More car trouble

[Keith B]

Sounds like it's about time to take it to Car Max and trade up.

[FlynJay]

I really does sound like a electrical problem with the fuel pump. I would set up a jumper wire from the fuel pump to a 12v source that you can easily hook up from inside the car (if that makes sense). The next time the car wont start, hook up the jumper wait 10-30 seconds and try to start the car. If it consistently works to get you started, then you need to trace the electrical path to the pump and look for corrosion, loose connections, melted wires, etc...

Did it even hiccup with the ether? If not, the ignition system is suspect.

If that doesn't work, I would start looking for a new used car.

[Bunkins]

You said it wouldnt start even when using Either? Thats ignition... It doesn't need gasoline to run with either since the either is the fuel, but you still need a spark to ignite the mixture. This is assuming that it didnt try to fire off period... If it did try to fire off then your still left with 2 things, fuel and ignition..... Didnt try to fire off at all, then thats just ignition.

I know nothing about the car in question, so I dont know if the ignition is controlled purely by the ECM, or if it has a separate module.. In either case, dont forget to check the coil. It would be a good idea to hook it up to a scanner and make sure your getting a signal from the crank sensor ( crank sensor is the ignition trigger, cam sensor is for fuel if it's sequential ). Crank position sensors are notorious for acting screwy, in fact I keep a spare one in all of my trucks, I also keep a cam positioning sensor in my Dodge because they are known for failing ( though I've never replaced one in 180K miles.... Seeing how I dont know anything about the car, does it have a distributor? Or does it have several coil packs?

Something else to try, next time it wont start, get a cheap timing light ( borrow it or whatever ), hook it up first to the coil wire, while cranking see if it lights up. If you get it there, then hook it up to the #1 plug wire and see if you have it there..... It wont tell you much, but it will cheaply tell you that the ignition controllers are sending a signal to the coil.

Without the tools and the know how though, having a mechanic figure this stuff out will cost ya a arm and a leg. There are times when it's just not worth tinkering with anymore..

Car trouble is fun, I enjoy challenges like that.. I've had more than my fair share of them, hence why I own 3 trucks This way I'm not rushed to figuring it out.. My '00 Ford Powerstroke is down right now actually, makes gas engine's look easy, and cheap..

[Bunkins]

I think your talking about the throttle body... They do get gummed up over time, it can also be a warning sign, such as major engine wear. Depending on how the crankcase ventilation is setup, which is always behind the throttle body towards the engine you will see more or less junk at the TB. If the junk is coming from the crankcase ventilation system, you've got either wore rings or cyl bores, valve guides, or the valves not sealing. How much is acceptable? Well, like everything else it depends on how bad, and how long it's been since it's all been cleaned. You wont see it in your owners manual, but cleaning the intake tract ( including the intake manifold ) is part of regular maintaince.

You bringing that up sparked an idea.. The mass air flow sensor works by heating a wire, as airflow goes across it, it changes the voltage required and the resistance, the ECM uses the measurements to figure out how much fuel to give... If it's gummed up, or faultly it could cause a no start condition.. Also the fact that you've been using either on it, think of that hot wire like a glow plug. It would be wise to really check the MAF sensor's operation.

I still dont think thats the problem, but every little thing adds up..

[Oldgringo]

Chrysler has some outstanding offerings of late. You might want to check 'em out?

PS:

I would do it on a day your car is running .

[Bunkins]

Just rig up the ignition with a toggle switch Lots of ranchers around here to that, either because they broke, or they couldnt keep up with their keys



A lot of the time if you suspect a relay is messing up, just swap it with another thats in the box. A good tip while out on the side of the road or whatever.. But in your case it would prevent you from having to buy a relay for testing.. A good high quality, typical 30 amp relay will cost ya about 25 bucks. Just take and swap one from a non critical component for testing

Sometimes a dealership will have a ignition module tester, not always though because they just pull a new unit off the shelf and try it. With a tester though it will act much like it is with you, might mess up right then and there, might not.. If you dont want to drop 90 bucks not knowing if that will fix it or not ( I've done it dozens of times, it stinks ), you could get one from a junk yard if the price is right ( cheap cheap cheap ).

All this computer stuff is great while it's working, once it quits though it will make ya old in a hurry. My dad and I own a Carrier Transicold dealership, which is transport refrigeration basicly. Between the 2 of us we have 40 yrs experience ( him 30, me 10 ) They use 4 cyl diesel engines, and some pretty complex micro controllers.. He had been fighting with one for 3 days straight, just a odd glitch every once in a while, on and off the phone with engineers, taking downloads and reviewing them.. I walked up today and found it within 5 minutes of looking at it. Nothing more than a VERY slight trace of corrosion in one of the data ports, just a small track right on the rubber weather seal.. Replaced the plug and it was fixed... Just goes to show that a very experienced person can be working on it and not find it, then someone walks up and points it right out, and that something very simple can cause huge headaches.

[TexasComputerDude]

... I need an old priest and a young priest....

your cars got the devil in it dude...

...The power of Christ compels you!...

[Keith B]

Just wanted to give everyone here an update on what the problem ended up being.

It was my distributor.

I finally broke down and took the car to a reputable car shop. It cost a bit more than the place I was taking it to, but they figured out the issue and fixed it right up. It's started every time for 3 weeks now without complaint! But now a new issue has cropped up. The last big rain we had here the key hole on the driver side door got really hard to turn to unlock the door. So, I figured let's spray some liquid wrench in it. I did, and now the darned door doesn't want to open even when the lock "pops up". I have to literally unlock it and then bang on the outside of the door with my fist to get it to actually allow me to open the door.

Figures.

Liquid Wrench is a penetrant and removed dirt, rust AND LUBRICANTS! You probably soaked it enough to remove the grease from your release mechanism. I suggest you get a can of white lithium grease and a can of silicone spray. Remove the door panel and re-lubricate all of the mechanism with the grease. Also grease the door latch where it latches to the body. Use the silicone and put it in the lock. See if that doesn't help.