laxfan17

Hello,

I bought the car about a year and a half ago.
Once in a while the car would crank (chugga chugga) but it would not start
I would just wait 10 seconds and try again ... no real issue

Mon night, I stopped for groceries (after driving half hour from work) and then it didn't start, I wait 10 seconds, it still would not start ... I wait 20 minutes, still would not start...
Had someone push the car, I popped the clutch, it started
Drove it to a garage, then I turned it off ... it would not start again
In the morning the garage said it started just fine
They said it could be the fuel pump relay, but no way to tell
He said it's around $300 (that seemed high to me) and no guarantee if that's the problem ...
I drove it to work (hoping to get through the work week and take care of it on the weekend)

Tuesday, no issues

Wed night, driving home from work, while turning a corner, it died
I was able to push it, jump in, pop the clutch and drive it home

This morning, started fine, drove it to work
After getting off the highway, it died on the off ramp
I was again able to push it, jump in, pop the clutch and drive it work

The garage near my work is fully booked today
I found and tried yourmechanic (they come to you and fix it at home/work, but their first appointment is Tuesday night)

My current options are pretty much;
- try to drive it home again tonight
- try to drive to auto part store, buy fuel pump relay and socket set and try to replace it myself (I'm not very mechanical, but this doesn't look hard after watching a video on YouTube)
- drive it to the closest garage, take bus home and back to work tomorrow
- ?

Colin42

That sounds more like alternator/battery/charging system to me.
Check all connections, wires, make sure all the bolts and belts are tight
Do you have a multimeter? See what the voltage is across the battery terminals with the engine running.

laxfan17

Update for anyone this may help in the future:
Dropped it off today, $220 (2 hours labor to diagnose the problem)

He said
- it is the Crank shaft position sensor, not getting good wave form
- when it doesn't start, no spark, no fuel, has voltage
- main relay and fuel pump relay are ok
- fuel injectors aren't pulsing

$560 (parts and 3 hours labor) to do the work
- he recommends I replace the valve cover as well while this is being done (falling apart)

He said the work is like changing the timing belt ...
What kills me, is the garage I took it to on Tuesday, did the timing belt a month ago!
(they recommended it while they had it apart for something else)

laxfan17

So I called the garage that did the timing belt last month ... just to get an estimate and his input

He doesn't believe it's the crank shaft position sensor, and says he can test to see if it is

Now I have no idea what to do because it's not smart to trust anyone ...
I'm getting very different opinions ... I hate to take it to a place that didn't diagnose the problem Tuesday (because the issue wasn't happening at the time) ...
I also hate to just get the part replaced in case that's not the issue at all

laxfan17

Follow up ... the crank shaft sensor was replaced on the weekend (for under $300) and it has been running fine since.

NDNV

Did you not get a CEL with a code P0335 or P0336 for the crankshaft sensor failure?

laxfan17

No codes for it at any point (when work was done a month ago, or this past Friday when he hooked the computer up to it)

Wankenstein

$560
-220 (shop credited your diagnostic fee towards repair)
--------------
= $340
- ? (less one hour labor or sympathy charge)
---------
= under $300

Could have been a legit situation one month after timing belt replaced or possibly mechanic didn't tighten down the crank sensor at time of TB change and it took some time/bumps to loosen and fall out of spec.
One never knows..lol. Moral of story is learn to DIY and you will save money and only have to trust in yourself.