NEED HELP!

TGP Nick · May 05, 2007, 01:33:31 AM

Alright- Kyle (Grinders18) was by my place today and we were driving our TGP's, and we pulled over- his car died, refused to start again (this happened at 10PM, it is now 2PM) still refuses to start. When you try to start it, it will crank and crank, but will not fire. You can't feel the engine fire. When you try to start it in the dark, the sparkplug wires LIGHT UP a bright white/blue! What could be going on here? Any ideas? We are at my house with NO ideas. All the fuses are good, the battery has been charged, and nothing seems to be contacting the sparkplug wires. Any ideas, comments, etc. are greatly appreciated!!
Thanks!!
Nick & Krenzy

sleeperred90tgp · May 05, 2007, 07:13:52 AM

Fuel pump or crank sensor is a good start. :dunno:

TGP Nick · May 05, 2007, 08:50:41 AM

Quote from: sleeperred90tgp on May 05, 2007, 07:13:52 AM
Fuel pump or crank sensor is a good start. :dunno:

But would either of these cause the car to just die out of nowhere? When it died, it didn't sputter or anything, it just was sitting there and was like the power was cut- it just died there on the spot. Would either of these cause the spark plug wires to light up??? This is the wierdest thing both of us have ever seen!!!

sleeperred90tgp · May 05, 2007, 10:58:01 AM

Don't know about your light show.

Check the fuel pressure and eliminate that possibility. Then go from there.

Jud

R Dubya · May 05, 2007, 12:19:33 PM

you can try tapping on the fuel tank from the bottom, it may or may not help you find out if the pump is bad, but if it runs after you tap it you have a good idea. Did you try removing any of the plugs to see if they are fouled?

Best bet is check fuel pressure, like Jud said, if it's ~45ish psi at prime before startup you should have enough to get it running.

Otherwise you are looking at a spark issue, most common causes are the ICM, ECM, or the crank sensor as stated above.

TGPvsTIII · May 05, 2007, 03:51:33 PM

years ago I worked for a fleet shop that didn't like to replace anything unless they had to. Because of this everytime it would rain we had many cars that wouldn't start and the light shows were very good at times. spraying the bad plug wires with WD-40 would usually get them started. So I would think you do have some bad wires but if it was running it shouldn't be the reason why it shut off. Once we would get these cars running the engine heat would let them run the rest of the day without issue. Was it raining when it shut off? The light show usually means you do have spark. Check a few plugs.
Tim

grinders_18 · May 06, 2007, 12:41:53 PM

Hey guys...I got home last night but first got online now. Here's a bit more info...Nick did a good write up. When we pulled it home, we immediately set to work debunking all the possibilities. As most know, everything has been replaced...COMPLETE tune up. Plugs, wires, coils, ICM, ECM, Fuel pump, injectors, CPS, all has been replaced. I understand they can die for no reason...but we tested the fuel first. At the fuel rail, there was fuel squirting out: so it has fuel pressure. We removed two plugs from a coil, and saw the arc...did this on each of the 3 coil packs and all worked. Removed a plug, plugged it to the wire, grounded it to see the spark, and it did spark and fuel squirted out of the plug hole, so both the plugs and injectors work.

So, fuel and spark are there...now what? To me, I've heard this same sounds when the car's out of gas, but I had put only 22 miles on that FULL tank of gas when it died. It cranks and cranks but does not turn over, or even sputter! I did use a gas that I hadn't used before, however Nick has been using it in his cars. Is it possible I got some bad gas? I'm trying to CSI all aspects of this, but I keep drawing a blank.

I appreciate all the input, and hope we can nail this. Thanks!

Krenzy

bake82 · May 06, 2007, 12:53:37 PM

Do you have Enough fuel pressure? Just because you're getting some, doesn't always mean you're getting enough to fire?

grinders_18 · May 06, 2007, 12:54:56 PM

We didn't have a test gauge, but nevertheless, it should have sputtered and burnt the fuel in the cylinders out, correct?

TGP Nick · May 06, 2007, 01:51:52 PM

To Kyle and everyone here- I just talked to my neighbor, who is a mechanic at a local dealer, and he said the wires "lighting up" is a result of your wires gone bad, regardless of age. If the wires are bad, it may get spark to the engine, but probably not enough for the engine to run.... Kyle did you leave your keys here with the car?

Prospeeder · May 06, 2007, 02:05:13 PM

yea my friends escort did that, new wires fixed it, id start with that, since they are arcing

TGed · May 06, 2007, 06:32:45 PM

Check for compression if you can. Maybe the chain snapped.

grinders_18 · May 06, 2007, 07:18:10 PM

Hey Nick. No I didn't...I was kinda thinking of that on my way back home, but after locking them in the car, I force-of-habit locked it. Kicking myself too now lol. Hopefully that's all it is...I'd be kicking myself if that's it lol...hopefully I can kick myself.

TGP Nick · May 06, 2007, 07:24:59 PM

I'm really leaning towards wires, because according to my neighbor (the mechanic) this describes EXACTLY what it is doing- Kyle maybe we should buy some wires and throw em in before we put it on the flat bed? Oh wait no keys nvm :icon_redface:

mfewtrail · May 07, 2007, 12:34:04 AM

Take proof of ownership to a dealership and get a new door key cut for a few $'s...that is, if you don't have a spare set of keys somewhere.