HELP! Car won't start! - I'm stumped.

[DPEXi]

Okay, I've searched around countlessly, and eventually to the the point where my internet browser isn't letting me search anymore (lol). With that said, here's the story, and I'll be as detailed as possible.

I have a 1989 240sx Coupe, 5spd, 205k KM's.It's bone stock, and as you might know, I don't have to push the clutch down to start.

Here is a list of the things:- New starter- New battery- Fuel injectors are good- Plugs are good- Plug wires are good- Distributor is good- Just had an oil change

I've had the car for a month. It was sitting for 2 years from the previous owner.

The first 3 weeks I've driven it, it's driven well. Starts up fine, until the starter went around week 2. I had that replaced, and it started fine as usual.

During the beginning of week 4, the car would struggle to fire up in the beginning of the day (first time starting after a long night of rest). I would turn the car on, but it would only crank. This would happen about 2 to 3 times, then on the 4th try, it would fire up, like nothing had happened. It has the usual "cold" idle at 1500RPM, then drop to normal; 750RPM.The car runs perfectly after that. Every time starting it after the initial fireup of the day would be perfect.

However, throughout week 4, these symptoms have been getting worse. Same thing would happen. I'd go to my car in the morning and start it up, and it wouldn't fire up. It would only crank. The amount of times it would take to fire up increases from 2-3, to 4-5 tries. On the 4th or 5th try, the car would fire up; again, to it's usual "cold" idle at 1500RPM (roughly), then drop.

Although this time around, the idle would drop below perfect, relatively quickly after the 1500 "cold" idle. I would give it gas, to keep my RPM's up, and it would fight through this "puttering" stage and continue the "cold" idle. After this, the car runs perfectly as it usually does throughout the day.

So now it's the end of week 4, and my car isn't wanting to start up. Same thing happened: I woke up in the morning, went out to start my car (took about 4 tries) and then it fired up. No problem. I drove to a store to grab an oil filter for my next oil change, and when I was about to leave, my car wouldn't start.

I noticed that the fuel pump did not "prime." I checked the "Fuel Pump" fuse and it was good. So I tested my fuel pump, and it was dead. I replaced it with an OEM one on the spot. I tried starting it, and it didn't want to start. It cranked, but no fire up.

In addition, the "Fuel Pump" fuse under the hood next to the battery, was blown. So I had that replaced with another 10A fuse. I tried starting it, and it did the same thing; 3-4 cranks, and the 5th time it fired up. I let it idle for a bit to let the new fuel pump do it's job. I decided to turn the car off, and try to start it again, but it didn't want to. It would crank, and then sounds like it's about to fire up and dies instantly (reaches 700RPM and shuts off within 1.5 seconds). Again, it blew the 10A fuse, so I put in a 15A. It hasn't popped. I gave up and went home to research.

So today, I checked to make sure my fuel filter was okay. I pulled one of the hoses from the filter, and turned the key to "Accessories." Fuel came out as it should, so I ruled a faulty fuel filter out.

The next thing I checked, was my MAF. I unbolted the 4 10mm nuts from the air intake box, and it was immaculate. I thought I wasn't getting any air, so I left the MAF unhooked from the air filter. I tried starting the car, and the car fired up instantly to the usual "cold" idle. It was at 1500RPM and then died instantly.. I tried to save it by pushing on the throttle but it wouldn't let me. It continued to drop, and eventually, shut off.

I tried to start it up again, and it would do the usual "crank-fire up to 700RPM-then die" within 1.5 seconds.

My spark plugs are good, as they aren't soaked from fuel.My injectors are good, but one of them might have a bad seal, and it spews just a little bit of gas when I push it into the motor away from the rail. My wires are relatively new, aswell as the starter and battery.

I thought it could have been a relay in the fuse box next to my battery, specifically the "EGI Pump" relay. I don't know how to check if it's faulty, but it sends fuel throughout my system so I assume it's okay.

I don't know what it could be and I'm hoping you guys could help me. Thank you

[wagzilla260rs]

Hi there I have read your story, I feel it's in your fuel system I think it's leaking down over night. now your fuel filter???? why didn't you change it??? it's a small filter change it. next you need to put a fuel gauge on it to check it. check your spec's make sure it's with in!! just becouse you have fuel dose not mean it's going to start.....try that frist also look for all vacuum leaks.....

[madrift]

first thing that popped in my head was carbon build up on the valveswhich makes the car hard to start and takes a couple of times to get it going. carbon will buildup on the valves and it can sometimes soak up the fuel and after it gets soaked up fuel will finaly go to the combustion chamber.then i thought of the fuel filter but you said it was good. so other than that i dont kno for sure what it could be.

[DPEXi]

Hi there I have read your story, I feel it's in your fuel system I think it's leaking down over night. now your fuel filter???? why didn't you change it??? it's a small filter change it. next you need to put a fuel gauge on it to check it. check your spec's make sure it's with in!! just becouse you have fuel dose not mean it's going to start.....try that frist also look for all vacuum leaks.....

Thank you for the advice.I'm not that great when it comes to mechanics, but I'm in a position where I'd like to learn.

What do you mean "leaking down over night?"I didn't change my fuel filter cause it still looked relatively new, and fuel was spewing out quite a lot when the key was in "Accessories." I could try to change it but it seems like it's working fine.Where would I start looking for vacuum leaks?

[periferal7]

just like wagzilla said,check your fuel pressure with a gauge and see it's pressure.It can be just a possible vacuum(check vacuum to FPR)if your vacuums are okay and if your pressure is to low, you may have a fualty FPR.

[DPEXi]

first thing that popped in my head was carbon build up on the valveswhich makes the car hard to start and takes a couple of times to get it going. carbon will buildup on the valves and it can sometimes soak up the fuel and after it gets soaked up fuel will finaly go to the combustion chamber.then i thought of the fuel filter but you said it was good. so other than that i dont kno for sure what it could be.

My brother told me my car might have just died.Haha, but the car starts sometimes.. RPM's just drop instantly to 0.He also told me that even if that one leaky fuel injector was the problem, the motor should still fire up on 3 cylinders.. It would just run crappy.

But it doesn't even start. I'm so confused.

[madrift]

just like they said thocheck to see if your getting enough air to the chamber and fueldo the easiest checks first

[DPEXi]

just like they said thocheck to see if your getting enough air to the chamber and fueldo the easiest checks first

How would I know if air is getting to the chambers?

[madrift]

you would need to set up a vacume gauge up to your intake manifold and see if it holds pressure/leaks

and as for your fuel i would go ahead and change your filter you got lots of miles on it and its been sitn for a while fuel pump is good fuel regulator might need to be looked intomaybe your coils??

[DPEXi]

you would need to set up a vacume gauge up to your intake manifold and see if it holds pressure/leaks

and as for your fuel i would go ahead and change your filter you got lots of miles on it and its been sitn for a while fuel pump is good fuel regulator might need to be looked intomaybe your coils??

I'll try my best to check vacuum and fuel pressures.

The car has 205,000KM's on it which would equal out to 110,000~ miles.The filter itself is still shining silver, while the rest of my engine bay is dull. It's even about the same shine as my new starter, which sits at the bottom of my motor most of the time.

Dumb question, but is there a way where I could set my fuel system back to regular? IE: removing fuse, cranking, to eliminate any existing pressure?

Thank you guys for the quick responses

[madrift]

dont judge a book by its cover just b/c it looks clean dosent mean it is.

as far as getting rid of presure all you have to do is remove the pump fuse and crank the carit shouldnt crank over and all your presure in your lines will be gone.

[DPEXi]

dont judge a book by its cover just b/c it looks clean dosent mean it is.

as far as getting rid of presure all you have to do is remove the pump fuse and crank the carit shouldnt crank over and all your presure in your lines will be gone.

I'll grab a new filter when I get those gauges.

So after I put the fuse back in & crank the car, and my FPR was good, and no vacuum leaks, the fuel pressure should be good? And the car should start?
Modified by DPEXi at 8:29 PM 8/22/2008

[madrift]

ha slow down their turboha not quite youll need to make sure that nothing is cloging the system thats why you want to do the presure check to the system if your presure is within specs and pump and regulator are good and your injectors arent cloged i think it should be good vacume leaks dont efect fuel presure thats for checking vacume leaks as in air leaksbut yes check to see if your presure is good on the fuel lines w/ a presure gauge

after checking your pressure in the fuel system and stuff chec your vacuum lines w/ a vacuum gauge

one of the best things i ever did was buy a chiltons book.

[DPEXi]

ha slow down their turboha not quite youll need to make sure that nothing is cloging the system thats why you want to do the presure check to the system if your presure is within specs and pump and regulator are good and your injectors arent cloged i think it should be good vacume leaks dont efect fuel presure thats for checking vacume leaks as in air leaksbut yes check to see if your presure is good on the fuel lines w/ a presure gauge

after checking your pressure in the fuel system and stuff chec your vacuum lines w/ a vacuum gauge

one of the best things i ever did was buy a chiltons book.

Haha

I understood that quite well.If my fuel pressure isn't up to specs, what would be the reason?

- Something clogging the system? (What would clog it?)- Bad fuel pressure regulator?- Other

[madrift]

a leak in the system or a clog too low is a leaktoo high would be a clogdirt would clog a system a regulator just regulates how much fuelpresure their is if it went bad it could case a high presure or really low presure

[DPEXi]

So I managed to drive the car home.

My friend tested for spark and apparently, sometimes the plug wires don't have spark.

We tested them several times, and they would be random.The car fired up after continuously cranking the car. It turned on, and eventually, had good idle.

However, the car ran super rich, and was "puttering."It is hard to accel over 1700RPM and I'd need to push on the throttle way more than usual sometimes.

The car putters pretty bad, and smells rich.It does idle very well, if not a little below 750RPM.

My friend told me it could be my distributor. What could it be?

I'll do some searching, but for the meantime, any answers/tips would be appreciated.

Thanks again

[s13-t]

the same thing happened to my hatch right after my sr20det swap. geuss what it was. a $h1ty engine and battery ground. probly not whats going on with your car but take it into consideration

[carkook]

I would Check your dist rotor and cap, and maybe even think about replacing your Ignition Coil. Once you get it started check the timing, if its right and its still running rich, it would be good to get a new 02 sensor. Whenever you buy a car thats been sitting for a long period of time alot of small things will go out. But it sounds like its something with the spark, so start at the plugs and start checking everything and work your way back.Plugs-wires-dist.cap + rotor-ignition coil

[DPEXi]

So I got the distributor cap thing off.Looked at the rotor and cap and apparently they look good still. No corrosion or anything.The car drive's fine now.. If not, better than fine. What is going on?Starts up every time, drives great other than a slight "shaving-noise." Probably the throw-out bearing in my transmission.

Could it possibly be: The motor was flooded from the new fuel pump and then the car ran crappy and rich cause there was too much fuel in there, but now all the fuel has been burned?

Or,

Because today had nice, hot, weather, that's causing my car's distributor to respond better?

I went to the gas station to fill up, and there was no pressure release when I undid the gas cap. Is this normal?

I don't know what else it'll be. I'm going to change plug wires and spark plugs. I also bought a 300ZX non-turbo fuel filter aswell.

[DPEXi]

So I bought new plugs and wires.

Iridium plugs with NGK wires.

After putting them in, the car bogs violently at 2500RPM, and gradually goes away at around 3k.

Also, my temperature gauge went all the way up to max, and then went to normal.

No idea what it could be. It ran better with my original plugs and wires