wires or plugs or poor fueling and a host of other things. Then if you have faulty sensors you can be positive you're actually addressing the issue rather than chasing down a mis-fire that you thought was caused by x,y,z and was really just a plug wire grounding out through the insulating boot in the spark plug tubes deep inside the head. it's not the cheapest thing to do but once it's done it's done and you don't have to deal with most of the big items for another 60,000 miles.


Just my opinion.....and if service works been done then by all means disregard most of this post and just dig out the bits that may help you-

Hope this helps! BTW couldn't help notice your name....My last name is Warren and I got cousins that live in Indiana...... small world...
Good luck with it sir- and sorry for the long post....

Will-

 

[ShadowTalon]

I'm not sure of your technical back ground so this will be rather long winded, but then again I'm sure most can attest that my posts usually are bare with me, please......

For starters, as previously mentioned check the power cables to the battery and starter, and especially all of your ground cables......These cars are a bit notorious for grounding issues sense they get modded so often before they land in the hands of their second or third, hell, even forth or fifth owners. You'd be surprised how 1 bad ground can cause you a world of issues when it just comes to getting your car to turn over let alone run......

Will-

This. Honestly sounds like a bad battery or starter but do everything Black-Out mentioned. You may have enough power to get all dash and internal and headlights working but not enough to turn the engine over. I had a loose neg terminal and it also would not start.

You could also tap the starter a bit to see if it loosens up and starts. Then you'd know for sure it was the starter. But check grounds and get the battery tested first.

 

[GODofWARREN]

Black Out, My technical knowledge is up to speed . I will run that checklist like i planned to do anyway, after owning a 3000gt the 60k maintenence is just embedded in you. I do have the new sensor ( the little black one from the 97 heads, camshaft angle/position sensor) but my question is what is the procedure for resetting the cams when i swap the sensors, and where would i be able to find this sensors wire harness from a store because its a homemade one and i believe it to be a big part of the problem too.

 

[Black-Out]

Black Out, My technical knowledge is up to speed . I will run that checklist like i planned to do anyway, after owning a 3000gt the 60k maintenence is just embedded in you. I do have the new sensor ( the little black one from the 97 heads, camshaft angle/position sensor) but my question is what is the procedure for resetting the cams when i swap the sensors, and where would i be able to find this sensors wire harness from a store because its a homemade one and i believe it to be a big part of the problem too.

, if it's one thing a 3/S will do it's make a mechanic out of you ,even if you thought you'd never pick up a wrench.......Someone has to have done a write up on this before, but where would be a little beyond me....I usually revert to my manuals on such things .......You could try the tech articles section of the site and see if you can find what you need there, but my methods involve wiring diagrams for both sensors and books layed out in front of me .........

 

[MEz]

My bro's 2g 1995 Eclipse had a problem with some Seafoam. 1/3 of the Seafoam was placed in the oil, another 1/3 was sucked threw by a vacuum line behind the throttle body. The seafoam apparently didn't completely burn off as we discovered from the mal-start once it cooled down. We thought that it was suffocating the fresh air through-out the intake. So we set off on cleaning the Intake manifold, upper and lower intercooler pipes, Intercooler, Compressor side of the Turbo, Intake pipe, Throttle body, head ports, and combustion chambers w/ compressed air.
Afterwards we checked to make sure the spark plugs were firing (Which they were).

Now this is the result, we don't know what the problem is. Could it be a faulty sensor? I do know that this stuff can ruin sensors.
We are getting oil pressure btw, and if it were a bad sensor could it be the MAF, IAC, or, MAP?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSmdnspMAZI]2g DSM Seafoam problem (Please read description for details) - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Diamond Star Werks]

Wow that things sounds like it has almost no compression turning over. Timing marks still right? All you did was seafoam the car and afterwards this?

Air you opening the throttle at all while trying to start? Try holding it wide open. Also try 2-3 cranks with injectors unplug to clean out cylinders alil.

Unplug mas and see if it starts

 

[WES_393]

I agree that thing sounds like it has close to no compression. Check the timing marks and run a compression test.

FWIW, I've been using Seafoam in my DD for 40k miles without any issues.

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

Maybe you cleaned it so well you got rid of the stuff that was keeping the engine together and running! I wanted to seafoam my engine last year but after all the dodgy storys ive heard, it put me off till I know the condition on the inside of the engine

I hope you figure out what went wrong, I am assuming you poured it in slowly as thats what alot of people dont do!

 

[MEz]

Wow that things sounds like it has almost no compression turning over. Timing marks still right? All you did was seafoam the car and afterwards this?

We ran a compression test 2 weeks ago and it passed perfectly, then we decided to add the seafoam. Timing is right btw.

 

[snowborder714]

What vacuum line did you use to suck the seafoam in?

Do you happen to have any logger on the car to check if sensors are working properly or not?

What do you see if you remove a spark plug? Is it wet? Do you see any fluids sitting on top of the pistons?

Might not be a bad idea to do another compression test just to rule out the odd circumstance.

Our cars have no MAP sensor. A bad IAC sensor wouldn't cause a no start. A bad MAF could possibly cause a no start but would probably let it start but run rough.

 

[Black95TSIawd]

Spray some starter fluid through a vac hose while cranking. See if that gets it going first. It kind of sounds like its not getting a fuel.

 

[MiroDSM]

+1 on the no fuel. Does it have gas and can you hear the pump noise before you start cranking?

 

[snowborder714]

You won't hear the pump before you start cranking unless you have it externally activated via link or the test connector.