not starting

M

mynheers_a_pint

Guest
Hi All,

I seem to have developed a problem over the weekend in that the car simply refuses to start. It cranks happily and the smell of fuel is apparent, yet regardless of length of time cranking, it won't fire. The battery was nearly flat and after the first few trys, went completely flat so i left it for a day charging. Last night i tried again and i had the same issue; it would crank but not fire. At this point i pulled the leads and plugs to make sure that they were clean and in good condition, which they are but obviously soaked in fuel. My immediate assumption was that the car was infact flooded so i left it over night to clear.

This morning, i am met with the same issue- car won't start despite the time. I did a fault check and found Crank position sensor (11) but from reading on here, this should not prevent the car from starting just run like a dog?

Now, i will admit i haven't checked for a spark but i can safely assume there is one as every now and again, the car sounds like it's about to fire but doesn't so my thought now turns to a faulty distributor. Is this a likley culprit or would there be something else i have missed?

Any help is aprpeciated.

Ta.
 
PobodY

PobodY

Moderators
Staff member
If the CAS is completely gone, then could it be that it never gives the signal to spark (or gives it at the wrong time so there's nothing to ignite)?
Have you gone through the diagnostic procedure in the service manual; they're usally quite good for this kind of situation?
 
P

pulsarboby

Guest
unplug the dizzy from multiplug and spray the connector with wd40 or similar, also do the one to the coil and ignition module.
remove the plugs and hold them over a cooker hob or something so there nice and hot then quickly put them back in car and try it then.
my guess is it will burst into life
 
stumo

stumo

Active Member
Fusion Ed said:
Check the spark!! Don't assume anything.
Click to expand...
deffo.

Make sure the plugs are dry,

you can hold the plug over a flame to burn off the fuel and get some heat into it as that will aid starting in this cold weather.

If the engine then floods, remove the fuel pump relay or the injector resistor press the accel pedal and turn the engine over till it does one or two coughs.

Then put back the relay/inj resistor and see if it'll start.
 
M

mynheers_a_pint

Guest
stumo said:
deffo.

Make sure the plugs are dry,

you can hold the plug over a flame to burn off the fuel and get some heat into it as that will aid starting in this cold weather.

If the engine then floods, remove the fuel pump relay or the injector resistor press the accel pedal and turn the engine over till it does one or two coughs.

Then put back the relay/inj resistor and see if it'll start.
Click to expand...
That's what i was looknig for. :doh:

I knew there was a way of clearing the engine but was being a complete retard and couldn't remember the method. I'll check the spark and clear the engine before giving it another go but I probably need a new CAS/dissy anyway. Can anyone confirm whether or not a faulty CAS would cause drastic over fueling?

Cheers all for your help.
 
M

mynheers_a_pint

Guest
In that case, i'm hoping its gonig to be a simple fix- I've repalced all the ignition components over the last twelve months inculding a brand new coil and leads three months ago, so if there is a fault, i can only assume it is the dissy. But maybe i'm assuming too much...

i'll check the spark this evening and clear out the cylinders and see what happens.

Thanks again.
 
PobodY

PobodY

Moderators
Staff member
Doesn't the ECU go into 'flood recovery' and inject nothing if you crank at WOT? - That's one of the reasons to adjust the TPS I thought.
 
Fusion Ed

Fusion Ed

Active Member
No I'm sure I tested this before on nissan ECCS, I have not seen it cut fuel at WOT under cranking conditions.
 
stumo

stumo

Active Member
No it doesn't go into any sort of mode, if you've removed the injector resistor or the fuel pump relay no more fuel will be injected (it will do until the fuel pressure has dropped so it's better to remove the resistor).

Pressing the accelerator just allows more air into the engine, it will dry the engine out better.


Myners..... has the car been standing for a few days? If so you'll just have to keep winding it until it starts. 2.0ltr primeras with miles on them had a similar problem if they'd been standing in cold weather (they would actually loose compression)
 
M

mynheers_a_pint

Guest
tbh it hasn't really. I actually started it on Sunday, albeit for a very shot period (needed to move it to my other parking spot so that i could hoover) amd used it on Saturday. I use it every day otherwise, so it's really a completely new thing for it to do, not to mention it's a freshly built engine (8k miles ago or so)
 
PobodY

PobodY

Moderators
Staff member
Fusion Ed said:
No I'm sure I tested this before on nissan ECCS, I have not seen it cut fuel at WOT under cranking conditions.
Click to expand...
I'm sure it was in the thread about adjusting the TPS that the ECU needed to get 5V at WOT or it wouldn't recognise a flood start. - That would explain why I couldn't get it to work last time I tried it though.

I just hooked-up another battery and kept cranking until it fired, but my experience is that those iridium plugs foul really easily (if that's what you've got).
 
stumo

stumo

Active Member
Adjusting the TPS has nothing to do with recognising a "flood start" as there's no sensor to sense the flooded engine!:doh:

You're better adjusting the TPS to 0.5v at the idle position (it says between .45 and .55 in the manual) you should get approx 4v at WOT.(and also check the resistances at idle and WOT)
 
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M

mynheers_a_pint

Guest
TPS is fine, checked that and im using NGK BC8RES plugs, as per the recommendations on here. they are sooty but not fouled (as per my check last night) but as you say, spark is the first check.

i'll update when i know more...
 
antgtir

antgtir

New Member
I had an issue once were the plug that connects to the loom was slightly damaged and had worked loose and so was cranking over but not obviously starting. This maybe an issue if you have recently been fiddling around this area i.e. around the re-circ valve area or dv area if you have replaced it.

Other than this, as suggested check the ignition side of things, rotor, dizzy, leads, loom.

I know you say you can smell fuel but it may be worthwhile just double checking that fuel is actually being pumped just in order to check this off the list.

Have you changed or carried out any work on the car recently?

Ant.
 
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