I need some quick help...car not starting.

RIO5.0 said:
thing I would try at this point is to remove the inlet tube and give it a shot of starting fluid and see if it fires..

You have another dizzy you could swap in???

Nada for codes either... :bang: :damnit:


No other dizzys without buying a new one....not many 351 combos around my parts :damnit:

GRGT1994 said:
Did you check all your fuses for any blown? I had a short blowing a fuse out, and had similar problems starting out. Turns out my EEC line was blowing out. With no computer, the engine will not go.

I replaced the fuse (many times) and have hunted aimlessly for the short. But still have intermittent problems. Today, I yanked the CAI (AFM Powerpipe) in favor of a Home Depot setup that leaves the MAF in the engine compartment. That seems to make my car a happier, as it hasn't blown on me yet.

Anyway, enough on my problem. Just wanted to make sure you are missing a blown fuse.

After the fuse, I would give the engine compartment a serious once over for any plugs that are out of place or disconnected.

That was my LAST resort....i was thinking about some fuse that could break the link between the computer and the rest of the car but yet allow things to "appear" to be working. I will go try that out....if that works then i will paypal you $100 bucks man!




























Well not really since im broke. But if it does work THANKS! :rlaugh:
 
  • Sponsors (?)


Give it a shot of starting fluid....that chit will start anything...least you can tell if it really a spark or fuel issue??? If it at least catches, then your on to something...
 
Alright i will have to go get some starting fluid. Just spray it in the TB? Or does someone have to be spraying it while i try to start it?

I just checked EVERY fuse under the dash and under the hood. Not one was blown so im at a loss. I disconnected the coil wire and tried to start it and it did the same thing. Then i hooked the wire back up and it did the same thing except it "popped" and smoke comes out of the air filter and i can see the smoke in the cannister of the water/air seperator thats inline of the PCV.


Im starting to feel like this may be a LOT bigger than it seems.
 
Man that sucks, but you already know that. Try kicking it. It may not help the car, but it may help you.

Is it possible that your timing is 180 degrees off?
 
GRGT1994 said:
Man that sucks, but you already know that. Try kicking it. It may not help the car, but it may help you.

Is it possible that your timing is 180 degrees off?


Well starting fluid made NO difference what soever.

Unless someone broke into my car, popped the hood, ****ed with the distributor, and left everything else EXACTLY the same...the dizzy is fine...well atleast its in its right spot.


I have it marked on the block/dizzy where its supposed to be so its in the right spot. The car ran fine. I washed/waxed it friday afternoon. Car sat until saturday morning when i tried to fire it up which it did. But stalled. And wont restart. :fuss: :bang: :damnit: :owned: :flame: :confused: :crazy: :uzi: :scratch: :chair: :stick: :doh:
 
Nate, I know this sounds stupid, but is your battery still got a real full charge? When I work on the bikes, I often have to use a jumper or keep 2 amps going into the bike battery - if I dont have it topped and jetting is not quite spot on, it wont start (cranks like a mo-fo, tons of spark and fuel). Toss the charger on and it starts. It might help the ignition keep the flame front strong.

This is not apples to apples, but since you have a new combo and the fuel tabling is not known to be perfect, it might help (at least for the duration of your testing).

Andy's test was something I would have recommended myself - I have done that many times. you probably would have needed an assistant to help spray - otherwise it becomes a running back and forth game, with large stabbings of throttle if it does catch (been there and done that. I dont cut like a halfback, so it was a pain. LOL).

This was likely covered, but there is no water inside the dizzy cap, right? I saw the part about you washing the car and that came to mind. No cracks in the cap?

If the dizzy is marked where it is exactly right now, why not loosen the hold-down and have someone crank while you spin the dizzy each way to see if it fires. You can always go right back to where you are now.

Good luck bud.
 
Kick it. Go ahead. Kick it hard. You'll feel a bit better.

I feel for ya dude.

Keep working systematically. It's prolly something stupid.

Maybe someone else can chime in on components to start pulling and running down to the shop for testing. Like maybe your computer is fried. Maybe the MAF is fried. Etc.

Oh, and don't forget to kick it hard. (preferably someplace that won't leave a dent)

BTW, definitely take Hissin50's suggestion and try putting it on the charge overnight. I towed my car into the shop for my short. They put it on a trickle charger overnight, and it fired right up the next morning. Pissed me off when they called and asked what the problem I was having was, but at least it ran (until the short resurfaced).
 
Yea over on hardcore a guy said that one time with his he washed it and it did the same thing. Then a new EEC fixed it and it ran like new. But i dont have anyone local i can borrow one from. Hmmmm....

The battery is an optima and it cranks and fast as it did when it didnt start saturday morning. I have a voltmeter guage inside too.

I might try having my gf crank it while i spray it but with it "popping" like it is it makes me hesitate cause i dont want any "pops" leading to a spark in the starting fluid in my hand :lol:

So now im thinking its either the dizzy or eec. Next issue is testing another one in a cost effective manner.
 
Damn...My thinking was maybe the starting fluid would prove you have enuf spark to fire it off.... :nonono:

think it may jumped timing??? verify #1 to the balancer for whats it worth??

you have a good connection at the plug from the dizzy to the coil?? the resistor on the backside of the coil brackets is connected?? or maybe even test that out...

As was mentioned...pull the Maf and check the element...maybe yank the rotor and see if any wires are chaffed or the like??
 
Just tried a new coil. Only difference is there was MORE smoke than before :lol:

Ok but seriously. The smoke has me REALLY worried that something is seriously wrong inside the motor. It cranks over 1 or two times than POPS. Then the smoke comes. Then it will turn over but not start with no popping. The popping only happends after it has sat for a while. So if i were to go back out now...it probably wouldnt pop. But if i went in the morning...it would.


Im praying a new EEC or Dizzy will solve this.
 
nmcgrawj said:
Ok. I will try those things. Cant you tell by looking at the color of the spark how strong it is? Mine was blue/orange i think.

Im goin out now to try a couple things. Wish me luck

Just noticed this Nate...

Spark should be white to light blue in color... Orange to red is a weak spark...

Ed
 
I had a similar situation recently, I was just pulling out of my driveway and the car just sputtered and died. Checked everything couldn't find S... It ened up being the internal bearing in the distributor gave out. Didn't find it till I pulled the cap of and looked very carefully and spotted some shavings. So basically the contacts sit there and wobbled. Check the distributor. Good luck
 
eddienyr said:
I had a similar situation recently, I was just pulling out of my driveway and the car just sputtered and died. Checked everything couldn't find S... It ened up being the internal bearing in the distributor gave out. Didn't find it till I pulled the cap of and looked very carefully and spotted some shavings. So basically the contacts sit there and wobbled. Check the distributor. Good luck


I am(was) getting spark. The rotor was spinning. Is that what you mean? Or was it something internal for you?
 
I know this may sound stupid but check your battery ground and terminals. A bad ground can do really weird things. Like snap clutch cables on a hundai elantra (funny story if anyone wants to hear it) or weird electrical stuff like headlights coming on when you try to turn on the wipers and stuff. Point being check them and check them again....lots of fu***d up weird s**t happens with bad grounds. Just a thought... :shrug: But also, if its not the ground its 99% of the time air fuel or spark but all that was covered. I was thinking if you had a big vaccum leak but the starter fluid would have gotten the car to run for a sec. Anyone think maybe the timing chain? That would cause the car to stall and not start again. Do you hear any abnormal metallic clankings coming from the motor? How old is the timing chain?
 
sorry one more thing...your sure the motor is spinning the dizzy rotor? how many plug wires did you check. If just one then check a few more. It may be arcing towards the one wire you checked? ANd hense not sparking the other cylinders.
 
go-stang5.0 said:
sorry one more thing...your sure the motor is spinning the dizzy rotor? how many plug wires did you check. If just one then check a few more. It may be arcing towards the one wire you checked? ANd hense not sparking the other cylinders.


I can look at the rotor when the engine turns over and see it spin.


The timing chain is about 3.5months old.
 
Which eec do you have? I've got one that is for the 5.0 auto--the U4P0 that's just sitting in the garage right now. If you want to use it for troubleshooting purposes let me know. I'll ship it to you to try out. I can't guarantee that it is for sure good (I never have used it) but it's worth a try if you have the auto. It won't cost you anything. I hate to hear it when people have these kinds of problems!! I was going to suggest the coil (because of problems I had once) but I see that you tried a new one. I wish I lived close to Mich, because I would try to help you figure this one out. Car problems suck!!

email me at: [email protected]

Good Luck Nate,
Phil