Won’t start – any ideas?
Thread Starter
12 Second Club
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 634
Likes: 1
From: Houston
Won’t start – any ideas? My car has been running fine for ever until now. I was out of town for a little over two months and just left the car in my garage. When I got home, the battery (optima) was dead so I jumped it and got it started. It took a few trys but it finally kicked over.
I drove about 10 miles and put it back in the garage. Shut it off and then tried to re-start…. Nothing. I just kept trying and waiting and it finally started up. Then when I shut it off, it did the same thing, wouldn’t start.
The fuel gauge was on E, so I put about 2 gallons of VP110 race fuel in and filled the rest with Shell 93. Still wouldn’t start.
One thing I did notice that was odd, is that when I turn the key to the on position, the fuel gauge reads Full, then when I hit the starter it shoots to E. My fuel pressure gauge looks normal though.
I did check the spark by holding a plug against the header and having my wife turn it over. It’s not sparking.
I’m about to pull the intake off and try to check the ground straps on the back of the head. If anyone has a better idea please let me know before I go through all of that trouble.
I have checked all of the fuses under the hood on the drivers side and they all look good.
Thanks!
Jeremy
I drove about 10 miles and put it back in the garage. Shut it off and then tried to re-start…. Nothing. I just kept trying and waiting and it finally started up. Then when I shut it off, it did the same thing, wouldn’t start.
The fuel gauge was on E, so I put about 2 gallons of VP110 race fuel in and filled the rest with Shell 93. Still wouldn’t start.
One thing I did notice that was odd, is that when I turn the key to the on position, the fuel gauge reads Full, then when I hit the starter it shoots to E. My fuel pressure gauge looks normal though.
I did check the spark by holding a plug against the header and having my wife turn it over. It’s not sparking.
I’m about to pull the intake off and try to check the ground straps on the back of the head. If anyone has a better idea please let me know before I go through all of that trouble.
I have checked all of the fuses under the hood on the drivers side and they all look good.
Thanks!
Jeremy
Hurley prayed last night on LOST to get the VW running (although he never did get his Camaro running) 
So the engine does crank over? If so you knwo the starter/battery are both OK
Do you hear the fuel pump come on when you turn the key to on? could be the pump or fuse
So the engine does crank over? If so you knwo the starter/battery are both OK
Do you hear the fuel pump come on when you turn the key to on? could be the pump or fuse
ROCNDAV is right. If your charge is borderline that could be your problem. The battery has to do two things to start you engine and it needs sufficient current to do them both at the same time. First it has to spin the crankshaft. The starter motor uses up a lot of current doing this part. After the starter motor uses up most or all of the current stored in your battery there still has to be enough left over to fire all 8 coils. Does your battery have sufficient charge to do both of these things at the same time? You said you didn't see spark. That's your starting point. Work your way back to the battery from a spark plug wire in the troubleshooting process, but first put a FULL charge on that Optima.
Thread Starter
12 Second Club
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 634
Likes: 1
From: Houston
Battery has a full charge and still nothing. Spins the motor super fast.
Any other ideas? I just pulled the drivers side coil pack and I'm trying to check the ground on the head. Should know in about an hour if it's still connected assuming I can see around corners.
Any other ideas? I just pulled the drivers side coil pack and I'm trying to check the ground on the head. Should know in about an hour if it's still connected assuming I can see around corners.
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Thread Starter
12 Second Club
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 634
Likes: 1
From: Houston
Okay... Here is the final deal, need some help.
The battery has a full charge
battery voltage drops to 10.5 when the starter is running. I have tried jumping the car with a consistant 12 volts at the fuse box and that didnt help.
All 3 ground straps are connected to the engine and not corroded.
All connections to the coil packs are clean and plugged in.
Here is the part thats odd - The car will just start and run absolutely fine every few tries. Then it will just turn over and over other times. I have checked the plugs and the problem is that there is no ignition/spark.
The car was running perfectly 2 months ago and now it has no spark. Can anyone help me with this?
thanks!
The battery has a full charge
battery voltage drops to 10.5 when the starter is running. I have tried jumping the car with a consistant 12 volts at the fuse box and that didnt help.
All 3 ground straps are connected to the engine and not corroded.
All connections to the coil packs are clean and plugged in.
Here is the part thats odd - The car will just start and run absolutely fine every few tries. Then it will just turn over and over other times. I have checked the plugs and the problem is that there is no ignition/spark.
The car was running perfectly 2 months ago and now it has no spark. Can anyone help me with this?
thanks!
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You need to check for a crank signal. Mine did this the other day. If you have a hand held tuner... see if it has live data. Plug it in and watch the engine RPM's during cranking. If it says zero then you are not getting a crank signal.
It fixxed mine. It was my timing tune wire. Took it off and pluged the crank sensor in and she fired up.
It fixxed mine. It was my timing tune wire. Took it off and pluged the crank sensor in and she fired up.
The CKP (crank position sensor) and associated wiring is certainly suspect. You should monitor the output of that sensor with a DVOM or a labscope. I recently saw something very scary that could potentially cause all kinds of mysterious problem. It's the inside of the UBEC(Underhood Bussed Electrical Center). When you take it apart you find that it's nothing more than a piece of injection molded plastic with a bunch of male pins shoved into it. Then they take a single strand of thin copper wire and route thru the plastic UBEC base from pin to pin sort of like the breadboard circuits you make when you're learning basic electricity. This single strand of wire is just wrapped around the base of these metal pins(terminals) instead of being crimped or better yet soldered. These pins go EVERYWHERE in your vehicle. It the connection between this strand of wire and the pin loosens up over time you can have all kinds of intermittent problems and you'd never suspect the UBEC. That's the last place you would think to look because you have to take the entire thing apart to get to the inside of it which is a major project in itself. I'm not saying this is your problem, but it's one thing to consider when you have an electrical problem you can't pin down.
