car wont start

westridez · Apr 16, 2005

pulled a plug wire it has spark and there is gas to the fuel valve what could it be?

westridez · Apr 16, 2005

it would'nt start in the parking lot i was there for about 20mins the battery died so we boosted it and it started i drove it hoome fine it ran good then i shut it off went to restart it and nothin again

Thenemesis · Apr 16, 2005

maybe your alt and you have a short.. because if it didnt restart or spin over then your alt isnt doing its job.. and you must of had a short to loose battery life so.. my idea

westridez · Apr 16, 2005

Thenemesis said:
maybe your alt and you have a short.. because if it didnt restart or spin over then your alt isnt doing its job.. and you must of had a short to loose battery life so.. my idea

it still spins over fine i just let it sit for 15mins and it fired up so when it cools down it will start after its been warm it quits

Thenemesis · Apr 16, 2005

westridez said:
it still spins over fine i just let it sit for 15mins and it fired up so when it cools down it will start after its been warm it quits

hmm.. maybe something in your motor is over heating.. and causes it to quit working so the motor shuts off.. my 86 takes a while to start... i have to toggle the ignition to pump up pressure from the fuel pump.. then hold the ignition to let it spin and it fires after a bit lol..

HISSIN50 · Apr 17, 2005

Jrichker has a real nice list of stuff to check. in particular, if you are sure you have spark when it wont start, i would check the FP. when pumps are on the outs and get hot, their output can go south (diaphram). gonna have to do a few checks though. good luck.

TheUser · Apr 17, 2005

think maybe it might be heat soak on the starter? If it drives fine, probably won't be an ignition component IMO. Sounds more like a starting issue=starting system.

However, I would take HISSIN's advice and run w/ it; get a fuel pressure guage on there and see what kinda pressure you're pushing if you can.

HISSIN50 · Apr 17, 2005

TheUser said:
think maybe it might be heat soak on the starter? If it drives fine, probably won't be an ignition component IMO. Sounds more like a starting issue=starting system.

nice catch James!
with talk about checking spark and fuel, I assumed it was cranking but not catching (I dont check spark or fuel if it wont even turn over).

yeah, if it happens when the motor is hot only, i like the heat soak idea. otherwise, though i am now confused about the symptoms, i would be lookin at the primary system (battery, cables, alternator, etc).

good luck.

TheUser · Apr 17, 2005

HISSIN50 said:
otherwise, though i am now confused about the symptoms, .

I am too.

So let me see if I have this correct:

It has spark and fuel, but won't start when warm. It cranks fine, but only starts after cooling off for 15-20 min. It does crank when it's warm though, right?

Those 20 min you waited in the parking lot and your battery went dead, were you cranking it periodically or were you sitting?

southbronx · Apr 17, 2005

TheUser said:
I am too.

So let me see if I have this correct:

It has spark and fuel, but won't start when warm. It cranks fine, but only starts after cooling off for 15-20 min. It does crank when it's warm though, right?

Those 20 min you waited in the parking lot and your battery went dead, were you cranking it periodically or were you sitting?

I had the same problem twice and it turned out to be the fuel pump. Even though you can replace it with one from your local parts store or from aftermarket sources, some pumps are built differently from others. The theory behind the shut off while warm scenario may relate to the swelling of the phenolic gears within the pump. With the tight tolerances and the meshing of the gears, once warm they swell up and seize until it cools down. I went through two fuel pumps (one store bought and one from BBK).

You may/may not hear the pump prime when it's warm (difference in tone/sound level). A few things to check would be the canister purge line for blockages (venting hot fumes) or clogged fuel filter (causing pump to push harder). There's once talk of reducing the voltage to the FP so it would run at a lesser flow rate, but it was too far off base to even attempt.

Good luck.

HISSIN50 · Apr 17, 2005

southbronx said:
There's once talk of reducing the voltage to the FP so it would run at a lesser flow rate, but it was too far off base to even attempt.

Good luck.

the usual route is to actually regulate the power to the pump, for consistant pump performance. I am not sure i would want a variable set up - British car owners from years back had variable voltage input (and volume output) pumps and they did not like them too much.

where did WR go - we need him to clarify symptoms.

westridez · Apr 17, 2005

i let it sit for 15mins last night and it fired right up it has nothin to do with the starter it spins over fine it just wont fire and it stinks like it flooded i pulled a plug wire off and it had spark so i dunno what the hell it is anyway i drove it around last night all over the place till early morining and it ran fine and started fine my girlfriend took it out today and it hasent done it so far

vristang · Apr 17, 2005

I had an intermittent starting problem years back. Turned out to be a bad ground cable. Check the starter cable and ground cable. When things get hot resistance goes up. Add higher resistance to a corroded cable, and you got problems. This could explain why you have more problems when hot than cold.

Hope this helps
Good Luck

Thenemesis · Apr 17, 2005

could it be it floods? and then after a couple routes of spinning over clears itself and catches.. then when 15 mins are up of running.. after 15 of running rich it fouls the plugs but doesnt enough to stop it from running? maybe a fuel regulator would work if thats your problem

HISSIN50 · Apr 17, 2005

if one suspects flooding, one can floor the gas pedal during (AND ONLY DURING) cranking - this will kill the injector pulse and help clear a flood condition.

this is a somewhat common practice on cars with larger injectors that dont have the tune just right.

good luck.

westridez · Apr 18, 2005

i did hold it to the floor everytime and it dint do nothin it seems like its got gas there but the injectors werent working

HISSIN50 · Apr 18, 2005

westridez said:
i did hold it to the floor everytime and it dint do nothin it seems like its got gas there but the injectors werent working

if the pedal is to the floor, the injectors wont fire.

big_tiger15 · Apr 18, 2005

I had a very similar starting problem, and I got my Stang to start by pumping the gas. Yes my car is fuel injected; so it was my TPS sensor. It said my car was constantly floored.

Camman · Apr 18, 2005

Remember back in the day when these symptoms were cuased by vapor lock? Is that even possible on a fuel injected car? Anyway, I would check all of the above and also check your injectors for leaks. I had the exact same condition as you when my injectors(read more than one) were leaking. It would flood the motor even with the injector pulse shut off, and only when warm.

HISSIN50 · Apr 18, 2005

Camman said:
Remember back in the day when these symptoms were cuased by vapor lock? Is that even possible on a fuel injected car?

MHO: it is, but not at all likely on a high-pressure system with a rear (pusher) mounted pump.

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