Late night, last minute urgent help. Crank but no start.
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Late night, last minute urgent help. Crank but no start.
So I did a search through the threads and found many similar stories, but no solutions. 
Background, my son decides to change his timing belt before heading off to school out of state. I'm busy with work, so only able to help intermittently...but now having to full time.
TB comes off, goes back but a little out of line. I make him pull it and realign TDC. Cranks over, but no start. Timing marks hold true.
Check all the wire plugs, fuses, new spark plugs, used (but tested) coils from salvage yard, new crank sensor... still not starting. Turns over strong, but no start.
Compression test, 150 x 4. Fuel on spark plugs (but not soaked). Get 5v - 0v pulse on crank sensor. Get 12v to each coil (the plug from the harness to the coil) Tried checking for spark (screwdriver in coil and checking for arcing...there is none.) Only have a multimeter to check all this, no noid light. Fuel tank is half full with fresh gas.
This has been going for several days, and he has to be at his school & work tomorrow morning. We're at a loss.
Cruel irony... he's going to a tech school to be a mechanic.
Any ideas?
Background, my son decides to change his timing belt before heading off to school out of state. I'm busy with work, so only able to help intermittently...but now having to full time.
TB comes off, goes back but a little out of line. I make him pull it and realign TDC. Cranks over, but no start. Timing marks hold true.
Check all the wire plugs, fuses, new spark plugs, used (but tested) coils from salvage yard, new crank sensor... still not starting. Turns over strong, but no start.
Compression test, 150 x 4. Fuel on spark plugs (but not soaked). Get 5v - 0v pulse on crank sensor. Get 12v to each coil (the plug from the harness to the coil) Tried checking for spark (screwdriver in coil and checking for arcing...there is none.) Only have a multimeter to check all this, no noid light. Fuel tank is half full with fresh gas.
This has been going for several days, and he has to be at his school & work tomorrow morning. We're at a loss.
Cruel irony... he's going to a tech school to be a mechanic.
Any ideas?
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
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Re: Late night, last minute urgent help. Crank but no start.
Compression low...I expect 180 or higher when using my methods and equipment.
Flooded? Cylinders need oiled? (need spark working first)
You sure no spark?
Does the CEL come on when you flip the key on (bulb check)?
Check for fault codes?
Coils have 12v you say, but what about their grounds?
12v+ is the blk/wht wire,
ground is the black wire,
trigger from PCM is the 3rd wire, different color for each coil
Flooded? Cylinders need oiled? (need spark working first)
You sure no spark?
Does the CEL come on when you flip the key on (bulb check)?
Check for fault codes?
Coils have 12v you say, but what about their grounds?
12v+ is the blk/wht wire,
ground is the black wire,
trigger from PCM is the 3rd wire, different color for each coil
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This was using the autozone compression tester (they said 150 or more), so not sure how that compares. Didn't do an oil test. They're closed now.
We can't seem to see/generate an spark. The CEL light does come on (has been on for a missing O2 sensor - previous owner did a exhaust mod and removed the 2nd one.) No tool at the house to check codes.
I'll recheck, I know the left 2 wires (not sure colors are what showed 12v) the far right didn't. If I put multimeter positive probe on trigger wire, and neg on a ground... should I get a voltage spike when cranking?
Thank you for your help so far.
P.S. We also checked to make sure the immobilizer isn't the culprit.
We can't seem to see/generate an spark. The CEL light does come on (has been on for a missing O2 sensor - previous owner did a exhaust mod and removed the 2nd one.) No tool at the house to check codes.
I'll recheck, I know the left 2 wires (not sure colors are what showed 12v) the far right didn't. If I put multimeter positive probe on trigger wire, and neg on a ground... should I get a voltage spike when cranking?
Thank you for your help so far.
P.S. We also checked to make sure the immobilizer isn't the culprit.
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OK, just checked, The blk/wht wire is 12v. Blk wire isn't showing any voltage. PCM wire (on Cyl 1) showed 3.7v for an instance, then nothing when cranking. Didn't get any voltage on any of the other PCM wires when cranking.
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
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From: Midwest. Aiming about mid-chest
Rep Power: 517 Re: Late night, last minute urgent help. Crank but no start.
We can't seem to see/generate an spark.
The CEL light does come on (has been on for a missing O2 sensor - previous owner did a exhaust mod and removed the 2nd one.) No tool at the house to check codes.
Would be handy to know if it has new fault codes that could be related to the current problem.
I'll recheck, I know the left 2 wires (not sure colors are what showed 12v) the far right didn't. If I put multimeter positive probe on trigger wire, and neg on a ground... should I get a voltage spike when cranking?
I don't know what left or right means with wiring. Wire colors are everything.
MAKE SURE OF WHICH WIRE COLORS you are checking and why (see previous reply)
If you don't have a good ground to the coils they won't work. If ground is missing, that's a problem. (center terminal/black wire in each coil connector is the ground)
The trigger wire is where you would see a voltage change IF AND ONLY IF your voltmeter can react fast enough to catch a pulse of only a few milliseconds. If I were actually checking for a trigger on these I'd probably be using a labscope.
Got rodents?
Oh hey, if the cam-crank sync is off by more than a couple teeth, the computer can shut down the engine. Make sure the timing belt job is perfect.
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Joined: Dec 2011
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From: Midwest. Aiming about mid-chest
Rep Power: 517 Re: Late night, last minute urgent help. Crank but no start.
Blk wire isn't showing any voltage.
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From: Midwest. Aiming about mid-chest
Rep Power: 517 Re: Late night, last minute urgent help. Crank but no start.
Meter lead on positive battery terminal.
Meter lead on suspect wire.
If it shows full battery voltage then that wire is a ground.
Meter lead on suspect wire.
If it shows full battery voltage then that wire is a ground.
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
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From: Midwest. Aiming about mid-chest
Rep Power: 517 Re: Late night, last minute urgent help. Crank but no start.
Also, don't try to shove your meter lead all the way into a terminal. That will damage the female terminals and make them have poor or no connection when the connector is plugged together.
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If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Joined: Dec 2011
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From: Midwest. Aiming about mid-chest
Rep Power: 517 Re: Late night, last minute urgent help. Crank but no start.
my son decides to change his timing belt before heading off to school out of state
Ground wire set on top of the upper radiator hose neck, both braided and plain wire grounds still connected, clean and tight?
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Ground wire set on top of the upper radiator hose neck, both braided and plain wire grounds still connected, clean and tight?
Both are connected (were never disconnected) and tight.
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