Engine won't start?

well men i had a little help this weekend, seen no bubbles in overflow tank for anti freeze, cranked over and again car will run a couple seconds then die. pretty sure rich gas to air mix. black smoke out exhaust and plugs are wet after trying to start,, i replaced map sensor and didn't make any difference. all help very appreciated! thanks

how do you check fuel pressure? Two days ago it started after a few attempts, but it started roughly....then it ran for one minute a little rough than usual then it cut off. since then its been turning but not starting.

Lets go back to basics with a compression test.

Here is a guide to help

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-engine-compression

you need a gauge to check that and it connects to the fuel rail.

I did a compression test a wile back, from left to right #1 was 150, #2 was 165, #3 was 180 and #4 was 140

can you be more basic and detailed? I know basic material about vehicles. Sorry, I'm still growing and learning

Well the car went to the mechanic and is diagnosed with the timing chain jumped a tooth and a bent valve so it's going to junk yard. Thank you all for your help you've been very helpful. This is a good site to use when u need help with your car . Pat

you'll have ot see if you can rent a gauge from an auto parts store. they will scan the engines as well but you need to get eht car there and it 'doesn't run. if your fuel pressure is under 60 psi you need a new pump.

Strange, wouldn't think timing chain with that compression. But they actually see it. Sorry to hear about that.

Before you scrap it, grab any new/good parts and put them up on that famous online auction site that rhymes with flea bay. Might take a couple weeks but you could get your money back.

Thanks, there's a part store that takes back electrical parts back.

WOW, most of the ones I deal with won't... Good deal.

Auto zone does.

Then I fill the car u with Gas, and I drove it home it was fine, I let it sit for a day or two, and now when I try to start it, it turns over but cuts off when I let go of gas pedal.

Running the car out of gas can overheat the pump and cause failure or reduced pressure.

Have the fuel pressure tested with a mechanical gauge, see if pump is working properly.

I just bought a new battery 2 months ago and my vehicle has been working fine until until recently when it wouldn't start. When I attempt to charge it with my car battery charger, without the keys in the ignition, my car's headlights and rear lights will turn on (they're automatic lights). when I go to manually turn them off they do but the interior car electronics begin flickering and there's a rapid clicking noise similar to the sound of the doors locking/unlocking very quickly but the door locks aren't moving. After leaving the charger on overnight it still wouldn't start. I don't know enough to diagnose the problem. Nothing was left on the last time I left the car after it was working fine and they're were no warnings from my dashboard prior. When I attempt to start it it makes either the the clicking noises that's indicative of a dead battery or no noise at all but like I said it's a new battery and I've been driving plenty.

Hi,

Can you tell me where you hear the clicking sound from, or approximately where? Something sounds loose and power is jumping in and out.

Make sure the battery terminals are clean and tight and make sure the grounds to the engine and body.

Let me know if you can tell approximately where the noise is coming from.

Take care,
Joe

My battery light came on for about one second but went off. then my dash lights went out, speedometer and power management gauges stopped working as did my power steering. The engine kept running, but i pulled over and turned i off. it will not start. it acts like battery is about drained.

Good morning my name is Roy and I will assist.

The first thing I would do is charge the battery and have it load tested to be sure it is good. Then I would have the charging system checked to verify it is maintaining the battery.

All the symptoms you have are related to low voltage from the battery.

Roy

Okay, I will do that. Thank you.

Okay. Let us know the results.

Battery is good so i am going to check the alternator.

Here is a guide that will help you:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-alternator

Please let us know what happens.

Cheers, Ken

car had been running rough and stalling at stoplights. check engine light came on as driving home. stalled as parking, will cranks but will not start. got scanner. here are codes. p0030, p0135, p0300, p0446, p0451, p0461 and p2176.
replaced O2 sensor. i have changed spark plugs as they needed it. checked for spark at the plug. tested fuel pressure at the rail, 57lbs. I was told by a friend that there should be 5V at the mass air flow sensor. I used voltmeter and get nothing. any ideas where to look next?

Hello,

So to start off with, did any codes come back after replacing the oxygen sensor? the P0030 and P0135 are for the Oxygen Heater Control Circuit (Bank 1 Sensor 1). I am going to take you through the codes one by one because they are all for different circuits on the car. P0446 and P0451 is an EVAP system Vent control and pressure sensor circuit malfunction. To start with, and a wiring diagram for the Mass air flow sensor. It sounds like you may have a serious wiring harness problem or maybe a bad ECM.

So to start with here is a wiring diagram for the Mass air flow sensor, there should be 12 volt (battery power) on the Pink/Black wire with the key in the on or run position. This is fed by a 10 amp Emission fuse that is powered by the Power-train relay. So lets start there. Here is 2 wiring diagrams for the mass air flow and its fuse that's powering it. And did you have spark when you checked it?

car will not start. i erased the codes and now show no codes. yes i have spark at the coil, and the nubs and at the plugs themselves. might be overkill but i wanted to check all the way down. rather than backtracking. will be climbing back under the hood tomorrow. thank you for the reply, talk to you soon.

Okay, after you check the mass air flow for power, i am only assuming right now that you don't have power there because of the first check you did. I want you to check for power at these 3 fuses with the key in the on position. As you can see from the diagram they are all powered up from the power train relay with is located in the engine compartment.

Okay, i was being too nice to the connector and upon further testing: i do have 12v at MAS. all 3 fuses check out. rechecked all fuses, and in the on position my fuel pump fuse shows negative voltage. but pressure test showed 57 lbs still.

If you're reading -12 volts on your meter you leads are just backwards. No biggie. You're going to want to check power to the injectors and injector pulse next. You can do this with a test light. First check for power with the key on. Then hook the test light to battery positive and one of the two injector wires should have a pulse while cranking. You may have a shorted oxygen sensor due the previous codes you pulled. The p2176 is a throttle body actuator code, if the drive by wire system has failed this will cause all kinds of issues too but we'll deal with that next.

I had the alternator replaced about a year ago. Not long after, my car started to sputter and or shut off when slowing down or stopping and the headlights would dim. Yesterday it wouldn't start unless I pumped the gas pedal while starting it but would shut off instantly even with the gas pedal to the floor.

Hello, thanks for using 2CarPros.

i do not believe your problem is related to alternator because your battery can keep you engine running.
It sounds like fuel pressure problem. It is better to check for fault codes for proper diagnosis. here is our guide some tips for engine does not start problem:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start

Check the attached table for trouble shooting fuel system for your car.
Let us know what happens with you.
Thank you.

It sounds like you have a battery that can be shorting out intermittently and the car is in limp mode. here are two guide you can run through to see what's going on:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-battery-load-test

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/reduced-power-limp-mode

We should run the codes as well:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/checking-a-service-engine-soon-or-check-engine-light-on-or-flashing

Please run down these guides and report back.