ka24e...car cranks but doesnt turn over

[aurora61]

My car died when i was driving. I felt a sudden loss of power, then all the electricals went out, and i had to coast to the side of the road. I tried jump starting it but all the car did was crank.

After that point, i replaced the alternator and battery. However, the car only cranks but doesnt turn over. All electricals work while the car is in the "on" position, but nonetheless, the car doesnt turn over. While its in the "on" position, the car's voltage is around 12 volts.

After doing some research, i found that my problem could be a faulty fuel pump or a bad starter.

I never really knew that the fuel pump area is supposed to humm when i turn on the car, so i tried that...i openned the gas cap and listened while my friend turned on the car but no noise. I also put my ear directly to the fuel pump in the trunk, but no noise. (my gas tank is a little over half full if that matters). The only noise i hear is a humming sound from some part next to the intake manifold. That part seems to be pushing some liquid (oil? gas?) through two tubes, which produces the humm.

As for the starter, i tried hitting it a few times but nothing changed.

Honestly, i dont want to buy both a starter and fuel pump if only one of them is broken. So if u guys can give me some insight towards the solution to my problem, that would be great. And if the problem isnt the fuel pump nor the starter let me know. Thanks guys

Btw...my car is a 1990 240sx with n/a ka24e

[12Ounce]

I'm a bit confused. I use the terms "cranking" and "turning over" interchangebly.

When you attempt to start, does the engine revolve ("crank", "turn over"), ... or is there merely an effort by the starter and a starter noise?

[aurora61]

by crank, i mean the initial noise the engine makes when u first turn the key. and by turning over, i mean when the engine actually fires up to be in the idle state

[12Ounce]

OK, not to overdo semantics ... I'm gonna say your engine "cranks but doesn't run". You don't need a starter!

If you have two tubes producing a humming sound on the top of the engine when the key is "on", I'll guess it's caused by the flow of fuel and I'll further guess .... You don't need a fuel pump!

About listening for the pump: This is a great test if you have already earlier established that you can normally hear the pump. But some pumps are very quiet, especially when totally submerged.

Some manufacturers provide a pressure test point on the fuel rail. I don't know if my KA24E has one or not .... I've never noticed it.

So (guessing away!) if you have fuel flow but no pressure (we don't know this for sure) you may have a pressure regulator problem. We need more info!

It would be fairly easy to test to see if you have spark going to the plugs ... why not try that?

[aurora61]

thanks alot...ill check the fuel pressure and spark

but i just wanna compile all the possible problems keeping me from getting the car running in terms of fuel and spark ...

-electrical gremlins-fuel pressure regulator-sparkplugs (changed them, but will recheck)-sparkplug wires-distributor (changed)-ignition coil (changed)-injectors-alternator (changed)-battery (changed)

Does anyone know wat i can add to this list?

i also want a second opinion on the fuel pump and starter, cause ive heard from friends that its still possible that these components can be faulty. Ive also read somewhere that a starter could still be bad even if the car cranks.

edit: the humming sound from the engine bay was the fuel filter
Modified by aurora61 at 10:58 PM 1/2/2007

[Vernal]

I had the same problem with my 240. I swapped a dohc into my 1990 and when I turned the key it would crank but never start. I checked everything. The two lines you hear humming are the fuel lines. This is what I did. I knew my battery and alternator was good and my fuel pump because they were my older ones. It sounds like you too have good stuff. Try taking off the end of the hose that feeds the fuel rail and turn the key to the on position (turn it to the on position for a second). Fuel should squirt out. After that I checked everything else and didnt know what to do so I checked the timing again and it was fine. Oh yeah check the timing. Anyway, after that I took the spark plugs out leaving them in the wires and layed them on the valve cover. Then I went and cranked it and all the plugs sparked well. If the spark is low, get a new rotor for the distributor. Then I put the plugs and wires back in and it started up. It was weird I didn't even know what I did. Sorry about this being so long, but give me some feedback once you read this and check out your car.

[MrSeXy]

This is the same thing thats going on with my car....I changed the alternator and the battery and spark plugs but it still dosent turn over. When ever I charge the battery it gets eaisier to turn on but after awhile it just dosent turn on at all.....I feel ur pain.

[aurora61]

in case u guys wanted to know, i figured out the problem...a clogged fuel filter

...thanks for the help guys - im just glad i didnt end up buying the fuel pump or starter