The Central Hub for DSM Community and Information

For 1990-1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, Plymouth Laser, and Galant VR-4 Owners. This is where the DSM platform history is documented and archived. Log in to help us in our mission, and to remove most ads from the browsing experience.

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

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

prodsm

20+ Year Contributor
258
0
Nov 12, 2002
canada,
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
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I hear my pump when I turn the key. I don't have link and its not failing ### it's had the prime noise since I bought it 4 years ago. I'm sure it's a stock pump ### a school teacher owned it before me
 
Just curious, but I just dump the Sea Foam into my gas tank and in the oil and not worry about doing the vaccuum method. Is there really a benefit to doing the vaccuum method over just pouring it in the gas tank?
 
Like I said it does have fuel pressure, whenever I remove the spark plugs I smell the mixture of Fuel and Seafoam that I poured from the BOV intake nipple.

It's not a knock BTW, its the Crank and CAS sensor connectors that are hitting a pulley, because the previous owner had this thing rebuilt.

Like I said it did ran before but I believe it was turned off a little prematurely which makes it pretty much impossible to restart once the engine gets cold.

Tonight I'm going to disconnect the fuel injectors while cranking it in order to help burn that crap out(hopefully). I'm also going to swap the MAF from my DSM in order to see if thats where the problem stems. I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks
 
Your MAF is about 4-5 linear feet away from the throttle body. How exactly would Seafoam get to it? Not saying it's impossible, but there's a term for replacing every sensor that comes to mind in hopes of fixing the issue: Shotgun Troubleshoting. It's expensive and pointless.

And to be honest, we don't care about a compression test last week. The car also ran last week an now it doesn't. You have multiple people telling you that engines sounds very low on compression, which it does. You could continue to ignore that advice and shotgun troubleshoot, or take 10 minutes and be one step closer to finding the real culprit.

I've been Seafoaming my cars for years and years. I've had the engine die right as the Seafoam was getting sucked up, yet it would start again right away. No sensors, gaskets, hoses, etc have ever been damaged. Your problem is either coincidental or from misuse. Given the sound of a hollow engine, I'd say you Hydrolocked the engine.
 
The thin layer of oil on the cylinder walls may have been washed away by the seafoam. If it ran fine before the seafoam, I would bet on that.

Pull the plugs, disconnect the injectors, put a couple cap fulls of engine oil into each of the cylinders, and crank it over for 10-15 seconds.
 
We ran a compression test 2 weeks ago and it passed perfectly, then we decided to add the seafoam. Timing is right btw.

I just wanna make sure, your saying you rechecked timing right? Like you took your balancer off and lower timing cover and checked all marks? If you hydrolocked it even a little bit the stress may have caused it to jump out of time.
 
It's really begening to sound like hydrolock, OP please keep us updated I'm sure were all intrested in what the problem actually is. Let us know how the compression test turns out.
 
Same results with a different maf and "cleaning the combustion chamber" by disconnecting the spark plugs and firing away. I did also try starter fluid with no results.

If you guys do believe it sounds of compression loss I will run another compression test to make sure (first dry then wet) then compare them with the stock numbers of 178 psi.
Hell if it does end up being loss of compression, might have some fun with a rebuild :D

Any more opinions?
 
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.

Correct, the MAF not being plugged in makes the car instantly drop RPMs til it dies. It will start up and then just fall on it's face.
 
Ok so I've looked at every possibility and I just need a bit of help.

So a rundown of what has been done the past 2 weeks. Head gasket blew so I had the head tested and cleaned while my gasket kit was on order. Replaced every gasket except the water pump and gasket (my stupidity) Car started up and ran great but the internals of my turbo cracked and caused mixing of my oil and coolant. Replaced the cheap eBay 16g with a true 14b and started the car and again... startex up great but had a bit of missing to what I assumed to be a tooth off. Spark plugs were dry and getting great spark on all plugs. Well my idle was the tps was unplugged so I plugged it in, reset the ecu and started the car and let it run a few minutes (30-40).

My buddy noticed coolant leaking from the timing belt cover. I ordered a new pump and gasket. Started the car 10 minutes before tackling the water pump. I marked my belt on the gears, oil pump gear, and crank gear since I assumed I wouldn't need to reset the timing if I never moved it.

Replace the pump, line all my marks up, go to crank the can and nothing! It tries to turn over and make a sound in the intake area that I can only assume is backfire in the intake manifold. Plugs 1 & 2 are soaked in gas and car spells like its flooding but cylinder 3 & 4 are dry. Still have spark. Does it soung like im off on timing? Timing belt was and still is tight so I know it didn't jump teeth but im now lost. I've tried to turn it over a few times and I can't hear any metal contact in the motor. Just ever so ovten you hear a funny noise come from the intake area like a deep "gulp" sound. Please help if at all possible.
 
Im going to sound like a mron but I did not even look. I just put the belt back on to match the marks. Am I better of just setting the timing back to TDC and pray I have no bent valves?
 
Ok vfaq says turn the crank 6 full turns after the belt is installed. .. is that the correct or should it line back up by six complete turns?
 
Add Value - Be Respectful - No Trolling - No Misinformation - Participate Often!
Support Vendors who Support the DSM Community

Build Thread Updates

Latest Classifieds

Back
Top